Demerit points in Ontario

Demerit points run from the day the offence was committed, not the day it was paid, and the count that matters is the total inside any two year window.

About this work

Do demerit points come off after two years?

Not by deduction. The regulation counts the points from offences committed inside any two year period, so a point stops counting when the offence that produced it falls outside that window. The entry stays on the driving record; what changes is whether it is inside the count.

That distinction matters when an insurer asks. The insurer is reading the conviction record rather than the point total, and a conviction is visible on an abstract for longer than its points are counted.

Written by the firm. Pending review by Kapil Rathod, Barrister and Solicitor, Law Society of Ontario licence 77122E.

The thresholds

Two sets of numbers, depending on the licence

O. Reg. 339/94 sets one scale for a fully licensed driver and a lower one for a novice. A driver who holds a novice class alongside a full class is measured on the full scale under s. 18 (1).

  1. Fully licensed: 6 to 8 points

    The Registrar mails a notice setting out the number of points. Nothing else follows from the letter itself. O. Reg. 339/94 s. 7 (1).

  2. Fully licensed: 9 to 14 points

    The Registrar may require an interview before a Ministry official to show cause why the licence should not be suspended. Failing to attend is itself a ground to suspend. s. 8.

  3. Fully licensed: 15 or more

    The Registrar shall suspend after notice. A first suspension runs 30 days from surrender of the licence, a subsequent one six months, and the points are then reduced to seven. s. 9.

  4. Novice: 2 to 5, then 6 to 8, then 9

    Notice at two points, a possible interview at six, and a mandatory suspension at nine. A first novice suspension is 60 days and the points are reduced to four. ss. 15 to 17.

The route

How does the process run?

5 stages, each with its own clock

Five rules in the regulation decide what the number on a record actually is, and each of them moves it in a direction most drivers do not expect.

01

The clock starts at the offence

O. Reg. 339/94 s. 2(1)

Points are recorded as of the date the offence was committed, not the date of conviction. A ticket fought for eight months still dates from the stop.

02

Two years, rolling

O. Reg. 339/94 s. 1(1)

Accumulated points means the total from offences committed within any period of two years. Points are not deducted on a schedule; they fall out of the window as the window moves.

03

A suspension usually replaces the points

O. Reg. 339/94 s. 3(1)

Where the penalty the court imposes includes a period of licence suspension, no points are recorded at all, except on a conviction under section 78, 78.1 or 172 of the Act.

04

One incident, one entry

O. Reg. 339/94 s. 3(2)

Where two or more convictions arise out of the same circumstances and no suspension is imposed, points are recorded only for the conviction carrying the greatest number.

05

An appeal holds the points off

O. Reg. 339/94 s. 5

Where notice of appeal is served on the Registrar, the conviction and its points are not entered unless the conviction is sustained. If they were already entered they are removed and any suspension is stayed.

Before the meeting

What to bring to the first meeting

5 things to bring

Bring what you have and say what is missing. A meeting with the papers in front of it settles in one sitting what two telephone calls will not.

  • ✓A current driver's abstract, if you have ordered one
  • ✓Every ticket you have paid in the last two years, with dates
  • ✓Any notice or interview letter from the Ministry
  • ✓Whether you hold a full licence, a novice class, or both
  • ✓Whether the licence is needed for work

Our approach

A clear path forward

The same four steps on every matter, whether it is a refusal at the Federal Court or a ticket at the Provincial Offences court.

Book a consultation
01

Understand

We take the full history and read the documents before offering an opinion. Most bad advice comes from acting on half the facts.

02

Assess

You get a candid read on strength, timeline and cost, including when the honest answer is that you do not need to hire anyone.

03

Act

We prepare the application, the defence or the appeal properly the first time, because fixing a weak record later is harder and dearer.

04

Report

You hear from us at each stage, and you hear what a wait actually means rather than a date chosen to sound better.

Reported decisions

What has this work produced?

7 allowed of 22 reported since 2023

Public judgments of the Federal Court with Kapil Rathod as counsel of record, each checkable by citation on the court's own site. The rest were dismissed and are listed with these ones.

All case outcomes, including the client accounts

Where to go next

Demerit points in Ontario are counted from the date of the offence across a rolling two year window, with suspension at fifteen points on a full licence and nine on a novice one.

Because paying a ticket is a plea, the points are the part of the decision that is settled before the fine is even paid.

Speeding ticketsDistracted driving chargesBook a consultation

Common questions

What do people ask about demerit points?

7 answered here

Written to be read once and acted on rather than to be rung about. Each answer is complete where the law allows a complete answer.

Why the date of the offence is the date that counts

Because section 2 (1) says the Registrar records the points as of the date of commission. Fighting a ticket does not move the points later, and it does not shorten the window either. What it does is keep them off the record entirely while an appeal is pending under section 5, and off permanently if the charge does not result in a conviction.

This is the practical argument for dealing with a ticket rather than paying it. Paying is a plea, the conviction is entered, and the points are backdated to the stop.

What happens after a suspension

The points are not wiped. Under section 9 (4) a fully licensed driver's accumulated points are reduced to seven on the effective date of the suspension, and the ones that remain are those from the most recently committed offences. A novice is reduced to four under section 17 (4).

Seven is two points below the interview threshold and eight below a second suspension. A driver coming back from a suspension is closer to the next one than the reset suggests.

How long do demerit points last in Ontario?

The count is the total from offences committed within any two year period, under s. 1 (1) of O. Reg. 339/94. Points are not deducted on a date; the offence that produced them falls out of the two year window and stops being counted. The conviction itself stays on the record longer.

How many demerit points before a suspension?

Fifteen for a fully licensed driver, under s. 9 (1). Nine for a novice driver, under s. 17 (1). Between nine and fourteen a fully licensed driver may be called to an interview under s. 8, and a failure to attend is itself a ground to suspend.

Do points count from the ticket date or the conviction date?

The date the offence was committed. Section 2 (1) says the Registrar records the points as of that date, so a ticket resolved months later still dates from the stop.

What happens if I appeal?

Section 5 says that where notice of appeal is served on the Registrar the conviction and its points are not entered unless the conviction is sustained on appeal, and where they have already been entered they are removed and any resulting suspension is stayed.

I got two tickets in one stop. Do both count?

Where two or more convictions arise out of the same circumstances and the penalty does not include a suspension, section 3 (2) records points only for the conviction carrying the greatest number of points.

Speak to someone this week

Bring the tickets you have paid in the last two years and any letter from the Ministry. Demerit points are easier to argue about before the next conviction than after it.

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