Driving With Suspended Licence – Ontario

Penalties For Driving With A Suspended License in Ontario

• Fines: The law imposes fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 for a first offence and increases for subsequent offences.
• Imprisonment: Offenders may face up to six months in jail, depending on the severity of the offence.
• Further Suspension: A conviction will result in an additional six month license suspension.
• Insurance Penalties: Convictions lead to increased insurance premiums, marking you as a high-risk driver.
  Driving with a suspended license in Ontario is not considered a criminal driving offence.

If you are caught driving around with a suspended license and convicted of the offence, the following three areas of penalties will apply; Court penalties, MTO imposed penalties, and increases to insurance premiums. The court penalties prescribed under the HTA are as follows:

1. for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $1,000 and not more than $5,000; and
2. for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $2,000 and not more than $5,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. R.S.O. 1990, c. H.8, s. 53 (1); 1997, c. 12, s. 7 (1).

(1.1) Despite subsection (1), every person who drives a motor vehicle or street car on a highway while his or her driver’s license is suspended under section 41 or 42, even if it is under suspension at the same time for any other reason, is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable,

1. for a first offence, to a fine of not less than $5,000 and not more than $25,000; and
2. for each subsequent offence, to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $50,000, or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both. 1997, c. 12, s. 7 (2).

It is important to note that these fines are subject to an additional 25% victim fine surcharge. A conviction would also result in an MTO imposed mandatory six-month license suspension. The penalties for Driving While Under Suspension can be summarized as follows:

What Should I Do If the Police Have Charged Me With Driving On a Suspended License?

If you are charged with driving on a suspended license, your first phone call should be to OTD Ticket Defenders Legal Services. Your summons will list an upcoming ‘first appearance’ court date, and you will need to seek out important information to help ensure that you are making informed decisions on how to deal with this serious offence. Every case is unique depending if your situation includes careless driving, if you have too many demerit points, other traffic tickets, your suspension period, if you’re a fully licensed driver, if this is your first or second occurrence or if there is also impaired driving offences.