* UPDATE * On February 9, 2022, the Ontario government announced that it is extending the requirement to renew health cards until September 30, 2022. Ontarians may continue to use their expired health cards to access health care services, and health care providers may continue to accept expired health cards, until the new deadline.
On September 1, 2021, the Ontario government reinstated the renewal requirements for health cards, driver’s licences, licence plate stickers, and Ontario photo cards which would have expired on or after March 1, 2020, but the expiry dates of which were extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
What is the New Renewal Deadline?
Most Ontarians will have until February 28, 2022, to renew such health cards, driver’s licences, licence plate stickers, and Ontario photo cards. However, heavy commercial vehicle owners must renew their vehicle validations by December 31, 2021. In addition, novice licence holders (holding class G1, G2, M1, or M2 driver’s licences) will have until December 31, 2022, to requalify for or upgrade their driver’s licences.
For more information on renewal deadlines, please click here.
What Happens if I Fail to Renew by the Deadline?
In addition to having invalid provincial documents, those individuals who fail to renew their health cards, driver’s licences, licence plate stickers, or Ontario photo cards by the applicable deadline will be required not only to pay the current year’s renewal fee, but also to pay the applicable fee for previous year or years.
Where Can I Renew My Ontario Document?
The government is encouraging Ontarians to complete the renewals online through the ServiceOntario’s website. To that end, the government temporarily waived the requirements for certain individuals, such as senior drivers, to renew their driver’s licences in person.
To renew your driver’s licence online and have the products mailed directly to you, please click here. Click here to renew your driver’s licence and health card together online. To renew your licence plate stickers online and have the products mailed directly to you, please visit ServiceOntario.ca/PlateSticker. You may also complete the renewal by visiting a ServiceOntario centre. You can book an appointment here.
This blog post was written by Marina Abrosimov, a member of the Business Law team. Marina can be reached at 613-369-0363 or at marina.abrosimov@mannlawyers.com.
