Impaired driving and DUI charges · Toronto and the GTA
Charged with impaired driving in Toronto? Get a call back about your paper.
A charge is not a conviction. Book a callback and a criminal defence lawyer goes over your paper with you: the charge, your licence, your car and what to do before your first court date.
Your paper, line by line
Take out the paper they gave you.
Almost everything that happens next is written on it. Tap a highlighted line to read it in plain words.
or undertaking Your copy.
Bring it to court.
Sample paper. Yours may look different. The lines are what matter.
Line 1 · the charge
320.14(1)(b) is "over 80".
Your breath or blood reading was 80 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood or more, within two hours of driving. It's a criminal charge. It is not a conviction.
Read the over 80 line in fullHolding a different paper? What did they hand you?
Count the days
Four dates. Only one is up to a court.
Before any judge saw anything, three of them were already set. Put in the date you were stopped and they move with it.
Example shown: yesterday. The dates on your own notices are the ones that count.
- Day 0 · the stop
Licence suspended at the roadside. Car towed. Papers handed over.
- Day 7 · the car
The impound ends. The registered owner collects the car and pays the tow and storage, even if someone else was driving.
- Day ? · the charge
On your paper
The first court appearance. Often a few weeks out, and not a trial. Find your courthouse.
The only one a court decides.
- Day 90 · the licence
The suspension ends. The suspension and the impound keep running whatever happens in court.
If it doesn't
The roadside suspension and impound stay served, and nothing more comes from the charge. Which way yours can go is the question for the call, with your papers in front of you.
Then
Talk it through,
paper in hand.
You'll hear what your lines mean for you, not for a sample.
Information on this site is general. It isn't legal advice for your case.
What the paper doesn't say
Ninety days on the TTC.
- Get the car out after day 7.Bring the ownership, ID and payment for the tow and storage.
- Plan rides now.Work, school runs, the courthouse. The suspension covers every vehicle, a work truck included.
- Put both dates in your phone.Court and fingerprints are two separate appointments, in two different places.
- Keep every paper together.Have them in hand for your first call with a lawyer.
Line 3 on your paper
Which courthouse is on it?
Each one gets its own page: where it is, how to get there without a car, and what an impaired driving first appearance looks like inside.
- Toronto10 Armoury St
Six old Toronto courthouses, now oneFirst appearance guide - BramptonA. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse
7755 Hurontario StFirst appearance guide - OshawaOshawa courthouse (Durham)
150 Bond St EFirst appearance guide - NewmarketNewmarket Courthouse
50 Eagle St WFirst appearance guide - MiltonMilton courthouse
491 Steeles Ave EFirst appearance guide
Every line, in plain words
Find your line.
Copy what's printed on your paper, find it below, and read what it means.
Common questions
The questions people ask on the first call.
Do I have to go to the first court date myself?
Yes, plan on it. If you don't have a lawyer yet, go yourself. A missed court date can lead to a warrant.
Can I drive while the 90 days run?
No. The suspension starts at the roadside and runs no matter how the court case goes. It covers every vehicle, a work vehicle included.
Is over 80 a criminal charge?
Yes. It's under the Criminal Code. Being charged is not being convicted.
Book a callback
Have the paper next to you when the phone rings.
Four details and a time. That's all a callback needs.