Line 5 on your paper · the licence
Your paper says 90 days.
A 90-day licence suspension in Ontario starts at the roadside, the night of the stop, before any court date. The police issue it, not a judge, and it runs whatever happens in court. Know when you can drive again, where to find Ontario's steps to get your licence back, and how to plan the 90 days.
Starts at the roadside
Count your 90 days.
Put in the date on the notice. The counter shows where you are in the 90 days.
Count your daysThe car. Impounded at the roadside. The registered owner collects it after day 7 and pays the tow and storage.
The licence. Suspended by the police, not a court, starting the same night.
The court date. The criminal case starts here, at the courthouse on line 3.
The notice, word by word
It started at the roadside. It isn't the court case.
Driving while suspended is its own charge. Driving to court on it would be a new charge.
No driving.
Ontario suspends the licence on the spot after a reading of 0.08 or more, a refused test, or a poor performance on the police "Drug Recognition Expert" evaluation (ontario.ca).
Starts at the roadside.
It runs on its own clock. It doesn't wait for a court date, and a court date doesn't stop it.
From the police, not a court.
It is a provincial suspension. It says nothing about guilt. Charged is not convicted.
After day 90
Getting the licence back.
Ontario's steps to get your licence back are on ontario.ca: Reinstate a suspended driver's licence. A suspension that can follow a conviction is a separate thing: first offence: what the law sets.
Ninety days on the TTC. The court date is still yours to get to.
Two questions people ask next
Driving sooner, and getting to court.
- Driving sooner. Ontario's Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock Conduct Review Program applies to the licence suspension after an alcohol impaired conviction, not to the roadside 90 days. Ontario's steps are on ontario.ca: Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock.
- Getting to court. No licence. Still on time. Your courthouse page has the trip: which courthouse is on it?
About this notice
Asked about the 90 days.
Can I drive during the 90-day suspension?
No. The suspension starts at the roadside, the night of the stop. Driving while suspended is its own charge, separate from the impaired driving case. If you have a court date, plan the trip there without driving.
Does the 90-day suspension mean I'm guilty?
No. The police issued it at the roadside, not a court. It runs on its own, whatever the court decides later. Charged is not convicted.
Can the 90 days be shortened?
The 90 days run from the roadside. Ontario's Reduced Suspension with Ignition Interlock Conduct Review Program deals with the suspension that follows a conviction, not the 90 days. Whether anything changes your 90 days is a question for the call.
Talk it through
Talk through your 90-day notice.
Say the date on the notice and which papers you have. No need to explain what happened.