What is a medical suspension in Ontario?
It is a licence suspension made because of a health condition that could affect safe driving. It is not a penalty for an offence.
Ontario’s Highway Traffic Act requires doctors and certain other health professionals to report anyone 16 or older who has, or appears to have, a prescribed medical condition, functional impairment or visual impairment. That duty is one way a condition comes to the Ministry’s attention, and the licence can then be suspended until new medical evidence shows the condition does not pose a safety risk.
Ontario’s own list of reasons a licence can be suspended includes a medical condition a doctor believes could affect safe driving, and separately, failing to file a vision report. Whether a particular condition is one of the prescribed ones is a question for your doctor, not for a driving record.
The Ministry can suspend a licence with a suspension letter. Moved recently, or not sure a letter reached you? A current Ontario driving abstract shows your licence status today.
How is a medical suspension different from a penalty suspension?
A penalty suspension follows something a driver did: an offence, unpaid fines or too many demerit points. A medical suspension rests on a health condition instead. Nobody is charged with anything, and the reinstatement fee does not apply.
Medical suspension
- Based on a medical condition that could affect safe driving
- No conviction, so no demerit points
- Lifted on new medical evidence
- No licence reinstatement fee
- Left off the 3-year driver record once it has expired
Penalty suspension
- Follows things like too many points, unpaid fines or certain convictions
- Ends once its conditions are met, such as paying fines or finishing a program
- A licence reinstatement fee applies
A penalty suspension and its reinstatement stay on the 3-year record until they fall outside its window. Suspended over unpaid tickets? See licence suspensions for unpaid fines.
Does a medical suspension show on your Ontario driver abstract?
Only while it is active. An active medical suspension shows your licence as suspended. An expired one is not included on the uncertified 3-year driver record.
The expired-suspension rule comes straight from Ontario’s description of the record. Its stated exclusions are short: your address, beginner driver education, and expired medical suspensions. Otherwise it carries your identification details, your demerit point total, and the convictions, suspensions and reinstatements from the past three years. The full breakdown is in what is on an Ontario drivers abstract.
| Item | On the 3-year record? | What a reader sees |
|---|---|---|
| An active medical suspension | Yes, while it is active | Your licence shows as suspended for as long as the suspension lasts. |
| An expired medical suspension | No | One of the few items Ontario names as left off this record. |
| Penalty suspensions and reinstatements | Yes, for the past 3 years | Listed with your other history until they move outside the window. |
| Your diagnosis | No | Not among the record’s contents, which are identification details, the point total, convictions, suspensions and reinstatements. |
| A condition such as corrective lenses | Yes | Shown under conditions and endorsements, for example a requirement to wear glasses or contact lenses to drive. |
Ontario describes the record by category, not entry by entry, so the only way to know exactly what yours says is to read a current copy of your Ontario drivers abstract.
How do you get your licence back after a medical suspension?
Through new medical evidence. Once that evidence shows the condition is not a safety risk and the suspension is lifted, you can renew your licence.
Talk to your doctor
Ask your doctor or other health professional what medical evidence your condition calls for, and keep copies of everything.
Keep your paperwork together
Ontario names the Notice of Suspension letter and a medical letter among the documents that show a suspension has been lifted. Keep both where you can find them.
Clear anything else on your licence
Defaulted driver fines must be paid in full before a licence can be renewed, whatever the reason for the suspension. A separate penalty suspension follows its own rules.
Renew once the suspension is lifted
The licence reinstatement fee that applies after other suspensions does not apply to a medical one.
Find out if you need to retest
A long suspension can mean tests before you drive again. The table below sets out Ontario’s general rules for a full licence.
| How long the licence was suspended | What Ontario requires |
|---|---|
| 1 to 3 years | An eye test |
| 3 to 10 years | The written knowledge test, an eye test and both road tests (G1 and G2) |
| More than 10 years | Re-apply as a new driver and retake all required tests |
Once you are reinstated, any copy of your record issued while you were suspended is out of date, because a record keeps the status it had on the day it was issued. A fresh 3-year driver record shows your status as it is today.
Can an employer or insurer see a medical suspension?
While it is active, yes, as your licence status. Once it has expired, no. Anyone can order your 3-year driver record with your licence number, and status and class sit in the identification details every reader sees.
The 3-year record is the one most commonly used for employment, and a suspended licence means you cannot legally drive for work until it is lifted. More on that in drivers abstracts for employment.
Also on the record they read
- Licence class, expiry date, and conditions such as corrective lenses
- Convictions, suspensions and reinstatements from the past 3 years
Not on it
- Your diagnosis
- Your home address
The quickest way to know what they will read is to order your driving abstract online first.
Insurers read the record too, but the standard Ontario auto insurance application asks a wider question: whether any licence in the household was suspended or cancelled in the last six years. That looks further back than the 3-year record does. Answer it honestly, and if you are unsure how a past medical suspension fits, ask your broker before you apply.
A gap in coverage is a separate question. Ontario’s rating rules let a lapse count against you only in specific cases, such as driving uninsured during the gap, a cancellation for non-payment, or a lapse caused by a suspension after a driving conviction. A medical suspension involves no conviction. If your coverage lapsed while you could not drive, ask your broker how it applies to you. See drivers abstracts for insurance and how far back insurers check your record for the rest of the picture.
Is a missed commercial medical report the same as a medical suspension?
No. If a commercial driver’s medical report is not received by its due date, the licence is downgraded to Class G rather than suspended. File a satisfactory report within one year of the downgrade and the previous class is restored automatically, as long as nothing else is outstanding.
- Every 5 yearsMedical report under age 46
- Every 3 yearsMedical report at ages 46 to 64
- Every yearMedical report at 65 and over
That schedule applies to Class A, B, C, D, E and F licences. The report form is mailed 90 days before it is due, to the address on your driving record, so keep that address current. Ontario expects a change of address to be reported within six days. A Class M licence is kept through a downgrade.
The W condition is a separate thing. It means you may not drive a commercial vehicle in the United States because of a hearing impairment, a history of epilepsy or seizures, or monocular vision. It is a restriction, not a suspension, and Ontario’s online licence check shows it as valid with a W code.
The CVOR Driver Abstract shows your medical due date along with your licence status, so it answers when your next commercial medical is due. The truck driver guide explains which record a carrier will ask for.
How can you check what your record shows right now?
Order your 3-year driver record. It shows your current licence status and the past three years of suspensions and reinstatements, which is what an employer or insurer reading your 3-year record will see.
Ontario’s online licence status check is narrower. It returns a single result, such as Valid or Not Valid, and shows no convictions, points or suspension history. The guide on checking whether your licence is valid or suspended compares the two side by side.
If your record shows something you believe is wrong, such as a suspension you were told had been lifted, read what to do if your driving record is wrong. For a charge or a dispute, a lawyer or paralegal can advise.
When you are ready, get your driving record online: one short form, $39.99, and the PDF arrives in your inbox instantly after payment. Occasional delays can occur.
Frequently asked questions
Will an employer find out about a medical suspension that has ended?
Not from the uncertified 3-year driver record. Ontario leaves expired medical suspensions off that record, so an employer reading a current copy sees your licence status today and your other history from the past three years.
Does a medical suspension add demerit points?
No. Demerit points are added only when you are convicted of a driving offence, and a medical suspension involves no charge and no conviction.
Is there a reinstatement fee after a medical suspension?
No. The licence reinstatement fee that applies after a suspension does not apply when the licence was suspended for a medical reason.
Can an employer see my diagnosis on my driving record?
No. The 3-year driver record lists identification details, the demerit point total, and convictions, suspensions and reinstatements. A diagnosis is not part of it, although licence conditions such as needing corrective lenses to drive do appear.
Can I drive while a medical suspension is in place?
No. A medical suspension is still a suspension, and it is illegal to drive with a suspended licence in Ontario.
Will my car insurance company ask about a past medical suspension?
It may. The standard Ontario auto insurance application asks whether any licence in the household was suspended or cancelled in the last six years, which reaches further back than the 3-year driver record. A broker can tell you how to answer for your situation.
Should I get a new copy of my record after I am reinstated?
Yes, if anyone is going to ask for it. A copy issued while you were suspended still shows the suspended status, while a fresh copy shows your licence status as it is today.
How quickly can I see what my own record shows?
Order the uncertified 3-year driver record online and the PDF arrives in your inbox instantly after payment, for $39.99. Occasional delays can occur.
Sources: Mandatory medical reporting: Highway Traffic Act, section 203. Demerit points: Highway Traffic Act and Ontario Regulation 339/94 (Demerit Point System). Record contents and exclusions, suspension reasons, reinstatement steps and tests, and commercial medical, vision and hearing standards: Ministry of Transportation published guidance. Insurance: the standard Ontario Application for Automobile Insurance (OAF 1) and Regulation 664 (R.R.O. 1990) on rating.