By the ChowChow Labs editorial team · Updated October 22, 2026 · How we check our content
The short answer: Demerit points are added to your record when you’re convicted of certain driving offences, and they stay for two years from the date of the offence. A new (G1 or G2) driver is suspended for 60 days at 9 points; a fully licensed driver is suspended for 30 days at 15 points. Some offences by new drivers bring an immediate escalating suspension instead.
Points for common offences
This is a summary of the main offences that appear on the G1 test, not the full legal list.
| Points | Examples |
|---|---|
| 7 | Leaving the scene of a collision; failing to stop for police |
| 6 | Careless driving; racing; 50 km/h or more over the limit; 40 km/h or more over where the limit is under 80 km/h; failing to stop for a school bus |
| 5 | Bus driver failing to stop at an unprotected railway crossing |
| 4 | 30 to 49 km/h over the limit; following too closely; failing to stop at a pedestrian crossover |
| 3 | 16 to 29 km/h over; hand-held phone or entertainment device; failing to yield; running a stop sign, red light or railway signal; going around a railway gate; wrong way on a one-way or divided road; failing to report a collision; failing to slow down and move over for a stopped emergency vehicle or tow truck |
| 2 | Not wearing a seatbelt; not buckling up a passenger under 16 or a child; failing to signal; prohibited turns; not dimming high beams; failing to share the road; unnecessarily slow driving; reversing on a highway |
What happens as points add up
| Points | New driver (G1, G2) | Fully licensed (G) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 5 | Warning letter | No action |
| 6 to 8 | Second warning letter | Warning letter |
| 9 to 14 | 60-day suspension | Second warning letter |
| 15 or more | (already suspended at 9) | 30-day suspension |
After a demerit suspension, points are reduced to 4 for a new driver and 7 for a fully licensed driver. Reaching the limit again brings a six-month suspension.
Escalating sanctions for new drivers
G1 and G2 drivers who break a condition of their licence (for example, any alcohol, or driving alone on a G1), or who are convicted of an offence worth 4 or more points, face escalating suspensions: 30 days the first time, 90 days the second, and the licence is cancelled the third time. The points for that offence are recorded as zero, so they don’t also count toward the 9-point limit.
Common mix-ups
- Two years from the offence, not the conviction. Points drop off two years after the date you committed the offence.
- Speeding bands. 16 to 29 over is 3 points, 30 to 49 over is 4, and 50 or more is 6. On roads under 80 km/h, 40 or more over is already 6.
- Crossover vs crosswalk. Failing to stop at a pedestrian crossover is 4 points, more than most right-of-way offences.
- Alcohol penalties are separate. Warn-range and zero-tolerance suspensions are immediate roadside suspensions, not demerit points.
- School bus owners. If a car passes a stopped school bus, its owner can be fined but doesn’t get demerit points; the driver, if convicted, gets 6.
- Out-of-province tickets count. Convictions in other provinces and territories, New York and Michigan are added as if they happened in Ontario.
Official source
See Keeping Your Driver’s Licence in the MTO Driver’s Handbook and Ontario’s page on understanding demerit points. Checked October 2026. Laws change, so check those pages for the current rules before you rely on a number.
Check yourself
Try these 6 questions from our free mock exams, then tap Show answer. For more, take the rules of the road practice test.
Question 1 · Demerit Points & Suspensions
How long do demerit points count against your record?
- A. One year after the offence
- B. Two years after the offence
- C. Five years after the offence
- D. Until your licence is renewed
Show answer
Answer: B. Two years after the offence
Points remain for two years, counted from the day of the offence.
Question 2 · Demerit Points & Suspensions
Once a novice driver's demerit-point suspension is over, their point total is set back to:
- A. Zero
- B. Two
- C. Six
- D. Four
Show answer
Answer: D. Four
When the suspension ends, a novice driver's total is reset to four points.
Question 3 · Demerit Points & Suspensions
After a fully licensed driver's suspension for demerit points ends, their points are reduced to:
- A. Seven
- B. Zero
- C. Five
- D. Nine
Show answer
Answer: A. Seven
Once a fully licensed driver has served the demerit suspension, their record is set back to seven points.
Question 4 · Alcohol & Drugs
Blood-alcohol levels from .05 to .08 are known as the:
- A. Safe range
- B. Warn range
- C. Learner range
- D. Zero-tolerance range
Show answer
Answer: B. Warn range
Between .05 and .08 is the 'warn range', which carries roadside suspensions.
Question 5 · Alcohol & Drugs
A driver aged 21 or under who has any alcohol in their system receives an immediate:
- A. 24-hour roadside suspension
- B. Verbal warning only
- C. 7-day licence suspension
- D. Fine with no suspension
Show answer
Answer: A. 24-hour roadside suspension
A 24-hour roadside suspension applies immediately, with a minimum 30-day suspension on conviction.
Question 6 · Alcohol & Drugs
What blood-alcohol level is allowed for a driver aged 21 or younger, whatever their licence class?
- A. .02%
- B. .05%
- C. Zero
- D. .08%
Show answer
Answer: C. Zero
Young drivers may have no alcohol in their system at all.
Next: G1 rules and restrictions. Zero alcohol, your accompanying driver, highways you can't use, night driving, and how G2 differs.