Ontario Drivers Licence

Yesterday we decided we'd start the process for exchanging our BC Drivers Licences for Ontario ones. When we went through this process in BC it was relatively easy; just fill out a form, pay some money, have a photo taken and hand over our NZ cards. We naively hoped that this time would be the same.

The transaction happens at a DriveTest Centre, who handle driver licensing, road tests, etc., kinda like what the AA does in NZ. We arrived at the Centre at midday and stood for about 15 minutes in a long queue for the front desk. We told the lady at the counter what we were there for, and she photocopied our passports, gave us some numbered chits, and told us to wait for our numbers to be called.

The place has about 10 counters, each with a display above them announcing the current ticket that they were serving. We had tickets beginning with 'B', but most of the ones being called to the counters started with A or C, with a few W's, S's and Z's thrown in as well. Eventually, a B got called, but it was a number about 20 before ours!

We waited around for two and a half hours (the whole time with Katie making exasperated sighs every time a number was called) before it was finally our turn. Katie was holding the number that had just come up, so she went up to the counter first. I went up with her to see if we could be processed together to save time, but the guy told me nope, I had to wait.

I sat back down and watched Katie's interaction. I was getting a little concerned, as the guy seemed to be telling her lots of stuff, rather than just processing the form we'd filled out. Eventually, she turned around and walked back over, looking crestfallen. They wouldn't give her a full licence, only a restricted one! I didn't have time to get the story, however, as my number had just been called.

I went up to the same counter, and the guy asked if I was in the same situation as my... he stumbled for a second, gesturing back at Katie... "Fiance," I prompted. I said, "Yeah, probably, but I don't know what the situation is?" He then explained that because we'd only been issued BC licences 11 months ago, we wouldn't be eligible for a full Ontario licence. We could get G2 licences (similar to a restricted licence in NZ, but with no time and minimal passenger restriction), and come back in a year for a road test. I explained that obviously, we had qualified for a full BC licence, so surely we had enough driving history. Unfortunately BC's system didn't list any details of our previous NZ licences, so the only information they had on us was that we'd had a licence for 11 months. The fact that it was a full licence didn't seem to matter. If we still had our NZ licences, then it would be a different story, but we'd handed them over in exchange for the BC ones.

He did, however, give us a way out! He said that perhaps we could ring up ICBC (the organisation in BC that handles licensing) and get a letter from them stating that they'd taken our NZ licences and that those licences showed at least two years of driving history. All was not lost! Apart from half a day...

On the way home, Katie looked up an alternative, should we need it. She found that NZ could send us replacement licences if we could send them a certified copy of our passport. We could then use those licences to exchange directly for Ontario ones and leave the BC ones out of the picture.

As soon as we got home, I called ICBC. They're on the west coast, 3 hours behind us, so even though it was almost 5pm in Toronto, there was a good chance that I'd be able to talk to someone in Vancouver. Thankfully the wait time on the phone was only about a minute! I explained the situation to the lady who answered, who understood exactly what I was asking for. She could send me a letter or an email stating that I'd exchanged a foreign licence for my BC licence and that the foreign licence had at least 24 months of experience listed on it. That was exactly what we needed!

I received the email almost immediately after the call ended. The next problem to solve was how to get it printed. Katie had been considering buying a printer (you can get a cheap one for $40) but had recently discovered that the nearby library that she'd joined offered printing for $0.15/page. The service is actually quite cool; you log in to the library website from home, and then upload a PDF or provide a URL of the thing you want to print, and then submit the job. Once you get to the library, you just scan your library card, and the printer retrieves your document and prints it for you! Katie had to leave for work, so I walked over to the library to pick up the printed file.

I needed to get licensed as soon as possible, as our car registration needs to be renewed in a couple of weeks. Because we now live in Ontario, we have to change the registration of the car to Ontario (new plates, insurance, etc.), which we can only do with a valid Ontario drivers licence. As I had nothing to do today, Katie dropped me off at the DriveTest Centre on her way to work.

Unfortunately, I was there about 20 minutes before they opened, and the current windchill number was a bone-chilling -22°C. There was already a queue of at least 20 people waiting outside, most very warmly wrapped up with fluffy hoods and balaclavas, but a few looking very miserable in only a thick jumper. I came prepared though, with my merino hoodie, a warm jacket, a toque, and gloves and toughed it out until the place opened at 8:30am.

I only had to sit around for about 10 minutes this time! I handed over the form I'd filled out while waiting, along with my passport, licence, and the letter from ICBC. The lady at the counter asked if ICBC had mailed me that letter, and I said no it had been emailed the night before. She went off to talk to her supervisor for about 10 minutes and came back with some bad news. Apparently, I needed to print the actual email that the letter had been attached to, to prove that it had actually come from ICBC (?!). It wasn't enough that I could show her the email on my phone, she needed to file it with the licence application. Kindly, she mentioned that there was an internet cafe around the corner where I could probably print it, and then I could just come straight back to her counter without waiting in line again.

$1.50 later I was back at her counter, and she started working through the process. After a couple of minutes, she looked up at me and said there was another problem. I think I might have looked a bit panicked because she quickly said "Don't worry! You're getting your licence today!". Turned out the issue was with my motorcycle licence. Ontario doesn't do motorcycle licence exchanges with New Zealand (only car licences), so even though I had a full endorsement on my BC licence I would only be receiving an M2 (again, like a restricted licence) motorcycle licence in Ontario. Relieved, I told her that was absolutely fine. We finalised the deal with an eye test and a $90 licensing fee, and then I was handed over my Ontario Temporary Driver's Licence!