The Ontario 5-year driver record: what it adds to the 3-year one, and how it arrives

The 5-year driver record is one of the ministry's longer-term records. In the ministry's own words it includes driver identification details, the demerit point total, and "convictions, suspensions and reinstatements under the Highway Traffic Act for the past 3 years and under the Criminal Code of Canada for the past 5 years"; it does not include the driver's address or driver's education courses. It is ordered online against the driver's licence number and a stated reason, and is "processed within 15 business days and then sent by regular mail via Canada Post" to "the Ontario residential address we have on file". The ministry says "A driver can order any longer-term record, letter or document for themselves"; we order it for you as your own record, at $40.00 all in.

What the extra two years actually cover

Read the ministry's sentence carefully, because it is narrower than "five years of everything". Highway Traffic Act convictions, suspensions and reinstatements still cover the past 3 years, exactly as on the 3-year record. What reaches back 5 years is the Criminal Code of Canada convictions. So the 5-year record is the 3-year record plus two more years of criminal driving convictions, not a longer view of speeding tickets.

If what you were asked for is "a longer driving history" for its own sake, that is the record. If what you were asked for is a 3-year record, the extra two years add nothing you need and cost you the fifteen business days - what the 3-year record shows is the comparison to make before you choose.

Who may order it, in the ministry's words

The ministry's longer-term records page says: "A driver can order any longer-term record, letter or document for themselves." For the 5-year record it names lawyers and Canadian law enforcement as the other requesters. That is a different rule from the 3-year record, which anyone may order with a licence number.

We order it only as your own record: the licence number must be yours, and the form says so before you pay. The ministry then posts it to the residential address it already has on file for that licence - not to an address you give us, and never to us. If you have moved and not updated your licence, update it with ServiceOntario before ordering, because that is where the envelope goes and nobody can redirect it. Who may order which Ontario record sets out the ministry's rule for each one.

How long, and what it costs

Fifteen business days of processing, then Canada Post: allow three to four weeks. There is no instant version of any longer-term record, and no third party makes it faster. Through us the uncertified record is $40.00 all in, one charge.

Common questions

Is the 5-year record emailed?

No. The ministry states that longer-term records are processed within 15 business days and then sent by regular mail via Canada Post, to the Ontario residential address it has on file. The 3-year uncertified record is the only one it emails.

Can I have it posted to a different address?

Not through the online order: the ministry's page says records will be sent to the Ontario residential address it has on file. Change your address with ServiceOntario first if it is out of date.

Can someone else order my 5-year record?

The ministry says a driver can order it for themselves, and names lawyers and Canadian law enforcement as the other requesters. That is why our form asks you to confirm the licence number is your own.

What we could not confirm

These are things this page would have liked to tell you and could not find on a Ministry of Transportation or ServiceOntario page. Rather than guess, they are listed.

  • What the online form's "reason for your request" field accepts. The ministry's page says the requester must enter a reason but does not list the options; this page is updated once the form has been read on a live order.

Sources

Everything on this page is checked against a page published by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Transportation. Nothing is taken from another commercial site.

Checked .

Next: what the 3-year Ontario driver record shows, and what it leaves out , or who is allowed to order an Ontario driver record , or how long does an Ontario driver's abstract take? .

This is a guide, not a sales page, which is why there is no price on it. If you do want us to order the record for you, that is what we do.