Ontario to require six months of full G license experience before Class A road test
Ontario is introducing a new experience requirement for Class A truck license applicants, requiring drivers to hold a full Ontario Class G license or equivalent for at least six months before taking a Class A road test beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
The Ministry of Transportation said the change is intended to improve safety outcomes and ensure new Class A drivers have sufficient on-road experience before advancing to commercial vehicle operation.
Under the new rule, applicants seeking a full Class A license must hold a valid Ontario Class G license or a higher-class license that permits operation of Class G vehicles, including A(R), B, C, D, E or F licenses, for at least six months before attempting the Class A road test. G1, G2, M, M1 and M2 licenses will not qualify.
The six-month period begins on the date a driver first obtains a full Ontario Class G license. Equivalent driving experience from other Canadian provinces and territories may be recognized and counted toward the requirement under existing license exchange policies.
According to amendments filed June 19, applicants must have been fully licensed in a Class G-equivalent category for at least six of the previous 12 months before taking a Class A road test. Drivers from other Canadian jurisdictions may also qualify if they held an equivalent license for at least 24 of the preceding 36 months. Military drivers holding an equivalent DND 404 permit are also included.
MELT can be completed during waiting period
The ministry said the waiting period applies only to full Class A licenses, including manual and automatic transmission versions. It does not apply to restricted Class A licenses or other commercial license classes. The six months of license time do not have to be consecutive but must total at least six months within a 12-month period.
Applicants will still be able to complete other licensing requirements during the waiting period, including medical examinations, knowledge testing and mandatory entry-level training. However, the road test cannot be taken until the six-month requirement has been satisfied.
Industry groups largely welcomed the changes.
Industry groups welcome decision
“The PMTC has consulted with the province on this file and is in favor of the changes requiring a mandatory waiting period of six months after an applicant has obtained their Class G license,” said Mike Millian, president of the Private Motor Truck Council of Canada.
“The data proves that requiring a person to gain some experience first on a lower class of vehicle allows the driver to gain experience and confidence. Requiring this before moving to a higher class of license will help in accident reduction going forward. The waiting period strikes a good balance between requiring that experience, while not being so long that it discourages the younger generation from entering the field.”
Narinder Singh Jaswal, president of the Ontario Commercial Truck Training Association said the organization supports a clear and structured pathway for obtaining a Class A license.
He highlighted the importance of strong residency verification, noting that commercial licenses should be issued only to individuals who can provide valid proof of legal status in Canada, such as permanent residency or citizenship. The organization believes these measures help maintain training standards, ensure fairness in the system, and improve overall road safety in Ontario.
The Truck Training Association of Ontario also supports the regulatory changes but says one aspect should be reconsidered.
TTSAO suggests a tweak
TTSAO chairman Ken Adams said a driver who progresses through Ontario’s graduated licensing system can obtain a full G license within 18 months if they complete an approved beginner driver education program. After an additional six months, that individual would become eligible to take a Class A road test.
However, Adams noted that a G2 driver can legally operate independently for up to five years before obtaining a full G license. As a result, someone who remains at the G2 stage longer to gain additional driving experience could face a longer wait before becoming eligible for a Class A license than a driver who followed the minimum timeline to obtain a full G license.
To address that issue, Adams suggested exempting drivers who spend at least 18 months with a G2 license before advancing to a full G license from the additional six-month waiting period.
He added that the primary practical difference between operating under a G2 and a full G license is the stricter zero-alcohol requirement imposed on G2 drivers and said TTSAO considers alcohol abstinence a best practice for all drivers regardless of license class.
The Class A changes are part of a broader package of driver licensing updates announced by the ministry.
Foreign driving experience
The ministry is also changing how foreign driving experience is recognized for drivers coming from jurisdictions that do not have reciprocal license exchange agreements with Ontario. Those changes take effect July 1, 2026.
Under the new rules, applicants seeking a Class G license from a non-reciprocal jurisdiction will receive a maximum of 12 months of credit for foreign driving experience, regardless of how much verified experience they can provide.
Drivers from those jurisdictions will be required to complete both the Class G2 and Class G road tests. They will also face a mandatory 12-month waiting period after passing the G2 road test before becoming eligible to attempt the Class G road test, regardless of previous driving experience.
Applicants with 12 months of verified driving experience will be able to take the G2 road test immediately and, if successful, drive independently. However, they will still be required to wait one year before attempting the final Class G road test.
Change aimed at strengthening licencing requirements
Millian said PMTC also supports those changes.
“We also support the waiting periods being added for non-reciprocal license exchange jurisdictions as well. This change is necessary to ensure that individuals not used to our geography and environment gain the required experience on a lower class of vehicle first to ensure a safe transition prior to obtaining a Class A license,” he said.
The ministry said non-reciprocal licenses and supporting documents are often difficult to authenticate because of limited security features.
It said the changes are designed to strengthen licensing requirements, support program integrity, reduce fraud and better align Ontario’s system with practices used in other jurisdictions.
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So is it mandatory that a person trying to get a drivers license in Canada be able to speak and read in one of our two recognized languages? Also, I have seen some bad accidents involving D class trucks, why is D not on the radar?
This the same idea I suggested 4 years ago
This is Great news
Having experience behind the wheel of a Class G vehicle has to be a prerequisite of any commercial driver training program.
The idea of obtaining your full G at 18 years of age after taking a few lessons and passing your drivers exam with no real driving experience and then jumping into a big truck and training along side the general public is horrifying.
So its a great step forward. It would be even better if the experience was qualified with both city and highway experience but that is likely a bridge too far.
Again a great step forward but you still have the complete lack of true enforcement for the truck training sector in general and unless you put MTO Officers working side by side with PCC inspectors the public will not see an increase in road safety and that is fact.
We need trucking subject matter experts to be attending and auditing truck training schools with the ability to conduct facility audits, lay charges and pull plates on the spot.
We need MTO Enforcements Officers not only staffing our scales but at least once a month at the Drive Test testing locations conducting routine inspections.
Couple years back a truck training school had its tractor inspected during a blitz. The truck, with the students in the truck, training at the time, left the temporary inspection station on the back of a tow truck less its plates.
6 out of 10 tires lacked sufficient tread.
Before being pulled out of service that same truck was utilized for drive test purposes at least 5 times with the same set of tires!
Not only do we need our PCC Inspectors but we need the MTO Officers as well! Nothing has really changed over the past some 30 years and nothing really will until we have a crack team of MTO officers enforcing HTA regulations and truck training standards.
Still solves nothing, from a G to an A license is a big jump. It should be graduated G to a D to an A license. If they can’t drive a D truck then they can’t drive an A tractor. Every morning I watch the “South Asian” rodeo at a warehouse beside our business. After 50 years in this business as a driver its like watching a comedy show. If they aint bouncing off one another its taking longer than it should to back into the docks. I’ve had these drivers want other drivers to back their trucks into the docks. I’d be embarrassed to ask another driver to park my truck in the dock. Northern Ontario is a killing field according to an OPP officer I had a conversation with. This plan might slow down the process for getting an A license but solve the problem?. Thank Christ I’m coming to the end of my driving career, the things I’ve seen and witnessed makes me wonder about these folks thought process. At least “Crabmeat” is putting on a good show, Doug Ford should be ashamed of his minister of Transport. Last south asian Minister of Transport Ontario had was running his trucking company while in office. ???
This fixes nothing. Road tests are a joke – for any class. For AZ, more time is wasted on demonstrating and answering Schedule 1 questions on defroster operation and wipers than skill – FYI get one of this demos wrong and you fail – hit every curb, not have great handling skills or take the full 10 min on a backing manoeuvre that should take no more than a minute – memorize the standard answers for Schedule 1 but have less than 30 points and YOU PASS. Decades of safe driving in all conditions and plenty of knowledge but can’t answer the questions in the manner required by DriveTest (Serco) and you fail.
Getting a G licence in a compact car with minimal training is useless. All that does is build poor habits that need to be unlearned. I would rather see a much more rigorous road test with training ONLY at dedicated education centres around the province. Our training and licensing needs to be completely rethought and reworked.
Combined with strict enforcement of Driver Inc. and unsafe carriers we might see a decline in highway deaths.