One of the most important responsibilities as a driver in Ontario was to remember to renew your Ontario licence plate stickers. Luckily, since 2022, that has now changed. Drivers are no longer required to renew their licence plate stickers. However, it’s still a requirement to keep your licence plate up-to-date every one to two years. This process may seem confusing, but we’ve broken down exactly what you need to know below.
*Changes have been made to licence plate sticker renewals
ServiceOntario will be eliminating Ontario licence plate stickers for individually-owned passenger vehicles, light-duty trucks and motorcycles. If in between March 1, 2020 and March 12, 2022 you renewed one of these vehicle’s license plate stickers, you would have received a refund cheque in the mail.
You must also pay any outstanding fines, fees, or tolls. The elimination of renewal fees will save vehicle owners $120 a year in Southern Ontario and $60 a year in Northern Ontario.
However, please be aware that it is still a mandatory requirement to renew your licence plate every 1-2 years at no cost!
To renew your licence plate, you’ll need:
- Licence plate number
- Vehicle permit number
- Insurance company name and policy number
- Odometer reading
- To pay any outstanding fines, tolls, or fees
- To pay for your renewal fees
- An emissions test, if you are renewing for a heavy-duty diesel vehicle
- Find out if you need an emissions test
All renewals are permitted online except for farm or heavy commercial vehicles over 3000 kgs.
To pay for your renewal online, you can use:
- Visa or Mastercard credit cards
- Interac Online
Visa and Mastercard Debit cards are not currently accepted as forms of payment, even if the cards have the Interac logo on them.
If you are paying in person, you can use:
- Cash
- Cheque (personal cheques must be certified, company cheques must have the company’s name pre-printed on them, and cheques must be made payable to the Minister of Finance)
- Money order
- Visa
- Mastercard
- Interac
If you order your renewal online, it will likely arrive within 14 days. When purchasing your renewal in person, you will receive it at ServiceOntario.
We hope this answers your questions about renewing your license plate sticker. Feel free to visit the ServiceOntario website if you have additional questions.
