RoutesR3Renewals
Renewing your Ontario driver’s licence, health card and licence plate online, without a trip to ServiceOntario
Who can renew online, what each renewal costs, the documents and numbers to have ready, and why your licence plate may already have renewed itself.
By Saliem TalashToronto6 stops · 5 min
Ontario’s three most common renewals, the driver’s licence, the health card and the licence plate, can mostly be done online. The trouble is that each one has its own eligibility rules, and finding out you are not eligible halfway through the online form is how people end up in a ServiceOntario line anyway.
This guide pulls the rules together from the Government of Ontario’s own pages, as they read on October 1, 2026. I’m Saliem Talash, I build practical tools for small businesses in Toronto, and this is the kind of admin that is easiest done before the expiry date, not on it.
Before you start: check the dates
Pull out your driver’s licence and health card and look at both expiry dates. Then put them in your calendar with a reminder a month ahead.
Ontario also offers free reminders. The province’s pages say you can sign up for renewal reminders “by email, text message, or phone call” for your driver’s licence and health card. It takes a minute and is worth doing for everyone in the household.
The driver’s licence
How often: an Ontario driver’s licence is valid for 5 years, and you must renew it every 5 years, online or at a ServiceOntario centre.
Cost: the province lists the fee as $90 for a 5-year licence. The fee can vary if the renewal period is not a full 5 years, for example when your licence expiry is being changed to match your health card.
Who can renew online. According to the province, you can renew online if you:
- have a full licence (G, M or GM class) that isn’t cancelled or suspended, or a combination class such as G1M or GM2, in which case only the full portion is renewed online;
- haven’t updated your address within the last 90 days;
- don’t need tests (vision, written or road);
- have no new medical conditions that may prevent you from driving;
- don’t have outstanding fines or penalties.
What you need: the 7-digit trillium number on the back of your driver’s licence, and your health card if you are renewing both at once.
When it arrives: your new card arrives in the mail within 4 to 6 weeks.
The temporary document. If your licence has already expired, or you renew online within 28 days of the expiry date, you receive a temporary validation document. The province says to download it, print it, and keep it with your old licence until the new card arrives. If you renew earlier than that, you avoid the paper step entirely, which is one more reason to do it early.
Photos. You may need a new licence photo every 10 years, which means an in-person visit. You can also have your photo retaken at any time for $35.75.
If you moved recently. This is the most common reason online renewal fails. You cannot renew online within 90 days of changing your address. The province’s options are to visit a ServiceOntario centre to update both your address and licence, or to update your address online and then renew in person.
The health card
How often: you must renew your health card every 5 years. You need a valid card for coverage through the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP).
Cost: the province says plainly: “Renewing an Ontario health card is free.”
Renewing online. You can renew online using a valid driver’s licence or a valid Ontario Photo Card as proof of identity and residency. You will need a printer, because the province says it is important to “download, print and carry the temporary document(s).” Renewing the health card this way does not renew your driver’s licence.
When it arrives: the renewed card is mailed in approximately 4 to 6 weeks.
Renewing in person. If you cannot renew online, bring proof of Ontario residency and identity from the Ontario Health Coverage Document List, your most recent citizenship or immigration document if your status has changed, and your marriage certificate if you are applying under a married name for the first time. You may be able to book an appointment ahead, and the province also mentions virtual appointments with a ServiceOntario representative.
One detail worth knowing before a long trip: if your card has already expired, or you have been out of the province for more than 7 months in the last 12, you may be asked for additional documents to confirm Ontario is your primary residence.
Renewing an Ontario health card is free.
Renewing both at once
If your driver’s licence and health card expire at the same time and you don’t need a new photo or signature, you may be able to renew both together online. You need your current driver’s licence, a Visa or Mastercard to pay the licence fee, and a printer for the temporary document. It is the fastest way to clear both for another five years.
The licence plate: it may have renewed itself
Many drivers still remember buying a sticker each year. That is no longer how it works for most personal vehicles.
The province’s page says your licence plate is automatically renewed 90 days before expiration if it is eligible. Eligible vehicles include passenger vehicles, light commercial vehicles under 3,000 kg, motorcycles and mopeds. For the automatic renewal to happen, you must have valid insurance and no outstanding fines or tolls.
Two things surprise people:
- You may hear nothing. The province says: “If your licence plate was automatically renewed, we will not contact you.” You can check your plate’s status online.
- Not every plate renews itself. Heavy commercial vehicles, plates held as a business owner, and snow vehicles must still be renewed online or in person. If your business owns its vehicle, check which kind of plate you have.
If your plate cannot renew automatically, usually because of an insurance problem or unpaid fines or tolls, the province contacts you. If you signed up for digital reminders, you are notified 90, 45 and 10 days before expiry. If not, a letter is mailed 90 days before. A final reminder comes 72 hours after the plate expires. Once you fix the insurance or pay what is owed, you renew manually, online or in person.
The province also asks you to update your address within 6 days after you move, so its mail reaches you.
If your licence plate was automatically renewed, we will not contact you.
A ten-minute household check
- Write down every licence, health card and plate expiry date in the household.
- Sign up for ServiceOntario’s free reminders.
- Moved this year? Update your address first, then wait out the 90 days before renewing a licence online.
- Renew a licence early, more than 28 days before expiry, to skip the temporary paper.
- Check that each plate shows as valid, especially if insurance changed this year.
I keep short, practical guides like this on my own site, and longer pieces on ZELR. Fees and rules change; the province’s pages below are the authority.
Sources
- Government of Ontario: Renew a driver’s licenceontario.ca
- Government of Ontario: Health card renewalontario.ca
- Government of Ontario: Licence plate renewalsontario.ca
Drafted with AI assistance.