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Driver record from California for DL exchange in Ontario

letsgotocan

Star Member
May 16, 2018
56
16
thank you for your reply and I really appreciate you sharing your experience.. That's so fortunate! So sad I just renewed my DL earlier this year. Not sure how it'll turn out :(
By the way may I ask which insurance broker you go with? I called an insurance broker and he asked me for 1) an official driver' record from DMV (which apparently will be less a year) and 2) letter of experience from all my past insurance companies. Is it normal?
You are welcome! If you don’t have the official driver record from dmv showing at least 2 years of history then unless you are extremely lucky you won’t get your G license and that will make life difficult. 1. Your insurance rates become very high 2. You drive with lots of restrictions. Even with such tiered license system I found drivers in Ontario pretty aggressive compared to California, but that’s another discussion altogether.

And yes, insurance guys do ask for the driver history record + insurance history.
 

th1ru

Full Member
Jul 9, 2018
35
25
For anyone reading this thread in the future -

If a drive test center say they can only give G2, keep trying other drive test centers for G license (show your insurance history + old licenses). You may get lucky. I didn't but came across a few that did.
 

BeJeth

Newbie
Dec 29, 2019
3
0
In Ontario, you need the document mailed to you from the dmv. They dont accept the print outs given by the local office or from online. They are adamant in not accepting even if you show the driver license, seems that they think that all are fake. So dont take chances, you will have to get the document mailed from dmv head office hence request soon and get it while moving.
So use the form https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/dr/welcome INF1125 (PDF). Possibly get the certified one(seems no charge).
This should have the date issued and expiry.

FYI - I moved from MI, not from CA.

Hi - I moved from Michigan and running into same issue, MI SOS issued driving history with current license. Then I called SOS they sent me another letter with original issue date of my license. However, drive test officer rejected it saying then need full history. Can you guide me how can I get it from MI SOS?
 

harirajmohan

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Hi - I moved from Michigan and running into same issue, MI SOS issued driving history with current license. Then I called SOS they sent me another letter with original issue date of my license. However, drive test officer rejected it saying then need full history. Can you guide me how can I get it from MI SOS?
SEnd the form to lansing to request the history.
https://www.michigan.gov/sos/0,4670,7-127-1627_8996-31868--,00.html

SOS letter/document is waste. Windsor location is very investigative and picky on these things for some reason.
 

BeJeth

Newbie
Dec 29, 2019
3
0
In Ontario, you need the document mailed to you from the dmv. They dont accept the print outs given by the local office or from online. They are adamant in not accepting even if you show the driver license, seems that they think that all are fake. So dont take chances, you will have to get the document mailed from dmv head office hence request soon and get it while moving.
So use the form https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/dr/welcome INF1125 (PDF). Possibly get the certified one(seems no charge).
This should have the date issued and expiry.

FYI - I moved from MI, not from CA.
Will it be different from what they print in SOS office and give? Do I need to send them cheque and pay again?
 

harirajmohan

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Will it be different from what they print in SOS office and give? Do I need to send them cheque and pay again?
Yes its totally different and the its with the letter and format is different which is what here they expect.
Also, will MI SOS be able to mail it to me in Canada or they need to mail to Drive Test? Drive Test here don’t even have Fax or email id to share.
Per my knowledge, you are supposed to take this letter with history from michigan to the driver license office in ontario. ontario guys will check and then issue your license.
I dont know if lansing office can mail outisde US. For sure i know that they use the prepaid envelope you keep hence you keep the prepaid label hence you would receive it in Canada.
 

rou_yi_tuo

Newbie
Mar 19, 2019
8
4
In my case I had to settle for the G2 :(
I went with TD insurance - got a small discount for also doing home insurance with them.
They did not ask for a letter from previous insurance company but I did have one from my previous auto insurer in the US.
Hi

I’m facing a similar issue as California DMV doesn’t give me an official record with the issue date of the very first California driver license (back in 2016), mail or in person visit. The issue dates on the records are both 2018, which are based on my current CA driver license. However I do have all the expired CA driver licenses. Did you present those in Canada when you applied ?
my case is a little different in that I had an expired Michigan driver license from 2012 to 2016 and I managed to obtain an MI driver license record with the original 2012 issue date. So in the case that Ontario driver license official does not recognize my current CA driver license as more than 2 years old because of the stupid CA driver record issue, do you think the MI record will help ?
 

anssharm

Newbie
Feb 28, 2019
3
0
For anyone reading this thread in the future -

If a drive test center say they can only give G2, keep trying other drive test centers for G license (show your insurance history + old licenses). You may get lucky. I didn't but came across a few that did.
I read on the Onatrio website that till you dont finish your 2 years, you can continue driving on G1 and I was confused as if we have more than 12 months, we should be eligible for G2. Are we eligible for G2, if we have 12+ months of experience on an active US license?
 

anssharm

Newbie
Feb 28, 2019
3
0
@letsgotocan Were you able to exchange with your INF 1125? I've the exact same issue. I've ordered for INF 70 that is supposed to have more detailed history but it's taking longer.
Did the INF 70 have the original issue date?
Also whom to write the check to? Payable to: (In California
 

sharma.tarundeep

Star Member
Jun 17, 2017
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United States
Hello all, same situation here. The Driver's record i got from DMV california doesn't state the "original license issued date". It just states the issue date as renewal date which is less than 2 years. Can you please share your experience of exchanging the California DL with Ontario DL? How did you prove your driving experience in this scenario? I have both my old and new california driving license, i am not sure if that would help.
 

navinball

VIP Member
Feb 26, 2018
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you dont need an driving record if your DL is valid and from California. they did not ask for mine. they just looked it up on their system and got my original issue date.
 
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swathy1213

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I am posting our experience in transfering our California AB -60 license to Ontario.
California DL history didnt have the first issue date. We had around 4 years of history,but the history showed issue date as the most recent license renewal date which was 1.5 years only. We went to drive test center: 1405 Ottawa St N Unit 11, Kitchener, ON N2A 3Z1. They were really helpful and asked us if we could bring the DL history with the first issue date. But we explained that California doesnt provide that, and we gave our current valid license and all previous original licenses. The previous licenses were all expired and had continuous dates. They accepted it and we got the G license right away. Only procedure was they took eye test,photo and payment. You will need an address,since the license will be mailed to that address. You will get a temporary license valid for 90 days. They didnt ask for address proof.

Hope this helps! Thanks.