Canadian driver's licences are also valid in many other countries due to various international agreements and treaties.
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators provides a standard for the design of driving permits and identification cards issued by AAMVA member jurisdictions, which include Canadian territories and provinces.
British Columbia requires all new resident drivers to take a driving knowledge test and a road test in order to get a BC driver's licence, except for people holding a valid driver's licence from other Canadian jurisdictions, Austria, Australia, France, Germany, Guernsey, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, or the United States.
[13] In Newfoundland and Labrador, one can apply for a learner's licence for Class 5 vehicles (passenger car or light truck) at the age of 16 and cannot obtain their licence until turning 17 (unless one is a graduate of a government-approved driving school program), as well as Class 6 vehicles (motorcycles).
This licence, commonly referred to as a "learner's permit" restricts holders to one passenger in the vehicle who must be a licensee of no less than 4 years, a blood alcohol level of 0% and no driving between 12am and 5am.
Upon successful completion of the road test, one is advanced to Level II of the graduated licensing program.
In 2006, Ontario passed legislation that would allow a court to suspend the licence of high school dropout until they turn 18.
The demerit points are used by the Ministry of Transportation to determine licence suspensions due to repeated traffic violations (effects on Ontario insurance rates and eligibility are typically measured by the number of tickets received in recent years, rather than the associated points).
Starting June 2009, Ontario began issuing enhanced drivers licences (EDLs) as an option to residents upon request.
These licences were visually almost identical to regular drivers licences, but had a machine readable code printed on the back of the card (visually similar to the same coding on a Canadian passport) and an embedded RFID microchip.
An applicant who meets one of these three requirements, the one-month period may be substituted by a training program that includes at least 20 driving hours on public roadways with a vehicle covered by a Class 2 licence.
An additional 'certificate of competence' is required in the case of a school bus, and there are endorsements for air brake system (F endorsement) and manual transmission (M endorsement) During the learning period the applicant must have held a class 1 learner's licence for three months or for one month if the applicant is aged 25 or over; or has 60 months' cumulative experience as a holder of a class 5 licence; or is registered in the truck driving training program which leads to the Diploma of Vocational Studies issued by the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport and has successfully completed all mandatory sections of the program required to drive on the road without an accompanying rider; or already has a class 2 or 3 driver's licence.
Prison sentences are often given to repeat offenders and to drivers convicted of causing death or grievous bodily harm via Criminal Code driving offences.