How to obtain a restricted licence?

When someone has accumulated too much demerit points, that person can have his driver’s licence revoked by the SAAQ. This suspension is often for a period of 3 months. However, depending on the situation, that period can be of 6 or 12 months.

When your licence is revoked, the SAAQ offers the possibility to apply for a restricted licence to allow the driver’s licence owner to exercise the main employment which ensures his subsistence, except in certain cases. A restricted licence is obtained by addressing a demand to the Court of Québec. A proof of employment must be submitted to the Court in due course to persuade the judge that the driver’s licence owner needs to drive to exercise his main employment.

CAUTION! Don’t wait. Starting the reception of the letter from the SAAQ notifying you the date of the suspension, there is a 10-day obligatory delay between the deposit of the demand and the court hearing. Thus, if you have received on June 1^st the letter informing you that your driver’s licence will be suspended starting June 15^th, deposing your demand on June 2^nd would prevent your licence from being suspended because you would be heard by the Court before June 15^th, if your demand is granted. On the contrary, if you wait until June 15^th, your licence will automatically be suspended until court hearing.

Finally, it is important to make a distinction with the situations where a driving prohibition is ordered by a judge as part of a criminal case. In that situation, it is not possible to obtain a restricted licence as previously exposed.

PLEASE NOTE that you only have one single chance to be heard and to obtain your vehicle or your restricted licence. It is important to be well prepared and, for this purpose, don’t hesitate to contact our firm and mandate us to represent you adequately.

Text originally written in French by Me Julie Paradis / Translated by Virginie Dalpé, articling student.