It’s drivetest that you need to go to.
We went to the one in South Markham. somehow it does not show up in a quick google search now, so I am wondering if it’s closed. Anyone else who might have visited recently could comment.
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Thanks @usa2can!
Anyone who have gone recently with a similar situation (less than 2 yrs from last renewal) and got a G license, please let me know. Thanks!
Drive Test is for exchanging DL.
Service Ontario is for registering car and OHIP
For both SO and DT, wherever your address will be, look for the closest one and go there. If you have a bad experience with that location, try a different one. (SO in Kipling and DT in Mississauga were quite good)
DL is required for registering car, so first you can get your DL at DT (it’ll be temporary DL), and with that temp DL you can get auto insurance. Then you can get the car registered and OHIP in one go at SO.
I had a NJ/VA DL before moving, so even though NJ DL was less than 1 yr old, I got G based on abstracts.
I thought VA was bad because they give only the latest 5 years of history they have on record. Getting just the history after renewal seems to be worse.
FWIW, your auto insurance letter from US will give you better insurance rates here so you wont need to bother about driving history. I don’t know if it is easy to convince DriveTest people to give a G license based on anything other than an abstract. (NJ gives two types of abstracts, and DT in Mississauga made us get the other one before even issuing license, so YMMV)
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Thank you so much for the detailed information @ntn! Unfortunately, I am in a pickle because I renewed my license just a few weeks back. Will try my best convince them based on my old DL’s and insurance letter. Hope it works and I get the G license.
Thanks again!
You should get the driving history mailed to your address (or get a copy online, but make sure to include the printout of the payment receipt along with it).
Go to a DriveTest center (not Service Ontario), to exchange your license. You’ll need to take your PR card/CoPR and US license, and proof of address (if you have it).
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My local Ontarian DriveTest was able to connect to the California DMV electronically and retrieve the driving history. No other documents were asked, except for the original CA DL. Maybe this is different than getting an extract, maybe not.
Definitely reach out to your local DriveTest center and explore the options applicable to your situation.
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Kitchener. Just call up nearby centers, they should be able to help. They don’t necessarily provide white-glove customer service but its a lot better than any American DMV 
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how much insurance price you got from TD based on US insurance history?
and how much is the average if you would not show US history?
it also depends on the car you drive and your address on driving license. (Maxing out for coordinates at Brampton and driving honda civic).
Seriously it could range from 150 pm to 450 pm for a single driver/single car and upto 600 pm for 2 drivers/2 cars.
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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 (2yrs+) in this scenario? I have both my old and new california driving license, Also i can get the insurance history, i am not sure if that would help. Please share your experience ?
Contact an insurance broker and find out best provider; don’t go to any big name banks its more expensive
Insurance history definitely helps in getting a good deal on insurance (its expensive here!!). Contact your US insurance company and get official letter on letterhead.
Regarding Driving history,not sure. Doesn’t the driving record state how long you’ve been driving?
California driving history record is not showing complete history. Its just showing the latest driving license renewal history. I have been driving in US from past 3-4 years but my california driving history is just showing driving history from my last DL renewal.
do not worry, talk to the drivetest agent and explain. if it does not work, go to another drivetest, rinse and repeat. This will help to get G.
your insurance record letter will help to get better rates.
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Thanks for the suggestion, will try as suggested.
how to get insurance record letter?
Hi, hope you are doing good. I also have NJ DL and you mentioned NJ give two type of abstract, could you please guide what are those two? As I renewed my NJ DL last year so it is coming out 1 year 9 months of driving history with my current license (though I have more than 2 years of NJ DL). I do have old NJ DL hard copy with me.
Will expired NJ DL count, let say expired on Oct 1st and I am going to drive test in Ontario around Oct 15th, 2020?
I want to exchange it at Ontario under DL exchange program. Really appreciate your guidance.