Impaired driving: deal with the charge and the licence separately

What papers have you received?

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A lawyer booking, review request or acquittal does not automatically restore a licence. Ask who is responsible for each filing and whether a separate stay or other order is needed.

Impairment and blood-concentration offences differ

Criminal Code section 320.14 includes operating while impaired to any degree by alcohol, a drug or both. The definition of operating can include care or control; a vehicle need not always be moving. This guide cannot decide whether a particular parked-car situation meets the offence.

A separate alcohol offence concerns a concentration of 80 mg or more of alcohol per 100 mL of blood within two hours after ceasing to operate. The section contains qualified post-operation consumption exceptions. The two-hour wording is not a guarantee that a later sample is unusable; evidentiary rules also matter.

Under the Blood Drug Concentration Regulations, the lower THC offence concerns at least 2 but less than 5 ng of THC per mL of blood; the higher threshold is 5 ng per mL. The combined threshold requires both at least 50 mg of alcohol per 100 mL of blood and at least 2.5 ng of THC per mL of blood. Other listed drugs have their own prescribed levels. These are legal concentrations, not a safe-dose or waiting-time calculation.

Section 320.15 concerns knowingly failing or refusing to comply with a demand under section 320.27 or 320.28 without reasonable excuse. An unsuccessful sample does not, by itself, decide all the elements. Preserve the details and obtain advice; do not assume refusal avoids consequences.

Federal penalties: identify the actual offence first

The following comparison summarises selected ordinary provisions of section 320.19. Amounts are Canadian dollars. A minimum is not a prediction or the total cost. The charge, prosecution route, relevant previous offences and statutory exceptions must be checked.

For ordinary section 320.14(1) or 320.15(1) offences, the indictable maximum is ten years; the summary maximum is a C$5,000 fine, two years less a day in prison, or both. Bodily harm and death engage separate provisions, including section 320.2 and section 320.21; the table does not describe those cases.

Section 320.23 permits a qualifying treatment-based sentencing delay with prosecutor and offender consent and judicial consideration. Successful completion can affect the minimum punishment and prohibition requirements. It is not automatic, and that provision does not authorise a discharge. Ask about eligibility rather than assuming every first offender can avoid a conviction.

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Court fines, surcharges or other orders, legal fees, provincial charges, towing, insurance and programme costs are separate issues. This table is not an all-inclusive price.

A criminal prohibition is not the whole licensing position

Section 320.24 ordinarily requires a prohibition for section 320.14(1) or 320.15(1): one to three years for a first offence, two to ten for a second, and at least three for each subsequent offence, plus the period of imprisonment. Statutory exceptions need checking. The lower section 320.14(4) drug offence instead permits a discretionary prohibition of up to one year.

A prohibition ordinarily takes effect on the day it is made, with a separate rule allowing consecutive orders in specified circumstances. Read the actual order. Do not assume that time without a licence before sentence is automatically credited or that the shortest statutory period is your return-to-driving date.

Section 320.18 and section 320.24 contain an exception for compliant registration in a provincial alcohol-ignition-interlock programme and minimum absolute prohibition rules. For a first offence, any court-fixed period matters; for a second, the federal floor is three months after sentence, and for subsequent offences six months, or any longer court-fixed period. These rules do not guarantee provincial admission or authorise driving without a valid licence.

Before driving again, confirm the court order, every provincial or territorial restriction, interlock conditions, required courses or assessments, fees and the licence’s reinstated status. Ask the issuing authority about an out-of-province incident as well as the authority where the stop occurred.

Check the local notice and review route promptly

Use the official province and territory driving-authority directory to find the relevant licensing authority. Have both the place of the incident and the licence issuer ready. Local roadside measures, review grounds, deadlines, young or novice-driver restrictions and reinstatement rules differ.

British Columbia shows why waiting for court can be unsafe. For an immediate roadside prohibition under section 215.41, Motor Vehicle Act section 215.48 permits a review application within seven days of service. The prescribed application, fee and licence-surrender or declaration requirements matter. Applying does not automatically stay the prohibition. This is a BC example, not a seven-day Canadian rule.

The BC review has limited statutory grounds and a burden on the applicant. An oral hearing has further conditions, including a 30- or 90-day prohibition and a timely request and fee. Do not assume work hardship alone is a permitted ground, or that a generic appeal letter satisfies the process.

Ontario’s official impaired-driving guide explains its own roadside measures and changes introduced in 2026. Those Ontario periods and costs should not be applied nationally. For any province or territory, use the actual notice and current authority guidance to identify what must be filed and when.

If a deadline may already have passed, seek urgent advice about the available route and any extension requirements. No extension, stay or favourable review outcome is promised.

Testing, disclosure and consequences need case-specific advice

Section 320.27 permits mandatory alcohol screening in specified circumstances: the officer must have an approved screening device and act in the lawful exercise of the relevant powers, with a person operating a motor vehicle. It does not require prior suspicion of alcohol in those circumstances. Drug screening and further demands have different conditions, including those in section 320.28.

If arrested or detained, ask for access to counsel and available free detention advice. Justice’s explanation of the right to counsel identifies particular limits in the roadside-screening context. Do not assume every immediate screening demand can be postponed until a lawyer is reached; a lawyer must assess the facts and applicable rights.

Keep a private chronology of the stop, demands, tests, timings and requests for counsel, together with the documents actually received. Section 320.31 contains evidentiary rules and section 320.34 addresses specified instrument disclosure and further applications. A procedural concern does not automatically invalidate a charge; complete evidence and legal analysis are needed.

Tell the lawyer about immigration status, travel, professional registration, employment and prior proceedings before deciding a plea. IRPA section 36 and IRCC’s impaired-conviction guidance show why offence date, status, statutory maximum and sentence can matter. A charge is not itself a conviction or an automatic removal decision; historical rules and the destination country require separate checking.

Seven steps to prepare for legal advice

1. Save every notice, charge, release document, test record and impoundment paper. Keep all pages and envelopes, and record the actual date and time each was served or received.
2. List the court date, review deadline, licence restriction and any required attendance. Keep the criminal and administrative processes on separate lines.
3. Record the incident location, licence issuer and licence class. Add existing restrictions and relevant prior charges, convictions or roadside prohibitions for the lawyer to assess.
4. Write a private factual chronology, including operation and stopping times, demands, samples, observations, requests for counsel and relevant medical issues. Preserve records without editing them.
5. Collect disclosure received and identify missing documents. Ask counsel what further evidence or instrument information is relevant and who will request it.
6. Explain work, family, immigration or other consequences. Ask what advice is urgent, what review or court steps are available, and who will complete each required filing.
7. Before any return to driving, confirm the actual prohibition order and licence status, programme requirements and permissions with the relevant authority. Arrange other transport while prohibited.

Keep identity documents, medical information and case papers private. This checklist prepares a consultation; it does not file a review, comply with an order or give permission to drive.

Official help and free legal information

Ask for the service appropriate to the province or territory and your stage of the case. Detention advice, legal information and funded representation are different services with different limits.

Common questions about impaired driving in Canada

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