After you pass in Quebec: novice restrictions and your licence

By the end of this topic you can

• You can list the conditions that keep your probationary licence valid.
• You can work out how many young passengers you may carry late at night.
• You can explain who counts as immediate family for the passenger rule.
• You can describe how and when you move to a full licence.

What you need to know and understand

• The probationary licence lasts 24 months.
• You must have fewer than four demerit points and keep zero alcohol in your body.
• If you are 19 or younger and in your first 12 months on probation, passenger limits apply between midnight and 5 a.m.
• In the first six months, you may carry only one passenger aged 19 or younger at those hours; after six months, up to three.
• Immediate family members do not count toward the limit.
• The limit does not apply if someone with at least two years of full licence experience is in the front passenger seat.
• Breaking the night passenger rule carries 4 demerit points.

The conditions in plain terms

Note that zero alcohol continues after probation for anyone under 22. A probationary licence also does not let you supervise a learner; that needs a full licence held for at least two years.

• Zero alcohol, every time you drive.
• Stay under 4 demerit points, since 4 or more revokes the licence.
• Young drivers in their first year: watch the passenger count between midnight and 5 a.m.

Working out the passenger rule

The rule only applies if all of these are true: you are 19 or younger, you have held the probationary licence for less than 12 months, and it is between midnight and 5 a.m. Then:

1. Count passengers aged 19 or younger.
2. Leave out immediate family: your spouse, your children or your spouse's children, and your brothers and sisters, including half and step siblings.
3. If you have held the licence for six months or less, the remaining count must be one or fewer.
4. If more than six months, the count must be three or fewer.
5. If a person with at least two years of full licence experience sits beside you, the limit does not apply.

Moving to a full licence

If you keep a good driving record, you can get your full Class 5 licence after the two years. Your demerit limit then depends on your age: 8 points under 23, 12 at 23 or 24 and 15 at 25 or older. From then on you pay annual licence fees, which include an insurance contribution that rises if you have demerit points. Our guide to the Quebec probationary licence goes into more detail.

Common mistakes

• Giving three friends a ride home at 1 a.m. in your first six months. Only one passenger aged 19 or younger is allowed then.
• Thinking the probationary rules end on your 20th birthday. Zero alcohol and the 4-point limit last the full 24 months.
• Treating a cousin as immediate family. Only spouses, children and siblings are excluded.
• Offering to supervise a younger sibling's practice. A probationary licence does not allow it.

Test yourself: After you pass in Quebec: novice restrictions and your licence

Answer each question, then read the explanation. Questions come in a random order each time.

Go deeper

• Quebec demerit points table
• Exchanging a foreign licence in Quebec
• Learning to drive in Quebec