Montreal driver's license and registration fees will no longer skyrocket next year (update)
UPDATE: Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault unexpectedly announced on December 20, 2024, that the reduced cost of a driver's license in Quebec will be extended for a fourth year. Drivers with a Class 5 license and no demerit points will only pay $26.25 in 2025, rather than the previously estimated $118.41.
This extension is attributed to improved road safety and an increase in available funds in Quebec's auto insurance system.
Additionally, due to postal service delays, license and registration renewals expiring between December 20 and February 28 will have extended payment deadlines.
PREVIOUSLY: As 2025 approaches, Montreal drivers might want to add "save more money" to their New Year's resolutions list. Why? The cost of driver's licenses in Quebec is expected to go up next year. Way up. Brace yourselves for what could be a jump of over 75%.
If you haven't questioned why your renewal fees were so low over the past few years (and who could blame you for simply enjoying a good thing?), Quebec drivers benefited from a "payment holiday" between 2022 and 2024. This reprieve allowed them to skip insurance contributions, thanks to a pandemic-related reduction in drivers on the road, which resulted in fewer accidents and claims.
During this period, Quebecers only paid charges and fees to the Ministry of Finance — a total of just $25.50 in 2024 if you had no demerit points and kept the same license card.
But all good things must come to an end. And, according to the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) 's Insurance Contributions Report for 2025 to 2027, that time could be just around the corner.
The report details insurance contribution rates for the next three years. For 2025, it is projected that drivers with a Class 5 license and no demerit points could pay $84.55. If you have one to three demerit points, your contribution could jump to $154.39 — and the more points you have, the higher it gets. There are also separate rates for motorcycle drivers and those with different classes of licenses.
The report also outlines the cost of insurance contributions for the next few years, and in 2025, that will be $84.55 for those of you with a Class 5 license and no demerit points or $154.39 for those with 1 to 3 demerit points (and it goes up from there depending on how many points you have or if you drive a motorcycle).
Keep in mind that this is just the insurance contribution. You'll still need to pay fees to the Ministry of Finance. These fees, indexed at 3%, are estimated to rise to a baseline of $26.25 in 2025. That would bring the total cost for a driver with a clean record to $110.80 — an increase of $85.30 compared to 2024, marking the first time in years that fees would exceed $100.
Note that official fees have not yet been announced by the SAAQ and should be revealed early in the new year.
In its press release, the SAAQ was quick to remind drivers that, had the payment holiday not happened, this would actually be a reduction of 6.3% from 2024. But that's cold comfort for drivers facing sharply higher costs after several years of relief.
And it doesn't stop there. For car owners, rising registration fees add to the headache. Earlier this year, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) announced plans to more than double the car registration tax for Greater Montreal starting in January 2025. The tax will jump from $59 to $150 — an increase of 154%.
"In order to complete the 2025 financial framework for public transportation and ensure the maintenance of current services, the elected officials of the [...] CMM were forced to adopt, today, a resolution aimed at increasing the share of motorists in the financing of the metropolitan network," the CMM explained in a May 2024 news release.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Quebec drivers — but, hey, at least we've got good roads and minimal traffic. Oh, wait. Nevermind.
*This story has been updated. An earlier version of this story, headlined "Montreal driver's license fees and registration fees are about to skyrocket in 2025," did not include the Friday, December 20 update from the transport minister confirming that the reduced cost of a driver's licence would be extended for a fourth year.
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