Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec

Checking the Validity of a Driver's Licence

If you are about to lend or rent your vehicle to another person, you mush check whether the person's driver's licence is valid and bears the appropriate class for the type of vehicle to be driven. Otherwise, your vehicle could be seized and impounded.

If you lend or rent your vehicle to another person

You are responsible for ensuring that that person holds a valid driver's licence that bears the appropriate class of licence for the type of vehicle to be driven.

It is not enough to simply inspect the licence

A visual check does not allow you to find out if the licence has been revoked or suspended, or whether the holder has paid the renewal fees.

In terms of insurance…

Insurers allow you to lend your vehicle so long as the person using it has a valid driver's licence that bears the appropriate class for the type of vehicle to be driven. It is therefore better to check first!

If you lend or rent your vehicle to an individual who does not hold a valid driver's licence

  • Your vehicle could be seized and impounded immediately for 30 days. Should that happen, you will be required to pay the towing and impoundment fees.
  • The person driving your vehicle without a valid licence, or during a period when their licence was revoked or suspended is liable to a fine of $600 to $3,000, as well as additional fees.

Checking the validity of a driver's licence

Information provided

  • Confirmation of whether or not the driver’s licence is valid
  • The class or classes associated with the driver's licence
  • Any applicable licence restrictions, in particular conditions I, W, X or Y

Undisclosed information

For reasons of confidentiality, no names, addresses or other personal information concerning the driver's licence holder are released, and the reason why a driver's licence is not valid is not disclosed.

For more information about a person's driving record, you are required to submit a driving record request.

To check the validity of a driver’s licence

ONLINE

This service is available free of charge on SAAQclic⁠ ⁠.

BY PHONE

This service remains available by phone at 1-800-361-7620 (press 4 and 4 again, then 6). For more details about our automated telephone services, visit the To Reach Us web page.

FOR BUSINESSES

This service is also available for free via SAAQclic⁠ Entreprises.⁠ ⁠

If you want to check the validity of multiple licences, there is a $2.05 fee per licence for the first 5 licences and a $0.40 fee for each additional licence.

If you submit a request via SAAQclic Entreprises⁠ ⁠, you will receive the results immediately.

You can also email your request, but you will receive the results within 5 to 10 business days.

PROCEDURE FOR EMAIL REQUESTS

  • Complete the Driver’s Licence Validity Check⁠ ⁠ spreadsheet with the following information:
    • 1st column: the driver’s licence number (must have 13 characters, no dashes or spaces)

    • 2nd column: your company's internal reference number (optional – maximum 8 characters)
      Examples :

      A12345678987601
      D12345678987502
      F12345678987403
      G12345678987304
      L12345678987205
      R12345678987106
      V12345678987007
      S12345678989608
  • Save the document as an Excel file: “name of file.xlsx”.
  • Prepare your request.
    Your email’s subject must be: “Driver’s Licence Validity Check”.
    Make sure to include the following information in your email:
    • the name of the person to whom the information is to be sent
    • the name of the company
    • your business’s SAAQ identification number
    • the number of licences to check
    • the sentence "Guaranteed payment on receipt of the invoice"
  • Your email request must be sent to SAAQ.diffusion@saaq.gouv.qc.ca This link opens your default email software.. A confirmation of receipt will be sent to you.

File reception

A reply is sent by secure email and includes:

An invoice indicating the amount payable will be mailed to you (payable upon receipt by cheque or money order).

Last update: December 29, 2025