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

Contesting a Decision

Here are the steps to follow in order to apply for a review of either an unfavourable medical decision concerning your driver's licence, or the suspension of your driver's licence for 30, 60 or 90 days.

What you should know

You can apply for a review of a decision if, for medical reasons, we:

  • suspended your licence
  • suspended one of the classes of your licence
  • refused to issue you a licence
  • refused to add another class to your licence

You can either:

Administrative Tribunal of Québec: file before the deadline!

If you decide to contest a decision before the TAQ, you must file a proceeding within 60 days of the date of the SAAQ's decision.

How to file an application for review with the SAAQ

Step 1 – Write a letter to the SAAQ to apply for a review of its decision

If new facts regarding your state of health demonstrate that you are able to drive safely, you can inform us. Such facts may be the result of:

  • an improvement in your state of health
  • surgery
  • medical treatment
  • long-term remission
  • use a prosthesis
  • acquiring new skills

You can also inform us of any other facts you deem relevant.

Step 2 – Send us your application for review

ONLINE:

SAAQclic⁠ ⁠

BY MAIL:

Service de la révision
Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
333, boulevard Jean-Lesage
Case postale 19500, succursale Terminus
Québec (Québec)  G1K 8J5

Step 3 – Provide additional information upon request

After analyzing your application, we may ask you to take additional steps, which will be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the nature and severity of the medical issues. We may ask you to submit a new medical report, a report from a medical specialist or other health care professional, or a road test report completed at an SAAQ service centre or by an occupational therapist.

If applicable, we will send you a letter explaining the next steps, as well as any forms that need to be completed.

Step 4 – Await our decision

After analyzing your file, we will either authorize you to drive or uphold the suspension of your driver’s licence.

If our decision is favourable

We will send you a letter to inform you that your licence suspension has been lifted and explain the steps to follow to reacquire a valid driver’s licence.

If your licence has been expired for 3 years or more, you must pass the applicable proficiency examinations (knowledge and road tests) to obtain the desired licence class.⁠ ⁠

If our decision is unfavourable

You can contest the decision before the Administrative Tribunal of Québec⁠ ⁠ by filing a proceeding within 60 days of the date of our decision.

Decisions rendered by the Tribunal are final.

What you should know

You can only file an application for review in the following cases:

Alcohol

  • You were subject to the zero-alcohol rule and there was no alcohol in your system.
  • Your blood alcohol concentration was below 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood (0.08).
  • You had a reasonable excuse for refusing to obey the orders of a peace officer, such as the order to breathe into an alcohol-screening device or to perform physical coordination tests.
  • You were not driving or you did not have care or control of a vehicle.

Excessive speeding

If your licence was suspended for street racing or car surfing

You must file a motion before a judge of the Court of Québec⁠ ⁠.

How to file an application for review

Step 1 – Prepare your application for review

You must complete and sign the Application for Review of Suspension of a Licence or the Right to Obtain One (PDF, 172.6 KB)⁠.

You must also include with your application the original French copy of the statement of suspension, entitled Suspension du permis ou du droit d'en obtenir un (30, 60 or 90 days).

  • If the peace officer checked section 202.4 (par. 1), which refers to a blood alcohol concentration equal to or over 80 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, you must also provide a copy of the certificate from a qualified lab technician concerning the analysis of your breath or blood sample.
  • If the peace officer checked section 202.4.1 (par. 1), which refers to driving while impaired by drugs as confirmed by failure to pass the test conducted by the evaluating officer, you must also provide a copy of the document from the evaluating officer regarding impairment.

You can also provide any other document you consider relevant in support of your application for review, such as expert evidence or a medical report.

Step 2 – File your application for review

In person

In any of our service outlets.

By mail

Service de la révision (act. 1462)
Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
333, boulevard Jean-Lesage
Case postale 19500, succursale Terminus
Québec (Québec) G1K 8J5

If your licence was suspended for 90 days (and only in that case), you can ask for a meeting

The meeting will be held in the 10 days following the filing of your application. You will be informed of the place and time. You can present witnesses or experts at the meeting.

Step 3 – Await our decision

We will send our reply within 10 days of the filing of either the application for review or any additional documents. If a meeting is held, we will reply within 10 days of the meeting.

If our decision is favourable

The suspension of your driver's licence will be lifted.

If our decision is unfavourable

The suspension of your driver's licence will be upheld.

You can contest the decision before the TAQ⁠ ⁠ by filing a proceeding within 10 days of the date of our decision.

Last update: July 15, 2025