Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec
Reacquiring or Reinstating a Licence

Suspended Licence: Medical Reason

To reacquire your driver's licence or a licence class that was suspended for a medical reason, you must prove that your state of health has improved or that you are able to drive despite a recognized health issue.

Several health problems can hinder a person's ability to drive safely and lead to the suspension of their driver’s licence, such as:

A physician or another health care professional can determine whether a health problem hinders a person’s ability to drive a vehicle. They will indicate their diagnosis and/or observations in a report, which is sent to us.

Once we have analyzed the report and that person’s driving record, we notify them in writing of our decision.

What happens if we decide to suspend your driver’s licence or a class of licence?

A suspension means your driver’s licence or a class of licence is no longer valid and that you can no longer drive the vehicles covered by the suspension. If you have several classes of licence and one of them has been suspended, your licence remains valid, but the SAAQ may assign the status of “valid in part” to your licence.  

If you drive with a suspended licence, you face:

  • a fine of $300 to $600, in addition to legal and administrative costs
  • the seizure and impoundment of the vehicle you were driving for 30 days (the vehicle will be towed and impounded at the owner’s expense)

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.

Last update: June 27, 2025