Online Services

Obtaining a Winter Tire Exemption Certificate

Use this online service to obtain a winter tire exemption certificate, free of charge.

From December 15 to March 15, all taxis and passenger vehicles (personal automobiles and others) registered in Québec must be equipped with tires specially designed for winter driving. To find out more, read the information on tires for winter driving.

Useful information

New Highway Safety Code measure

Please note that, starting in 2019, vehicles will have to be equipped with winter tires before December 1.

Before you start

  • Have on hand your vehicle's most recent registration certificateDepending on your situation, your most recent certificate is the one you received by mail with your last payment notice (regardless of whether you have paid your vehicle registration), the one you received by mail after licensing a stored vehicle online or registering a vehicle with an SAAQclic dealer, or the one you obtained directly from a service outlet when registering a vehicle for the first time, renewing the registration, licensing a stored vehicle or requesting a replacement registration certificate. .
  • Read the information on the protection of personal information.

Mandatory: Make sure you have access to a printer (you will need 2 sheets of paper to print the confirmation and the certificate). Otherwise, you can obtain a certificate at one of our service outlets.

Who can use this service?

Owners, co-owners or long-term lessees or co-lessees of a passenger vehicle (automobile and others) registered in Québec who wish to use their vehicle without winter tires for the following reasons:

  • to leave or return to Québec (one certificate for each one-way trip). See the examplesExamples of exemption periods

    Example 1

    You are leaving for Florida on January 4 and returning to Québec on March 10. You could request 2 certificates:

    • from January 2 to 8 (for your departure)
    • from March 9 to 15 (for your return)

    From December 15 to January 1, your vehicle must be equipped with winter tires to be used on Québec roads.

    Example 2

    You are spending the winter in Florida (from November 1 to April 1). You are returning to Québec for the holiday season from December 20 to January 15. You could request 2 certificates:

    • from December 20 to 26 (for your return)
    • from January 9 to 15 (for your departure)

    From December 27 to January 8, your vehicle must be equipped with winter tires to be used on Québec roads.

  • to put a vehicle back on the road (licensing a stored vehicle)
  • to cancel a leasing contract (before the end of the contract)

This service is not intended for businesses.

Validity period and number of certificates

  • The exemption is valid for 7 days.
  • You can obtain no more than 4 certificates per vehicle each winter.

Required configuration

Web browser

Our website and online services are designed to respect Web standards. They are generally accessible using the most common Web browsers. However, their appearance may differ from one browser to another. For the best experience, we recommend that you use a recent browser.

To use the SAAQ’s online services, you must enable cookies in your browser.

Please do not use trial versions of software or software under development (alpha, beta, RC).

Warning

This online service will be unavailable from 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 1 until 12 p.m. on Sunday, December 2, at the latest, to allow for computer system maintenance.

Online service hours

Monday through Saturday, from 7:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Sunday, from noon to 11:00 p.m.

Important: Any operation completed after 11:00 p.m. will not be recorded.