Certified or uncertified? Only one of them is instant

The only difference is the seal

There is no extra information on a certified record. It is the same search, on the same data, printed with the Ministry of Transportation's certification on it so that a third party can rely on it as an official copy rather than as something that could have been edited after download.

That is also exactly why it cannot be instant. An emailed PDF cannot carry a seal in any meaningful sense, so the certified version has to be produced and posted, and the ministry quotes 15 business days for it.

Who actually needs the certified one

The ministry does not publish a list of who must have a certified copy, and we are not going to invent one. What can be said is the shape of it: a certified copy exists so that a body which will act on the record - typically a court - can treat it as proved without calling the ministry.

The practical rule is to ask whoever requested the record whether they need it certified, and to believe their answer rather than a guess. Ordering the wrong one costs the fee twice and, if the certified one is needed, fifteen business days on top.

This is why we only sell one of them

We sell the uncertified 3-year record and not the certified one, and the reason is the delivery promise rather than the fee. The uncertified record is issued by the ministry immediately and emailed to you; the certified one is processed for 15 business days and posted by Canada Post to an address. Those are two different products with two different timelines, and selling them under one price and one "how long does it take" answer would misstate both.

If the certified copy is what you need, order it from ServiceOntario directly. There is no version of that where paying us helps: the fifteen business days are the ministry's, and nothing about a third party being involved shortens them.

Common questions

Is an uncertified record an official document?

It is issued by the Ministry of Transportation and contains the ministry's data. What it lacks is the ministry's certification, which is the thing that lets a third party rely on it without verifying it themselves.

Can I get a certified record by email?

No. ServiceOntario states that a certified order is processed within 15 business days and then sent by regular mail via Canada Post, whether it was ordered online, by mail or in person.

Can I certify an uncertified record myself?

No. Certification is the ministry's, not a notary's or a commissioner's. A notary can attest that a copy matches a document you showed them, which is a different statement from the ministry certifying its own record.

What we could not confirm

These are things this page would have liked to tell you and could not find on a Ministry of Transportation or ServiceOntario page. Rather than guess, they are listed.

• Which bodies require a certified rather than an uncertified record. The ministry does not publish this, so the guide describes the distinction and tells the reader to ask the requester rather than naming institutions.

Sources

Everything on this page is checked against a page published by the Government of Ontario or the Ministry of Transportation. Nothing is taken from another commercial site.

• ServiceOntario - Get a driving record
• ServiceOntario - Get longer-term driving records, letters and documents
• Ministry of Transportation - Record Search Application, form SR-LC-112 (2024/10)

Checked 2026-09-04.