In Ontario, the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) enforces child and spousal support orders. It steps in when there is a court order or a separation agreement that has been officially filed and registered with the FRO for enforcement purposes

If you’re late or not paying family support payments, the FRO can suspend your driver’s licence. The Family Responsibility Office has the ability to keep the licence suspended until the support payments are being made or the driver has entered into a agreement with FRO to make the payments.

Driver licence suspensions under this act can affect anyone who has been ordered by a court to pay child or spousal support and has fallen behind on those payments.

It’s crucial for individuals in this situation to understand the potential consequences on their ability to drive.

This policy applies only within the province of Ontario, and it can be enacted as soon as the FRO deems a person to be in default of their support payments.

The suspension remains in effect only for the province of Ontario until the situation is resolved.

Navigating the intricacies of how driver licence suspensions work under the Family Responsibility Office (FRO) can be complex. Here, we break down the process into detailed steps to ensure clarity and provide comprehensive insights into what leads to a suspension and how it unfolds.

Notification by the FRO

• Initial Warning: The process begins when the FRO identifies that you have missed a child or spousal support payment. They will send you a warning notice indicating that you are at risk of having your driver’s licence suspended. This notice is not just a courtesy; it’s a legal step required to inform you of potential consequences for non-compliance with your support obligations.
• Opportunity to Respond: Upon receiving this notice, you have an opportunity to communicate with the FRO. This is the time to explain any extenuating circumstances that may have led to the missed payments or to update the FRO on efforts you are making to rectify the situation.
• Refraining Orders: Refraining are court orders that state that FRO must wait (or, “refrain”) before taking away a support payor’s driver’s license because the payor has not paid the support that has been ordered by the Court.  If the payor does not bring a motion requesting a Refraining Order within the 30 days, he or she cannot get a Refraining Order.

Grace Period

• Time to Act: After the initial notification, the FRO provides a grace period of 30 days. This is a window of opportunity for you to bring your support payments up to date without facing further consequences.
• Negotiation Possibilities: During this period, you are encouraged to contact the FRO to discuss any difficulties you’re facing that prevent you from making payments. It’s possible to negotiate a payment plan that is more manageable based on your current financial situation. Taking such proactive steps can prevent the suspension of your driver’s licence.

Suspension Process

• Final Notice: If the grace period expires and you have not made the necessary payments or reached an agreement with the FRO, you will receive a final notice. This document informs you that the process to suspend your driver’s licence has been initiated.
• Communication with the Ministry of Transportation: The FRO will then formally notify the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) that you are in default of your support payments. The MTO has the authority to suspend your driver’s licence based on this notification.
• Actual Suspension: The suspension of your driver’s licence is not immediate upon the FRO’s notification to the MTO. There is usually a short processing period. Once this period has passed, your licence is officially suspended, and you are no longer legally allowed to drive.
• Reinstatement Conditions: Alongside the suspension notice, you will also receive information on how to get your driver’s licence reinstated. This typically involves settling the overdue payments and may include additional steps such as paying a reinstatement fee to the MTO.

A refraining order is a court order that prevents the suspension your driver’s licence for a temporary period. You cannot get a refraining order after the deadline provided in the notice.

To get a refraining order:

• fill out a refraining order form
• complete a financial statement form
• go to court and make a motion to the court for a refraining order

A refraining order may require you to:

• change your existing support order
• provide financial information to FRO
• make ongoing payments
• make payments on the arrears

Contact the court as soon as possible to ensure the refraining motion is heard before the deadline written on the notice.

If the court agrees with you, the judge will order us not to suspend your licence. Please contact us with the results of this hearing immediately.

To learn more about obtaining a motion for a refraining order, you could visit a Family Law Information Centre. They are located in provincial courts across Ontario.

If you fall behind in your support payments, contact the Family Responsibility office can be contacted by these means:

Send a message through FRO Online or call:

• Toronto: 416-326-1817
• Toll-free: 1-800-267-4330
• Toll-free TTY: 1-866-545-0083

Agents are available Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

You can also send a letter to:

Family Responsibility Office
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
PO Box 200, Station A
Oshawa, Ontario
L1H 0C5
416-240-2401

If you fall behind in making support payments, FRO can work with the federal government to suspend your federal licences, including your:

• passport
• pilot’s licence
• maritime and navigational licences and certificates

You may enter into a payment plan with the Family Responsibility office to reinstate your driver’s licence. If the driver agrees to a payment plan but fails to comply with its terms, their license will be suspended once more.

There is a fee to reinstate a driver’s licence.

Learn about how get your driver’s licence reinstated if it has been suspended.

Under the Financial Services Commission of Ontario, insurance companies must comply with these rules for drivers licence suspensions.

• Less than one year: An administrative lapse or suspension of a driver’s licence for less than one year must not affect an individual’s driving record or the number of years licensed for the purposes of rating.

• 12 to 36 months: When the length of an administrative lapse or suspension of a driver’s licence is between 12 and 36 months, an insurer is permitted to use the lapse or suspension as part of its risk classification system. However, the insurer must submit a rate filing with actuarial evidence to FSCO justifying the proposed rating rules. The rate filing will be subject to the normal review and approval process. Otherwise, use of an administrative lapse or suspension of a driver’s licence between 12 and 36 months will not be permitted for the purposes of rating.

• More than 36 months: If the length of an administrative lapse or a suspension of a driver’s licence is more than 36 months, an insurer is permitted to file rules to use the lapse or suspension of a driver’s licence as part of its risk classification system without additional actuarial evidence although the rules must meet the statutory criteria for approval. For example, an insurer may consider the period of time during which the licence has lapsed or been suspended for the purposes of rating.

An administrative lapse or a suspension of a driver’s licence is a documented driver’s licence lapse for administrative or medical reasons that are not connected to driving offence convictions.

Reasons can include non-renewal or expiry of a driver’s licence due to a consumer’s oversight, temporary medical conditions, unpaid parking tickets, outstanding support payments to the Family Responsibility Office or outstanding payment to the Motor Vehicle Accident Claims Fund.