Ontario Truck Inspections 2026: PMCVI and Schedule 1

Quick answer: As of October 2026, Ontario trucks over 4,500 kg and their trailers need two main inspections. The driver's daily Schedule 1 inspection (O. Reg. 199/07) lasts 24 hours; a major defect keeps the vehicle off the road. The annual PMCVI (periodic mandatory commercial vehicle inspection) happens at a DriveON centre, and its sticker expires at the end of the twelfth month after the inspection month.

Sources were checked on October 10, 2026. They include Ontario Regulations 199/07, 174/22, 170/22, 512/97 and 555/06, the Highway Traffic Act, the Ontario Court of Justice set-fine schedule, ontario.ca DriveON and commercial vehicle pages, the MTO Truck Handbook and training modules, the CCMTA National Safety Code and the US eCFR. This is a summary, not legal advice.

What commercial vehicle inspections does Ontario require?

Ontario requires three kinds of safety inspection for commercial trucks: the driver's daily inspection, the operator's preventive maintenance inspections and the annual inspection, known as the PMCVI (ontario.ca). The daily inspection and the PMCVI are the two main ones because the law sets how long each is valid; the operator's written system sets the maintenance intervals. Officers can inspect a vehicle at roadside at any time. Diesel trucks over 4,500 kg registered gross weight also need an emissions test, due at plate renewal once the truck is at least seven model years old.

What is a PMCVI, and which vehicles need one?

A PMCVI (periodic mandatory commercial vehicle inspection) is Ontario's annual safety inspection for most trucks, trailers and converter dollies over 4,500 kg; buses and some other passenger vehicles need one every six months. A qualified technician fully inspects the vehicle to confirm it meets the National Safety Code standard, NSC Standard 11 Part B, which calls the same inspection a PMVI. A pass produces an annual (or semi-annual) inspection certificate, which verifies that the vehicle meets the inspection requirements and performance standards in the ministry's directive (O. Reg. 170/22).

Under Ontario Regulation 174/22, these vehicles must bear a current annual inspection sticker:

• A commercial motor vehicle and any trailer or converter dolly it draws, when their combined weight is over 4,500 kg. Each unit counts at its gross weight, registered gross weight or manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating.
• Every tow truck, and any trailer it draws, regardless of weight.

Ontario.ca also lists concrete pumps and mobile cranes (not off-road mobile cranes). Semi-annual inspections apply to buses carrying passengers, school-purposes vehicles, accessible vehicles and U10 passenger transportation vehicles. A pick-up truck, and any trailer it pulls, is exempt only if all of these apply: the pick-up has a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) of 6,500 kg or less; it has an unmodified original (or identical replacement) box; and both are used for personal purposes without compensation and carry no commercial cargo, tools or equipment. A recreational vehicle that is not used commercially, and a personal-use bus with a GVWR of 4,500 kg or less, are also exempt.

The inspection covers the power train, suspension, brakes (hydraulic and air) and steering. It also covers instruments and auxiliary equipment, lamps, the electrical system, the body, tires and wheels, and coupling devices (ontario.ca).

How long is an Ontario annual inspection sticker valid?

An Ontario annual inspection sticker is valid until the end of the twelfth month after the month of inspection shown on it. A semi-annual sticker is valid until the end of the sixth month.

Illustrative dates: a tractor inspected on March 10, 2026 has a sticker valid until March 31, 2027. An annual or semi-annual inspection can also serve as a Safety Standards Certificate for 36 days after the inspection date.

The sticker goes on the outer surface of the windshield's lower left-hand corner. It can also go in a conspicuous spot on the left side of the cab. On a trailer or converter dolly, it goes on the left side, as close to the front as practicable.

Ontario also accepts valid proof of a periodic inspection from another Canadian jurisdiction. It accepts a US inspection under 49 CFR Part 396 done in the United States as well. Proof based on a roadside inspection does not count. In the other direction, US federal rules treat a Canadian provincial inspection that meets their minimum standards as a US annual inspection for 12 months (49 CFR 396.17).

Ontario.ca sets out how out-of-province inspections work under DriveON. They count for plate renewals but not for ownership transfers. Carriers email the inspection document, invoice and vehicle details for each power unit to DriveON at [email protected]; trailer inspections do not need to be documented. The inspection must be no more than one year old (six months for a vehicle on a semi-annual cycle), and it does not need to be resubmitted on each entry into Ontario (ontario.ca).

Who can perform a PMCVI under DriveON?

Only a registered technician at an accredited DriveON Vehicle Inspection Centre can do an annual or semi-annual inspection in Ontario. DriveON is the province's digital inspection program. It replaced the old paper-based Motor Vehicle Inspection Station (MVIS) program, which ended on March 31, 2025 (ontario.ca DriveON). MVIS stations have not been allowed to issue annual or semi-annual certificates or stickers since August 1, 2024 (O. Reg. 170/22, s. 10). To find a centre, use the DriveON centre search that ontario.ca links.

A technician needs a valid Certificate of Qualification from Skilled Trades Ontario. The technician must also register on the DriveON portal and finish the program's mandatory online training. Only the registered technician can perform the inspection and sign it off on the inspection tablet. The Highway Traffic Act bars anyone else from deciding whether a vehicle meets the standard for a certificate or sticker.

A failed vehicle can be repaired at any shop. It can then return to the same centre for re-inspection within 10 days. An extra charge may apply if wheels must come off to recheck the brakes. Each inspection is recorded digitally. Keep a copy of each annual inspection certificate in the vehicle file, as Ontario Regulation 199/07 requires.

How can you check a truck's DriveON inspection history?

You can check a truck's DriveON inspection history online with its vehicle identification number (VIN). Ontario.ca links a DriveON inspection history search that finds a vehicle's digital inspection reports (ontario.ca).

The VIN is on the green ownership certificate, the pink insurance certificate, the compliance label in the driver's door opening and the dashboard. For help, call the DriveON contact centre toll-free at 1-833-420-2103.

Which vehicles need a daily (pre-trip) inspection in Ontario?

Trucks, tractors, trailers and converter dollies need a daily inspection, which ontario.ca says is commonly known as a pre-trip or circle check, when the power unit's gross weight or registered gross weight is over 4,500 kg. Tow trucks of any weight, buses designed for 10 or more passengers and school-purposes vehicles need one too (ontario.ca).

Ontario Regulation 199/07 leaves out some vehicles. Examples are a pick-up truck (GVWR of 6,500 kg or less, with an unmodified original or identical replacement box) used for personal purposes without compensation and carrying no commercial cargo or tools, a motor home, an ambulance and a fire apparatus. The daily inspection rules also skip a two- or three-axle truck that pulls no trailer and mainly hauls farm, forest, sea or lake products. The driver or the driver's employer must have produced or harvested those products. For the full weight test, see what counts as a commercial vehicle in Ontario.

Inspection time is work time. Ontario's hours-of-service regulation counts inspecting a commercial motor vehicle, and waiting for a vehicle or its load to be inspected, as on-duty time. That time counts toward the 14 hours of on-duty time after which a driver may not drive again that day. See Canada's hours-of-service rules.

What is MTO Schedule 1, and what does it cover?

Schedule 1 is the daily inspection list for trucks, tractors and the trailers they pull. It is part of Ontario Regulation 199/07, where the full schedule is posted. It names 23 systems and lists minor defects in column 2 and major defects in column 3.

Schedules 2 to 6 cover buses, motor coaches and school-purposes vehicles. MTO says the defect lists originate from the National Safety Code. The code's trip inspection standard is NSC Standard 13 (revised March 2009).

The operator must give each driver the right schedule. The driver must carry it, with the completed report, whenever driving (Highway Traffic Act, s. 107). The operator may add notes to help the inspector. It may also delete items for components the vehicle does not have and is not required to have. MTO's training module says a daily inspection often takes 15 to 30 minutes, plus paperwork.

Schedule 1 is also used in truck licence testing. MTO's daily inspection test, part of the truck road test, uses a random selection of Schedule 1 items, and candidates may use Schedule 1 as a guide and reference (MTO Truck Handbook).

How do major and minor defects differ under Schedule 1?

A minor defect lets the driver keep driving once it is on the inspection report and reported to the operator. A major defect means no one may drive the vehicle on a highway until it is repaired (Highway Traffic Act, s. 107(11)).

These examples come from Schedule 1, with the wording shortened slightly:

Some systems have only one level. A vehicle with no working horn has a minor defect. Unmet dangerous goods requirements are a major defect.

What must a daily inspection report include?

An Ontario daily inspection report needs eight entries. They are set out in section 7 of Ontario Regulation 199/07:

1. The licence plate number and plate jurisdiction.
2. The operator's name.
3. The date and time of the inspection.
4. The city, town, village or highway location.
5. The printed name of the person who did the inspection.
6. The odometer reading of the truck or tractor.
7. Any major and minor defects found, or a statement that none were found.
8. A statement, signed by the inspector, that the vehicle was inspected in accordance with the regulation.

If someone else did the inspection, the driver signs the report before driving. Electronic reports must meet every requirement except the signature. If an officer asks for an electronic report to be sent, the driver must transmit it as soon as reasonably possible. If an officer asks the driver to produce it, the driver can show it on a screen readable from outside the vehicle or hand over a printed copy signed by the driver.

What should a driver do when a defect is found?

A driver who finds a defect must record it and tell the operator quickly. If the defect is major, the driver must stop driving. The same steps apply to defects found later in the trip, because drivers must keep watching the vehicle's condition.

1. Record it. Enter the defect on the daily inspection report as soon as you notice it (HTA s. 107(8)).
2. Tell the operator. Use any means likely to reach the operator quickly.
3. Minor defect: keep driving once it is on the report. MTO's training says the carrier must fix it before the next dispatch.
4. Major defect: do not drive. MTO's training says the carrier must fix it right away. A maintenance invoice proves the repair. A new trip inspection report is not needed within the same 24-hour period.
5. Hand in the paperwork. Give the report to the operator as soon as possible after it stops being valid, and no later than 20 days after. Hand in any roadside inspection report or notice as soon as possible, and no later than 20 days after receiving it.

These steps come from O. Reg. 199/07, ss. 8 to 10 and MTO's vehicle maintenance module.

What are Ontario's commercial vehicle safety standards?

Ontario's commercial vehicle safety standards are the vehicle component performance standards that section 107(3) of the Highway Traffic Act requires operators to meet. Section 14 of Ontario Regulation 199/07 lists them: Regulation 587 (Equipment), Regulation 612 (School Buses), Regulation 625 (Tire Standards and Specifications) and Schedules 1 to 7 of the regulation. At the annual inspection, technicians apply National Safety Code Standard 11, Part B, with Ontario's changes.

Schedule 7 sets measured limits. Take an air brake system that is fully charged, with the engine stopped. Pressure must not drop more than 2 psi in one minute with the service brakes released, or 3 psi with them fully applied. The low-pressure warning must work at 55 psi.

These are the official documents to read or download:

What records must an Ontario operator keep?

An Ontario operator must keep its inspection and maintenance system in writing and keep daily inspection reports for at least six months. Each vehicle's file (inspection, maintenance and repair records, certificates and roadside reports) must be kept for two years, or six months after the vehicle leaves the fleet if that is shorter.

Records stay at the principal place of business or another terminal or business address. Electronic records may be kept anywhere if the operator can readily access them from its principal place of business and, from there, store or send them the way a ministry officer requires (O. Reg. 199/07, ss. 15 to 18).

To see what repairs and tires add to each mile, use the cost per mile calculator, which has separate lines for maintenance and tires.

What happens at a roadside inspection in Ontario?

MTO Transportation Enforcement Officers and police can stop a commercial vehicle for inspection at any time. Stops happen at one of the ministry's more than 30 truck inspection stations or on the road. Formal inspections follow Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) levels, done by officers certified under CVSA standards (MTO common inspection issues module).

MTO lists five levels commonly used in Ontario:

• Level I: a 37-step North American Standard Inspection of driver documents, vehicle parts and load securement.
• Level II: a walk-around version of Level I, without items beneath the vehicle.
• Level III: driver credentials and documents only.
• Level IV: a one-time special inspection, often to verify one specific regulation.
• Level V: a vehicle-only inspection without the driver, often at a facility.

Results range from a pass to impoundment. A passed Level I earns a CVSA decal. Other outcomes are violations you may drive away with, an out-of-service order, or seizure of the plates and inspection sticker. MTO's five most common out-of-service problems in Ontario are insecure loads, lighting defects, tire defects, air line defects and air brakes out of adjustment. An expired annual inspection sticker is one of its five most common findings that do not put a vehicle out of service.

Critical defects bring the heaviest response. Ontario Regulation 512/97 defines them. One example is a cracked, broken or missing drum or rotor on more than half of an air-braked vehicle's wheel brakes. If an officer who holds a critical inspection certificate finds one at a designated inspection station, the officer seizes the plates, removes the sticker and impounds the vehicle. The impound lasts 15 days if the vehicle has not been impounded for a critical defect in the past two years, 30 days if it has been impounded once in that time, and 60 days if it has been impounded two or more times.

What are the fines and CVOR consequences?

On a ticket, the offences in the table below carry set fines of $85 to $400 (the wheel-off offence has none), plus court costs and a victim fine surcharge. Fines under the Highway Traffic Act run from $60 to $20,000 for these offences, or up to $50,000 if a wheel comes off a commercial vehicle. Convictions also go on the carrier's CVOR record and count toward its safety rating.

Set fines come from the Ontario Court of Justice's Schedule 43 (updated July 1, 2026). Court costs and a victim fine surcharge are added to the fine (Ontario Court of Justice). MTO's 2026 training module says a convicted driver pays $110 for failing to surrender a completed daily inspection report and $390 for driving with a major defect. It says a carrier pays $390 for failing to ensure performance standards are met.

A conviction appears on the carrier's CVOR record and on the carrier and driver abstracts. MTO's overall violation rate counts collisions, convictions and inspections over 24 months. Inspection points are compared with a threshold based on the number of units inspected. Collisions and convictions count double compared with inspections. At 35% of the threshold, a warning letter may follow. At 100%, the CVOR may be suspended or cancelled (MTO CVOR reference guide). See the CVOR Ontario guide and how to read a CVOR abstract.

How can TruckerPro help with inspection records?

TruckerPro's driver app can record a pre-trip or post-trip inspection and send it to the carrier, and the TMS can store each truck's and trailer's annual inspection certificate. The carrier stays responsible for meeting the regulation, including the report entries and roadside rules above. Feature availability varies by plan; see the plan comparison.

• The driver app's checklist is grouped by vehicle system, such as air brakes, cab, cargo securement and coupling devices. Each item is marked OK, minor, major or N/A. The groups do not match Schedule 1 one for one, so check them against the schedule your drivers carry.
• Requiring in-app inspections is a company setting that is off by default. When it is on, the app asks for a pre-trip inspection before the day's first pickup and a post-trip inspection before a load is marked delivered, both tied to the load's truck.
• If the carrier also turns on out-of-service blocking, a major defect on one of those reports places the truck out of service. Dispatch then blocks that truck until a supervisor returns it to service, and the driver cannot clear it. Only a user with out-of-service override permission can bypass the block, and must give a reason.
• Each annual inspection certificate is stored with its expiry date. The maintenance dashboard shows the next inspections due within 60 days, including overdue ones, based on inspections recorded in the maintenance log.

See fleet maintenance software for the maintenance side. The Ontario trucking regulations overview covers CVOR, weights, speed limiters and other provincial rules.

Frequently asked questions

When does a PMCVI expire?

An annual inspection sticker on a truck, trailer or converter dolly is valid until the end of the twelfth month after the inspection month. The inspection month is shown on the sticker. A semi-annual sticker for a bus or similar passenger vehicle lasts until the end of the sixth month after the inspection month.

How long is a Schedule 1 inspection valid in Ontario?

A Schedule 1 daily inspection is valid for 24 hours under Ontario Regulation 199/07. During that time the driver must carry the schedule and the completed report. Any defect found later in the trip must be recorded and reported to the operator.

What is the difference between a major and a minor defect?

Ontario's inspection schedules list minor defects in column 2 and major defects in column 3. A driver may keep driving with a minor defect, such as an audible air leak, after recording it and reporting it to the operator. A major defect, such as a flat tire, means the vehicle must not be driven until it is repaired.

What is the fine for no annual inspection sticker in Ontario?

Driving, or letting someone drive, a vehicle that needs an annual inspection without a valid sticker or other proof is an offence under section 85 of the Highway Traffic Act. The set fine on a ticket is $200, plus court costs and the victim fine surcharge. The Act's full range is $200 to $20,000, and an officer can also seize the number plates and the sticker.

What does PMCVI stand for?

PMCVI stands for periodic mandatory commercial vehicle inspection. It is Ontario's annual safety inspection for most trucks, trailers and converter dollies over 4,500 kg, and the semi-annual inspection for buses and some other passenger vehicles. Only a registered technician at a DriveON Vehicle Inspection Centre can do it.