Charges under the Highway Traffic Act and other Ontario statutes are prosecuted under the Provincial Offences Act in the Ontario Court of Justice. A Licensed Paralegal may represent a defendant in those proceedings.
The choice people face is usually narrower than they think, and it has to be made quickly.
What the ticket is asking you to do
An offence notice gives you a set of options, and which ones appear depends on the form you were served with. Generally you may pay the amount shown, attend court to plead guilty and make submissions about the penalty, ask to meet a prosecutor to see whether the charge can be resolved, or request a trial.
Fifteen days. The Ontario Court of Justice states that if you do not do one of those things within 15 days of receiving your ticket, or if nobody attends for your trial, you may be found guilty. Doing nothing is a decision, and it is the one that ends in a conviction without anybody hearing from you.
Source: Ontario Court of Justice, Guide for Defendants in Provincial Offences Cases, checked 20 September 2026.
Paying the fine is a conviction
This is the point most worth making. Paying the amount on the ticket is a plea of guilty. It closes the matter, and it registers a conviction for that offence, with whatever consequences attach to it. People pay because it is quick, and then find that the consequence they were worried about follows anyway.
That does not mean every ticket should be disputed. It means the decision is worth two minutes of thought before the cheque is written.
What a conviction can carry
A fine is often the least of it. Depending on the offence a conviction can also mean demerit points, a licence suspension, and consequences for a commercial driver whose employment depends on their record.
Demerit points stay on the record for two years from the date of the offence.
For a fully licensed driver, 6 to 8 points brings a warning letter. At 9 to 14 points the Registrar may require you to attend an interview and show cause why your licence should not be suspended, and the Minister may then suspend or cancel the licence if you do not attend, do not meet the Ministry’s requirements, or do not show cause at the interview. At 15 or more points the Registrar must suspend the licence after giving notice: a first suspension runs 30 days from the date the licence is surrendered, and a subsequent suspension runs six months.
For a novice driver the thresholds are lower. Two to 5 points brings a warning letter. At 6 to 8 points the Registrar may require the same show-cause interview, with the same discretionary suspension or cancellation if it is not answered. At 9 or more points the Registrar must suspend the licence after giving notice: 60 days for a first suspension and six months for a subsequent one.
Source: O. Reg. 339/94 (Demerit Point System) under the Highway Traffic Act, sections 1, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16 and 17.
How many points a particular charge carries depends on the offence a person is actually convicted of, which is not always the offence written on the ticket. That is one of the things a resolution discussion is for.
Insurance
A court does not decide what your insurance will cost. Convictions are recorded on the driving record, insurers may take them into account, and each insurer applies its own rules on which convictions matter, for how long, and by how much. No one can say in advance exactly what effect a particular ticket will have on your insurance premium.
What can be said is narrower and more useful: the record is what insurers see, so the question worth asking is what conviction, if any, ends up on it.
Charges the practice handles
Speeding, careless driving, distracted driving and handheld communication device allegations, fail-to-stop and other traffic-control offences, seat-belt offences, driver’s licence and permit offences, insurance-related provincial offences, and other matters under the Highway Traffic Act and the Provincial Offences Act that fall within permitted paralegal scope.
JAVED Legal and Immigration Services represents clients in traffic-ticket and other Provincial Offences matters throughout Ontario, where the matter falls within the authorized scope of an Ontario licensed paralegal.
The more serious charges
Some Highway Traffic Act charges are a long way from a routine ticket, and the published penalties show it.
- Careless driving carries a fine of $400 to $2,000, six demerit points, a maximum of six months in jail and a licence suspension of up to two years.
- Careless driving causing bodily harm or death carries a fine of $2,000 to $50,000, six demerit points, a maximum of two years in jail, and a licence suspension of up to five years.
- Stunt driving or street racing brings an immediate 30-day licence suspension and a 14-day vehicle impoundment at the roadside, before any trial. On conviction the fine is $2,000 to $10,000, with up to six months in jail, and six demerit points. The licence suspension is a minimum of one year on a first conviction, which the court may extend to three years; a minimum of three years on a second, extendable to ten; and indefinite on a third or subsequent conviction.
- Distracted driving for a fully licensed driver carries three demerit points and a three-day suspension on a first offence; six points and a seven-day suspension on a first subsequent offence; and six points and a 30-day suspension on a second or further subsequent offence. The escalation applies only where the later offence is committed within five years of the previous conviction. The fine is $500 to $1,000 on a first offence, $500 to $2,000 on a first subsequent offence, and $500 to $3,000 on a second or further subsequent offence. A novice driver receives no demerit points but faces a 30-day suspension on a first conviction, 90 days on a second, and cancellation of the licence on a third.
Sources: Highway Traffic Act, sections 78.1, 130 and 172, consolidated to 1 July 2026; O. Reg. 339/94 (Demerit Point System), consolidated to 5 June 2026; and O. Reg. 340/94 (Drivers’ Licences), consolidated to 1 July 2026. Checked 20 September 2026. These are the statutory ranges and maximums, not a prediction of the sentence in any case.
Criminal charges are a different matter
Impaired driving, dangerous driving and failing to remain under the Criminal Code are criminal charges, not provincial offences. They are prosecuted differently and carry consequences a provincial offence does not, including a criminal record. This practice does not take criminal defence work. If you have been charged criminally, you need a criminal lawyer, and you should get one quickly.
How a case proceeds
Once a trial or a meeting is requested, disclosure is obtained. A defendant is entitled to receive, free of charge, the relevant material in the prosecutor’s possession, which usually means the officer’s notes and any supporting evidence. What is in those notes generally determines what the case is really about.
Where an early resolution meeting is available, the prosecutor and the defendant or their representative discuss whether the charge can be resolved, for example by a plea to a lesser offence or a withdrawal. Meeting the prosecutor does not give up the right to a trial. If the matter goes to trial, the prosecutor must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, and the justice of the peace decides.
Common questions
Should I just pay it?
Sometimes that is the sensible answer, and you will be told so. It is the wrong answer where the conviction carries points you cannot afford, where your licence or your job depends on your record, or where the charge is more serious than the fine suggests.
Can a paralegal fight my ticket?
Yes. Proceedings under the Provincial Offences Act in the Ontario Court of Justice are within a Licensed Paralegal’s scope of practice in Ontario.
Do I have to attend court myself?
In many provincial offence matters a representative can appear without the defendant. Whether that is possible depends on the charge and on what the court requires, and it will be confirmed for your matter rather than promised in advance.
What happens if I ignore the ticket?
You may be convicted without a hearing, the fine becomes payable, and unpaid fines can lead to a refusal to renew a licence plate or a driver’s licence. Ignoring a charge does not make it go away; it removes your say in how it ends.
Discuss your matter
Bring the ticket itself, both sides, and note the date it was served on you. If a court date has already been set, bring that notice too.
Related pages: paralegal services · Small Claims Court · Landlord and Tenant Board · fees and retainers
Last reviewed: 20 September 2026 against Ontario Court of Justice and Government of Ontario material. Penalties and procedures change, and the consequences of a conviction depend on the offence and on your driving record. This page is general information, not legal advice about any particular charge.