How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in Quebec
Quebec's SAAQ path to a Class 5 licence: the mandatory 39-hour course, learner's licence, tests, and 24-month probationary licence.
How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in Manitoba
Manitoba's MPI graduated licensing path: the Learner stage of at least 9 months, the Intermediate stage of at least 15 months, then a full Class 5 licence.
Applies in: Manitoba
Manitoba's graduated licensing system is run by Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI), and it applies to every driver who applies for a first Class 5 or Class 6 licence. The Graduated Driver Licensing (GDL) program is a three-stage process: Learner, Intermediate, and Full. This guide follows the stages exactly as MPI's testing page for a Class 5 licence and the Manitoba Driver's Handbook chapter on graduated driver licensing state them.
Step 1: Register as an MPI customer and pass the knowledge test
Before you can schedule a knowledge test appointment, register as an MPI customer and establish your identification. MPI states this speeds up the process because it can begin verifying your identification right away, and it avoids surprises on test day if you do not bring the right identification.
To obtain a Full Stage Class 5 licence, you must be a minimum of 16 years of age. At age 15 and a half, you may apply for a Class 5L licence if enrolled in MPI's Driver Z Program, in a course that is currently in progress. You must meet the required vision and medical standards and pass a knowledge test. If you have a medical condition that may affect your ability to drive safely, you must inform Driver Fitness before taking the knowledge test, and any required medical report must be approved before you can take it.
The Class 5 knowledge test assesses your knowledge of traffic laws, safe driving practices, and recognition of road signs. Prepare by reviewing the Driver's Handbook and taking MPI's driving quizzes. A knowledge test costs $12, has a 30-minute time limit, is not open book, and is administered on a computer. Knowledge tests are available in English and French, plus 28 other languages, with audio for all languages offered. Cell phones and electronic devices are not allowed in the test area. If you are in the GDL program and are not successful on your knowledge test, there is a seven-day waiting period before you can take the test again.
Step 2: Hold the Learner Stage licence for at least 9 months
After passing the knowledge test and meeting the visual and medical standards, you must purchase a licence for $20, plus base driver premium charges of up to $45 and any applicable additional driver premium. With this licence, if you are in the GDL program you will be in the Learner Stage (5L) for a minimum of nine months.
Learner drivers must follow these restrictions: no drugs or alcohol in your system, and be accompanied by a qualified supervising driver as the only front seat passenger. The supervising driver must hold a valid licence and have held a Class 5F licence for at least three years, must have less than 0.05 blood alcohol concentration, and must not fail a drug screening test. Time in the Learner Stage only counts while you hold a valid licence; it does not count if your licence is invalid, cancelled, prohibited, or suspended.
Drivers who are not in the GDL program are issued a Class 5A licence (Authorized Instruction). A 5A licence holder can attempt the road test once they have passed the knowledge test, have practised, and are ready, and moves to a Class 5 Full licence after passing the road test.
Step 3: Pass the road test for the Intermediate Stage
Once you can perform the basic driving techniques, are at least 16 years of age, and have held a Learner's Stage Class 5 (5L) licence for at least nine months, you can take a road test. Road tests must be booked at your closest location, and Winnipeg residents must take the Class 5 road test at the Winnipeg Service Centre. A road test costs $35.
Bring your valid 5L or 5A driver's licence and a valid registration certificate for the vehicle you will be using, or your test will be cancelled. You must supply a vehicle in good working order, properly registered and insured, with adequate seating for the driver examiner including a functioning headrest on the passenger seat. Check in 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment time, with your supervising driver present at check-in; the supervising driver is not allowed in the car during the test. The test has five parts: greeting, vehicle check, explanation of the test, the drive, and the results. It is discontinued as soon as you fail the parallel parking exercise, cause interference or a collision, commit a serious traffic offence or dangerous action, have to be assisted by the examiner, or accumulate 11 general errors. If you are unsuccessful on three Class 5 road test attempts, you must take a minimum of five hours of professional instruction from a driving school with a permit from MPI before booking any subsequent road test.
Step 4: Hold the Intermediate Stage for at least 15 months
After passing the road test, 5L drivers move into the Intermediate Stage (minimum 15 months). In the Intermediate Stage you must have no drugs or alcohol in your system, and the passenger rules are: from 5 a.m. to midnight, one passenger in the front seat and passengers in the back seat up to the number of functioning seat belts; between midnight and 5 a.m., either one passenger or a qualified supervising driver in the front seat, plus back seat passengers up to the number of functioning seat belts. Drivers in the Intermediate Stage may tow vehicles, operate a Class 3 motor vehicle registered as a farm truck, and operate off-road vehicles along or across highways.
You only complete the Intermediate Stage once: time served in the Intermediate Stage in Class 5 is applied to the Intermediate Stage in Class 6, and vice versa. After spending a minimum of 15 months in the Intermediate Stage, you graduate to the Full Stage. For the first 36 months of the Full Stage you must continue to have no drugs or alcohol in your system. A Manitoba driver's licence is valid for up to five years.
Figures the opened MPI pages do not state
The opened MPI pages state the stage lengths, the test fees, the licence and premium charges, and the restrictions set out above. They do not state the cost of the Driver Z Program or of the five hours of professional instruction required after three failed road tests, so this guide states no price for either. Confirm those costs with MPI or the driving school before you book.
Related guides:
- How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in Ontario — Ontario's G1, G2, and full G system, which runs longer at the learner stage than Manitoba's 9 months.
- How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in Alberta — Alberta's Class 7 to Class 5 path, where the probationary period can be shortened by an approved course.
- How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in British Columbia — British Columbia's learner-to-Class 5 path through ICBC.
- How to Get a Security Guard Licence in Manitoba — another Manitoba licence that starts with an MPI-related application, for paid security work.
The Manitoba graduated licensing path to a full Class 5 licence
- Register with MPI and pass the knowledge testAt 16, or 15 and a half if enrolled in the Driver Z Program, register as an MPI customer, meet the vision and medical standards, and pass the $12 knowledge test
- Hold the Learner Stage licence for at least 9 monthsBuy the $20 licence plus base driver premium of up to $45, drive only with a qualified supervising driver, and keep drugs and alcohol out of your system
- Pass the $35 road test for the Intermediate StageAt 16 or older, after at least 9 months as a learner, the road test moves you to the Intermediate Stage for at least 15 months
- Hold the Intermediate Stage for at least 15 monthsDrive alone with night passenger limits and zero drugs and alcohol, then graduate to the Full Stage with zero drugs and alcohol for the first 36 months
Questions people ask
How old do I have to be to start driving in Manitoba?
You must be at least 16 years of age to apply for a Class 5 learner licence, or a minimum of 15 and a half years of age and enrolled in MPI's Driver Z Program, in a course that is currently in progress. You need parental consent if you are under 18, and you must pass a knowledge test and meet the vision and medical standards.
What are the three stages of Manitoba's graduated licensing?
The Graduated Driver Licensing program has three stages: the Learner Stage for a minimum of nine months, the Intermediate Stage for a minimum of 15 months, and the Full Stage, during the first three years of which you must continue to have no drugs or alcohol in your system. Time in the Learner and Intermediate stages only counts while you hold a valid licence.
Who can supervise me as a learner?
Your supervising driver must be the only front seat passenger, must hold a valid licence and have held a Class 5F licence for at least three years, must have less than 0.05 blood alcohol concentration, and must not fail a drug screening test. Learner drivers must also have no drugs or alcohol in their system.
How much do the Manitoba tests cost?
A knowledge test costs $12, with a 30-minute time limit on a computer. After passing, you must purchase a licence for $20, plus base driver premium charges of up to $45 and any applicable additional driver premium. A road test costs $35. If you fail the knowledge test, there is a seven-day waiting period before you can take it again.
What are the passenger rules in the Intermediate Stage?
From 5 a.m. to midnight you may carry one passenger in the front seat and passengers in the back seat up to the number of functioning seat belts. Between midnight and 5 a.m. you may carry either one passenger or a qualified supervising driver in the front seat, plus back seat passengers up to the number of functioning seat belts. You must have no drugs or alcohol in your system.
What happens if I fail the road test three times?
If you are unsuccessful on three Class 5 road test attempts, you will be required to take a minimum of five hours of professional instruction from a driving school with a permit from Manitoba Public Insurance before booking any subsequent road test.
Sources
- Manitoba Public Insurance, Testing for your Class 5 licence — the full Class 5 requirements, the 15-and-a-half Driver Z entry, the $12 knowledge test and 7-day retake wait, the $20 licence plus base driver premium of up to $45, the $35 road test, and the five-part road test.
- Manitoba Public Insurance, Manitoba Driver's Handbook — Graduated Driver Licensing — the three GDL stages, the 9-month Learner and 15-month Intermediate minimums, the supervising driver conditions, the Intermediate passenger limits, the 36-month zero drugs and alcohol rule in the Full Stage, and the 5-year licence validity.