How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in Yukon

The short answer

New drivers in Yukon go through a Graduated Driver Licensing Program with a learner stage and a novice stage before a full licence. You can start at 15 by passing a written test ($20) and a vision test at a Motor Vehicles office. You hold a learner's licence for at least six months and log 50 hours of driving, then pass a road test ($20) at 16 for a novice licence, hold that for at least 18 months, and apply for a full class licence. The whole path takes about two years. The program is run by Yukon Motor Vehicles.

Step 1: Pass the written and vision tests

Study the Yukon's Driver's Basic Handbook to prepare for the written test, then come to a Motor Vehicles office to take it. The test fee is $20. If you fail, you can take it again as early as the following day, and you need to pay $20 for a new test. Bring valid identification and proof that you are a Yukon resident. If you are under 18, you need to bring a parent or legal guardian, who also has to show proof of identity.

You will also have a vision test. If you do not pass it, you will need further vision testing by an optometrist or ophthalmologist. If you need glasses or contact lenses when you drive, that restriction will be shown on your licence.

Step 2: Get your learner's licence and log 50 hours

Once you have passed the written and vision tests, you get a learner's licence and package. Study the Tuning Up for Drivers Handbook to prepare for your road test. The learner stage lasts a minimum of six months, and you need to log at least 50 hours of driving practice with a valid co-driver. Yukon recommends gaining experience in a variety of traffic and weather conditions, including winter and night-time driving.

The learner stage restrictions are:

• Zero tolerance for alcohol or drug use for both you and your co-driver.
• Your co-driver must hold a valid minimum class 5 licence for at least 2 years and must accompany you when you are driving at all times.
• You can only operate a motor vehicle between 5 a.m. and midnight.
• You must display a learner driver "L" sign on the back of your vehicle every time you drive, visible to drivers approaching from behind.
• You are limited to 2 passengers including your co-driver. You can have more passengers if they are immediate family members: parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, or your children.
• Everyone must wear a seat belt.
• You can only operate a car or light truck whose registered gross vehicle weight does not exceed 4,000 kilograms and whose seating capacity is not more than 7, including the driver.
• You cannot use any hand-held or hands-free electronic devices while driving.
• You are not allowed to tow a trailer.

Step 3: Pass the road test for a novice licence

To take your road test you must be at least 16 years old, have had your learner's licence for 6 months, and have accumulated 50 hours of driving time. Contact your nearest Motor Vehicles office to book a road test appointment. A road test costs $20, and you must provide a safe vehicle with valid insurance and registration. The test covers using intersections, backing up, entering traffic, pulling over and stopping, changing lanes, parking on a hill, starting on a hill, angle parking, parallel parking, stall parking, two and three point turns, merging on and off a highway, and general driving. Once you pass, you are issued a novice licence.

Step 4: Drive under the novice stage restrictions

The novice stage lasts at least 18 months. Its restrictions are:

• A co-driver must accompany you between midnight and 5 a.m. Co-driver restrictions may not apply to a driver approved for a midnight work exemption — contact a Motor Vehicles office for more information.
• Zero tolerance for alcohol or drug use for you as well as your co-driver.
• Your co-driver must hold a valid minimum class 5 licence for at least 2 years.
• You can only operate a car or light truck whose registered gross vehicle weight does not exceed 4,000 kilograms and whose seating capacity is not more than 9, including the driver.
• You cannot use any hand-held or hands-free electronic devices while driving.
• You are not allowed to tow a trailer.

After completing the novice stage, apply for a full licence at any Motor Vehicles office. They will tell you how to apply.

If you already hold a licence from somewhere else

When you move to Yukon, you must transfer your current driver's licence to a Yukon driver's licence within 120 days of moving, or within 30 days if you have an air-brake endorsement. Yukon recognizes valid licences from Canada, the United States, Taiwan, Germany, and the Isle of Man; a German licence requires a sign test. If you have held your driver's licence for less than 2 years in a jurisdiction outside Canada, you will need to enrol in the Graduated Driver's Licensing program. To get a Yukon licence you surrender your out-of-territory licence, provide one acceptable proof of identity document and two acceptable proof of residency documents, and pay the applicable driver licence fee. The detailed exchange rules are in our How to Start Exchanging Your Foreign Driver's Licence in Canada guide.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened Yukon pages state the 15-year minimum age, the $20 written and road test fees, the 50 hours of driving practice, the 6-month learner stage, the 18-month novice stage, the learner and novice restrictions, and the 120-day and 30-day transfer windows, but they do not publish the cost of the learner's licence itself or the written test pass mark, so this guide states neither. The opened pages also do not publish what happens if you fail the road test, or how long a learner's licence stays valid if you take longer than six months, so this guide states neither.

Related guides:

• How to Start Exchanging Your Foreign Driver's Licence in Canada — the exchange rules for licences from other provinces, territories, and countries.
• How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in British Columbia — British Columbia's graduated licensing path, a different system from Yukon's.
• How to Start Getting Your Driver's Licence in Alberta — Alberta's graduated licensing path.
• How to Apply for the Yukon Seniors Income Supplement — Yukon's monthly top-up for low-income seniors receiving federal benefits.
• How to Apply for the Yukon Child Benefit — Yukon's child benefit, assessed from the Canada Child Benefit application.
• How to Get a Security Guard Licence in Yukon — another Yukon licence with its own training and application steps.

What the licence card itself costs, and how it arrives

The test fees are not the only cost. A Yukon driver licence costs $20 per year, or $100 for a five year card. Cards are no longer printed at the Motor Vehicles office in Whitehorse. They are printed by a secure printing vendor in Ontario, printed within three business days, and mailed to you by Canada Post, and Yukoners should allow up to four weeks for delivery. Your current licence stays valid until it expires, and you may renew it up to six months before it expires. The temporary licence you hold while the card is in the mail gives you the same driving authority as the standard card, but it is not considered valid photo identification, so carry other identification if you need photo ID during that wait. Budget the $100 five year card cost on top of the $20 written test and $20 road test fees when you work out the full cost of getting licensed.

Sources

• Government of Yukon, Learn about the changes to Yukon identification cards: the driver licence fee of $20 per year and $100 for a five year card, printing by a secure vendor in Ontario within three business days, mailing by Canada Post with up to four weeks allowed for delivery, renewal up to six months before expiry, and the temporary licence carrying the same driving authority but not counting as valid photo identification.
• Government of Yukon, Get a driver's licence — the 15-year minimum age, the $20 written and road test fees, the 50 hours of driving practice, the 6-month learner stage, the 18-month novice stage, the restrictions for both stages, and the road test contents.
• Government of Yukon, Transfer your driver's licence and registration from outside the Yukon — the 120-day and 30-day transfer windows, the recognized licences, the sign test for a German licence, the under-2-years rule sending drivers into the Graduated Driver's Licensing program, the identity documents required, and the residency documents required.