The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for Ontario, Canada has restrictions in place for both G1 drivers. The restrictions list for a G1 license does not include driving out of the providence or into the United States to the best of our knowledge.

Before driving into the U.S. with your G1 license you should check with the MTO, though to confirm that you are allowed to drive here, with the required fully licensed driver (who has at least four years driving experience). It is likely that your Canadian restrictions will still be in place even while driving outside of Canada.

Though we still advise you to contact the MTO about driving into the US with a G1 we did check with a representative from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for more information on this topic and spoke with a couple of people.

One representative of the MTO stated that the G1 licence is a learner's permit and as such, only meant for practice driving in Ontario with a licensed accompanying driver present at all times. A novice licence is not considered to be fully licensed for driving.

However MTO rep. went on to say that once you are outside Ontario, you are subject to the laws of the jurisdiction you are traveling in, not Ontario's laws. The rep. also noted that you should check first with the licensing authorities of the province or state about the validity of Ontario novice licences there BEFORE you travel out of the area.

A different MTO rep stated that the Class G1 driver’s license is a valid license, even in the US, provided all the restrictions that apply in Ontario are also followed in the US and you drive with an accompanying driver. Since this information is a bit different then what the other MTO personnel told us we would suggest that you call the ServiceOntario Driver and Vehicle contact centre at 416-235-2999 or 1-800-387-3445 (Canada wide) and speak with a customer service representative to get a specific answer for you and your situation.

Also contact the State or States Department of Motor Vehicles in which you plan to drive. By checking with the DMVs you will be assured that these States will recognize your G1 license and can make certain that there are not any other additional restrictions put onto you according to the various state laws.

We contacted a few states near the Canadian border to see if they allowed for G1 drivers to operate a vehicle in their state. Here is what the DMVs that responded had to say:

The Wisconsin DOT stated that foreign visitors who will be in Wisconsin less than 1 year and are at least 16 years old, may drive in Wisconsin without obtaining a Wisconsin driver license provided they possess a valid driver license from one of the countries that are party to the United Nations Convention on Road Traffic (Geneva, 1949) and the Convention on the Regulation of Inter-American Motor Vehicle Traffic (Washington, D.C., 1943).Canada is part of the agreements so that is not an issue. 

The Michigan Secretary of state said that you would have the same privileges in Michigan that you would have in Canada regardless of whether you hold a G1 or G2. If you have other questions, feel free to contact the SOS at 888-767-6424.

The state of Minnesota was confused about what a G1 was but once they found out from the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) they said there should be no problems. Minnesota law does allow a person to drive in Minnesota as long as the person has a valid driver license from their home country.

Finally, after you have to checked with the DMV of the state(s) in which you plan to visit within the US make sure to check with your insurance company to see if coverage will extend to you while driving in the United States with your G1.

For more information on the restrictions of the G1 licence read our article Ontario, Canada Graduated Licensing System – G1.