Ontario, Canada has a graduated licensing system which you are going through. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for Ontario has restrictions in place for both G1 and G2 drivers. The restrictions list for a G2 license does not include driving out of the providence or into the United States.

We contacted the Ontario, Canada Ministry of Transportation (MTO) to find out for certain if G1 or G2 licensed drivers could drive out of their province and into the United States since the restriction and conditions listed by the MTO for these graduated licenses does not say for certain.

The representative of the MTO stated that while 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 however the MTO 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. for the MTO 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.

A novice licence is not considered to be fully licensed for driving the MTO noted and whether a Class G2 licence is accepted depends on the laws, including minimum driving age, in the province or state you are driving in.

So it would appear that you can drive into the United States with your G2 if the state you are driving in allows you to do so. Before driving into the U.S. with your G2 license you might want to check with the MTO, just to find out for certain what restrictions or conditions they place on you while out of the province.

It is likely that your Canadian restrictions will still be in place even while driving outside of Canada but it may be that you are only required to abide by the restrictions of the state in which you are operating a car. The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) representative stated that you can call the Service Ontario Driver and Vehicle contact centre at 416-235-2999 or 1-800-387-3445 (Canada wide) and speak with a customer service representative if you have additional questions or need clarification.

Before driving into the US with your G2, 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 G2 license and can make certain that there are not any other restrictions put onto your according to various state laws.

We contacted New York State about your ability to drive there with your G2 license. The representative said that there are restrictions if you drive in NYS with a learner permit or graduated license issued by another state or country. There are different restrictions if you are less than 18 years old and you drive in NYS with a driver license issued by another state (or country).

You must obey the restrictions of both the state (or country) that issued the driver license or the learner permit and the NYS restrictions on learner permits or junior licenses. You cannot drive in NYS if you are less than 16 years old, which is not an issue for you at 17 years of age and turning 18 soon.

The restrictions for what NYS considers to be a junior license differ depending upon what part of New York State you are driving within. Some areas of NY you may drive by yourself, in other area you are required to operate the vehicle under the immediate supervision of your parent, guardian, person "in loco parentis," driver education teacher or driving school instructor who is at least age 21 and has a license valid for the vehicle being driven while in other parts, such as New York City, you may not be permitted to drive at all.

This NYS new drivers brochure should help you learn about the conditions and restrictions that New York places on its young drivers and hopefully you will be able to tell if you must driver with a supervising adult or by yourself in the area of NYS that you want to visit. To verify that you understand the restrictions you have on your G2 license in New York State we would recommend that you contact the NYS DMV directly as well.