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NEWS RELEASE

Ontario Making Car Registrations Easier and More Convenient

New Digital Dealership Registration process will eliminate paperwork, save time, and cut costs for consumers and businesses

March 22, 2022
Ministry of Government and Consumer Services

LONDON – The Ontario government is launching the Digital Dealership Registration (DDR) to make it easier, faster, and more convenient for Ontarians to buy a car and enjoy their new vehicle almost immediately after purchase by enabling car dealerships to register vehicles online and issue permits and licence plates directly to purchasers.

At full implementation, the new DDR process will, for the first time ever, provide over 7,000 Ontario car dealerships access to an online program that eliminates duplicative paperwork and time-consuming trips to ServiceOntario centres. This new process will speed up service delivery while improving the ease of doing business in the province with dealerships being able to provide registration and licence plates directly to customers, reducing the administrative burden they face and saving them additional costs and time.

“Implementing the new Digital Dealership Registration process is yet another way our government is cutting red tape for businesses and improving the speed and ease with which Ontarians access government services,” said Ross Romano, Minister of Government and Consumer Services. “We’re helping build a stronger Ontario by making common sense changes like eliminating needless paperwork, saving consumers and the dealerships that serve them their precious time, energy, and money.”

Once fully implemented, DDR will help move online up to 4.8 million dealership registration transactions annually including the registration of pre-owned vehicles, vehicle transfers, and vehicle permit replacements, all of which must currently be conducted in person. It will also mark the successful completion of the government’s commitment to improve or bring online the ten highest volume ServiceOntario transactions.

In addition to making vehicle registrations faster and more efficient, DDR will also facilitate more accurate and error free registrations while protecting the security and privacy of Ontarians’ data. This is part of the government’s ambitious plan to provide user friendly and secure digital solutions to the people and businesses of Ontario, with this being a major step in a series of ongoing innovations to enabling online vehicle registration and ownership transfers.

“Our government is reducing red tape for car dealerships by eliminating repetitive paperwork and trips to the registration office,” said Nina Tangri, Associate Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction. “With the introduction of Digital Dealership Registration, businesses will save time and money and customers will be able to enjoy their new vehicle sooner.”

“Since day one, our government has been focused on making life easier for Ontario families and businesses in every corner of this province”, said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Transportation. “By moving vehicle registrations online, we are keeping more money in people’s pockets, and helping drivers get behind the wheel of their new vehicles faster.”

Quick Facts

  • DDR is available for registration of new passenger vehicles and is being tested in select dealerships through the spring.
  • When the system is fully developed, eligible dealerships can participate in the program as it expands and as additional transaction types are introduced, including used vehicle and electric vehicle transactions.
  • Industry associations are working with their dealership members interested in participating.
  • Participating dealerships will comply with privacy laws and procedures to safeguard Ontarians’ personal information and data.