Key takeaways
- You must be 16 and bring two pieces of identification, plus your glasses or contacts for the vision test.
- The test is multiple choice in two parts, road signs and rules of the road, and you need at least 80 percent.
- Everything on it comes from the Official MTO Driver's Handbook, which is free online.
- Signs cost people the most marks. Learn the shapes and colours before the wording.
- Your 12-month G1 wait starts the day you pass, or 8 months if you take an approved BDE course.
The G1 knowledge test is the first thing standing between you and a licence, and it is the one people underestimate. It is not hard. It is specific. Here is what to expect.
Before you go
You have to be at least 16. Bring two pieces of identification showing your legal name and date of birth, and bring your glasses or contacts, because there is a vision test in the same visit.
Hours and walk-in rules change from centre to centre, so check before you drive out to Lambton Mall Road in Sarnia, or to Chatham if you are coming from Wallaceburg.
What the test looks like
It is multiple choice, on a screen, and it comes in two parts. One part is road signs. The other is rules of the road. You need at least 80 percent, and you need it in both parts. Passing signs and failing rules still means you failed.
Most people are done in 20 to 30 minutes. There is no trick timing and nobody is rushing you.
What to study
The Official MTO Driver's Handbook, and nothing else. Every question is drawn from it. It is on ontario.ca for free and it is a couple of hours of reading.
If you are going to skim, do not skim these:
- Every sign shape and colour, and what each shape means on its own
- Right of way at four-way stops, uncontrolled intersections and roundabouts
- School bus lights and when you have to stop
- Following distance and the two-second rule
- What to do at a railway crossing
- Speed limits where none are posted
- Demerit points and what gets you suspended
- Alcohol and drug rules for new drivers, which are zero tolerance
The signs people get wrong
Signs are where most of the lost marks are, because people study the ones with words on them and skip the ones without. Learn the shapes cold. A yellow diamond is a warning. An orange diamond is temporary construction. A white rectangle is a regulation you have to obey. A green sign is telling you where something is. Once the shapes are automatic, the wordless signs stop being guesswork.
Practise properly
Read a section, close the handbook, then write down every sign and rule you can remember from it. The gaps show up immediately, and they are the ones the test will find. Do the signs chapter twice.
If you fail
You rebook and pay again. That is it. Nobody at the counter cares and it happens constantly. Read the section you lost marks in and come back.
What happens when you pass
You leave with a G1. You are legal to drive, but only with a fully licensed driver in the front passenger seat, not between midnight and 5 a.m., and not on 400-series highways or high-speed expressways unless the person beside you is a licensed driving instructor.
Your 12-month wait for the road test starts that day. It drops to 8 months if you complete a ministry-approved Beginner Driver Education course, which is the main reason to start a course sooner rather than later. Our G2 guide covers everything that comes next.
One piece of advice
Do not book the test for the same day you decide to study. The pass rate on that plan is bad. Give it two evenings with the handbook and a practice test in between, and you will walk out with a licence.
