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How long it takes to get a full licence in each province

Adding up the minimum holds, the shortest path from a first learner licence to a full licence is 24 months, in Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories, and the longest is 60 months, in Nova Scotia. Five of the 13 jurisdictions cannot be added up from the figures we could confirm, and they are named rather than guessed at.
  • 8 of 13 jurisdictions added up from their own stage lengths
  • A named official source and date on every row
  • A row with a missing hold is named, never filled in

Who wrote this

  • Written by Vikas D.
  • Checked against DriveTest, Drivers Licences for Cars and 14 other named sources
  • Last checked 2026-10-30
A learner in the driver seat of a parked car with both hands on the wheel, shot from outside through the windscreen at an angle so the face is not readable.

Four results from the table

Shortest path to a full licence

24 months

Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Northwest Territories

DriveTest, Drivers Licences for Carsverified 2026-10-30

Longest path to a full licence

60 months

Nova Scotia

Registry of Motor Vehicles, Graduated Driver Licensingverified 2026-10-30

Most that driver education saves on the whole path

6 months

Alberta

Government of Alberta, Get a driver's licenceverified 2026-10-30

Youngest possible holder of a full licence

17 years

Northwest Territories

Northwest Territories Driver and Vehicle Services, Get a driver licence for the first timeverified 2026-10-30

All four are our own arithmetic over the stage lengths below, and each tile names the record its leading row came from.

How to read the figures

Four rules behind every number on this page.

  • What is added up

    The minimum hold on each stage, in months, from the first learner licence to the end of the last hold. The full licence stage itself has no hold, so it adds nothing to the sum.

  • What makes a row not computable

    A stage on the path with no hold figure in months. That row is named and left out of every order, because a guessed hold would change the ranking it was guessed for.

  • What driver education means here

    The shorter hold a province gives for an approved course. A province can also set a total the path cannot go below, so we report the saving on the whole path and not just on the stage.

  • What the age column assumes

    A start at the lowest age the province allows for the car test, every hold at its minimum and every test passed first go. An age rule on a stage counts even where the holds would finish sooner.

Every jurisdiction, shortest path first

The bars show how each path is made up. The table beneath gives the same figures with the working and the source.

  • First stage
  • Second stage
  • Third stage
  • Newfoundland and Labrador24 months
  • Ontario24 months
  • Manitoba24 months
  • New Brunswick24 months
  • Northwest Territories24 months
  • Saskatchewan27 months
  • Alberta36 months
  • Nova Scotia60 months
Each bar is the minimum hold without driver education, on one scale and split by stage. The longest runs to 60 months, in Nova Scotia. Only the 8 paths that can be added up are drawn.
JurisdictionMonths, no driver educationMonths with driver educationSaved on the whole pathThe sumEarliest age at full licenceSource and date
Newfoundland and Labrador24204
  • 12 or 8 Class 5, Level I learner
  • 12 Class 5, Level II novice driver
18 years, or 17 years 8 months with driver educationMotor Registration Division, Graduated Driver Licensing Programverified 2026-10-30
Ontario24204
  • 12 or 8 G1 learner licence
  • 12 G2 probationary licence
Starting age not confirmedDriveTest, Drivers Licences for Carsverified 2026-10-30
Manitoba24No shorter holdNone shown
  • 9 Class 5L Learner Stage
  • 15 Class 5I Intermediate Stage
17 years 6 monthsManitoba Public Insurance, Graduated Driver Licensingverified 2026-10-30
New Brunswick24240
  • 12 or 8 Class 7 Level 1
  • 12 Class 7 Level 2
  • Total of at least 24 months
18 yearsGovernment of New Brunswick, Graduated drivers’ licencesverified 2026-10-30
Northwest Territories24No shorter holdNone shown
  • 12 Stage 1, Learner's Class 7
  • 12 Probationary Class 5P
17 yearsNorthwest Territories Driver and Vehicle Services, Get a driver licence for the first timeverified 2026-10-30
Saskatchewan27No shorter holdNone shown
  • 9 Class 7 learner's licence
  • 6 Class 5 Novice 1
  • 12 Class 5 Novice 2
17 years 3 monthsSGI Driver's Handbook, Graduated Driver Licensing programverified 2026-10-30
Alberta36306
  • 12 Class 7 learner's licence
  • 24 or 18 Class 5 probationary licence
18 yearsGovernment of Alberta, Get a driver's licenceverified 2026-10-30
Nova Scotia60573
  • 12 or 9 Learner's Licence
  • 24 Newly Licensed Driver
  • 24 Restricted Individual
21 years, or 20 years 9 months with driver educationRegistry of Motor Vehicles, Graduated Driver Licensingverified 2026-10-30Registry of Motor Vehicles, Graduated Driver Licensing exitverified 2026-10-30
British ColumbiaNot computable. No single hold figure in months for Class 7L learner licence and Class 7N novice licence. The official wording is quoted further down the page.ICBC, Get your Lverified 2026-10-30ICBC, Changes to the Graduated Licensing Programverified 2026-10-30
Prince Edward IslandNot computable. No single hold figure in months for Stage 1 (L) Instruction Driver's Permit, Class 7, Stage 2 (G) Class 5 with restrictions and Stage 3 (G) Class 5 with reduced restrictions. The official wording is quoted further down the page.Government of Prince Edward Island, Graduated Driver Licensing programverified 2026-10-30
QuebecNot computable. No single hold figure in months for Learner licence and Probationary licence. The official wording is quoted further down the page.SAAQ, Obtaining a Passenger Vehicle Class 5 Drivers Licenceverified 2026-10-30
NunavutNot computable. We have not confirmed any stages yet.Government of Nunavut, Nunavut Driver's Manualverified 2026-09-15
YukonNot computable. We have not confirmed any stages yet.Government of Yukon, Yukon driver's basic handbookverified 2026-09-15

The fastest and slowest paths

We add each stage's minimum hold, from the day the first learner licence is issued to the day the last hold ends. That sum can be done for 8 of the 13 jurisdictions. The shortest path is 24 months, in Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories. After that come 27 months in Saskatchewan and 36 months in Alberta. The longest is 60 months, in Nova Scotia, which is 36 months more than the shortest, or three years.

Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan list no separate full licence stage, so the count runs through the last stage listed.

That choice decides the top of this order. Nova Scotia's last stage, Restricted Individual, adds 24 months. The third stage lasts 2 years and carries condition 47. Stop the count before it and the path reads 36 months, level with Alberta. We count it because the province gives it a length of its own, and we would rather show you the choice than hide it.

Take the shortest hold on offer for approved driver education and the order moves. The shortest path becomes 20 months, in Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador, and the longest 57 months, in Nova Scotia.

What driver education actually saves

Five jurisdictions shorten a stage for approved driver education, and the cut is not the same size everywhere.

  • Ontario: G1 learner licence, from 12 months to 8, which is 4 months off
  • Alberta: Class 5 probationary licence, from 24 months to 18, which is 6 months off
  • New Brunswick: Class 7 Level 1, from 12 months to 8, which is 4 months off
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: Class 5, Level I learner, from 12 months to 8, which is 4 months off
  • Nova Scotia: Learner's Licence, from 12 months to 9, which is 3 months off

Where the months come off matters as much as how many. In Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia the cut is to the learner stage, so the first road test can come sooner. In Alberta the learner stage stays as it was and the cut comes after the road test, in a stage where you are already driving alone.

New Brunswick is the case to read closely. The course takes 4 months off a stage, so the road test can come sooner. But the province also says this: Total time in GDL is at least 24 months, including at least 12 months in Level 2. So the full licence arrives at 24 months either way, and the course buys an earlier road test rather than an earlier full licence.

On the whole path the largest saving is 6 months, in Alberta. As a share of the path it runs from 5% in Nova Scotia to 16.67% in Ontario, Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Quebec, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan require a course before the road test, so education is not an optional shortcut there.

The stage lengths for Manitoba and the Northwest Territories show no shorter hold for a course, so a course there does not change the figures on this page.

The earliest age you can hold a full licence

Start at the lowest age the province allows, hold every stage for the minimum time and pass everything first go, and this is the earliest you can hold a full licence. The Northwest Territories comes first at 17 years, and Nova Scotia last at 21 years.

  • The Northwest Territories: 17 years, starting at 15
  • Saskatchewan: 17 years 3 months, starting at 15
  • Manitoba: 17 years 6 months, starting at 15.5
  • Alberta: 18 years, starting at 14
  • New Brunswick: 18 years, starting at 16
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: 18 years, starting at 16
  • Nova Scotia: 21 years, starting at 16

The lowest starting age is not the lowest finishing age. Alberta lets you begin at 14, younger than anywhere else on this list, and still finishes behind the Northwest Territories.

The reason is a rule rather than the holds. Alberta says you must be at least 18 for the full licence, so a learner who starts at 14 finishes the holds early and then waits. The holds only decide the date for someone who starts at 15 or later. It also means driver education brings nothing forward for the youngest starters, because they reach the age rule either way.

Manitoba's figure rests on a condition. Most applicants must be 16. A learner may apply at 15.5 while enrolled in a Driver Z course that is in progress. A learner starting at 16 reaches a full licence at 18 years.

Saskatchewan's figure rests on a condition. Most applicants must be 16. Students in High School Driver Education may apply at 15, and applicants under 18 need parental consent. A learner starting at 16 reaches a full licence at 18 years 3 months.

Different starting ages blur the comparison, so put everyone at the same one. At 16, the most common lowest age on this list, the earliest full licence comes at 18 years in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Northwest Territories, 18 years 3 months in Saskatchewan, 19 years in Alberta and 21 years in Nova Scotia.

We can add up the path for Ontario but could not confirm a minimum age for the car test, so it is left out of the ages here rather than given a guessed start.

Where the sum cannot be done

British Columbia, Quebec and Prince Edward Island cannot be added up from the stage lengths we could confirm, so they are out of every order above. We do not fill a missing hold with a likely figure.

British Columbia has no hold figure in months for Class 7L learner licence and Class 7N novice licence. The length depends on who you are, so there is no single figure to add. The official wording, stage by stage:

  • Class 7L learner licence: After the knowledge test and vision screening, drive with a qualified supervisor and display an L sign. The learner period is 12 months if you are under 25, or 9 months if you are 25 or older.
  • Class 7N novice licence: After the first road test, display an N sign while driving. The safe-driving period is 24 months if you are under 25, or 18 months with an approved learner-stage course. It is 12 months if you are 25 or older.

Quebec has no hold figure in months for Learner licence and Probationary licence. The wording gives no single figure in months to add. The official wording, stage by stage:

  • Learner licence: The first stage, and it starts with the mandatory driving course rather than with a test. You drive with an accompanying driver who holds a valid licence, and you only become eligible for the knowledge test once you have held this licence for 10 months.
  • Probationary licence: You pass the road test and drive alone under conditions, including a zero alcohol limit that applies for the whole stage.

Prince Edward Island has no hold figure in months for Stage 1 (L) Instruction Driver's Permit, Class 7, Stage 2 (G) Class 5 with restrictions and Stage 3 (G) Class 5 with reduced restrictions. The lengths are written in days, and a month is not a fixed number of days, so we leave them as written rather than convert them. The official wording, stage by stage:

  • Stage 1 (L) Instruction Driver's Permit, Class 7: Hold the permit for 365 days before the Class 5 road test, or 275 days while enrolled in certified driver education.
  • Stage 2 (G) Class 5 with restrictions: This stage lasts one full year, or 365 days.
  • Stage 3 (G) Class 5 with reduced restrictions: This stage lasts another full year, or 365 days.

In words, the whole path is put this way: "The minimum GDL path is 3 years, or 2 years and 275 days with certified driver education." That is not a sum of stage figures, so it stays out of the order.

We have not confirmed any stages for Nunavut and Yukon yet. That is a gap on our side rather than a finding about them.

What these figures cannot tell you

How long it will take you. These are minimums for someone who passes everything first go and books the moment each hold ends. We hold no waiting time figures for road test bookings, so none of that is here. A failed road test adds its own wait in Manitoba, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan, on top of whatever the next booking takes.

Whether your hold will stay at the minimum. In Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan the stage wording ties the length or the exit to a clean record, so a suspension or a similar event can push the date back.

What full means. A full licence is not free of conditions everywhere, and these conditions are not counted in the months above.

  • Manitoba: The first 3 years of the full stage keep the full-stage zero alcohol condition.

Whether a rule has changed since we read it. The rows were checked on dates from 2026-09-15 to 2026-10-30, and each row shows its own. A province can change a stage length at any time, so read the source named on the row before you plan around a date. In Ontario, the licence timeline tool works from your own dates, and our guide to graduated licensing covers the conditions in each stage.

Where to go from here

Practise for the first testAll datasets

Sources

Every stage length above comes from one of these official records. The totals, the savings and the ages are our own arithmetic over them, and the date beside each record is when we last read it.