Provincial Offences

What are the penalties for distracted driving with a phone in Ontario?

Last updated October 7, 2026.

In Ontario, a first conviction for driving while holding or using a phone carries a fine of $500 to $1,000, an automatic three-day licence suspension and three demerit points. Paying the ticket out of court costs $615 in total, but it is still a conviction. Repeat convictions within five years raise the maximum fine to $2,000 and then $3,000, with 7-day and 30-day suspensions and six points each time.

A distracted driving ticket is a charge under the Highway Traffic Act, handled in the Ontario Court of Justice under the Provincial Offences Act. Carson Frankum, a licensed paralegal in Hamilton, represents drivers on these charges; our page on help with provincial offences and traffic tickets explains how that works. This guide sets out what the law says, what the ticket really costs, and what your options are in the 15 days after you get it.

What counts as distracted driving under Ontario law?

Two sections of the Highway Traffic Act do most of the work. Section 78.1(1) says no one may drive a motor vehicle on a highway while holding or using a hand-held wireless communication device that can send or receive calls, data, email or text messages. Section 78.1(2) applies the same rule to hand-held electronic entertainment devices, such as a tablet or game console. Section 78(1) is a separate offence: driving while the display screen of a television, computer or other device is visible to the driver.

The word "holding" matters. The Ministry of Transportation's distracted driving page says simply holding a phone while driving is against the law, even if you are not texting or calling. The rule also applies when you are stopped in traffic or waiting at a red light, because you are still driving.

What the law allows is narrower than many drivers think. Section 78.1(3) lets you use a device in hands-free mode. The Ministry says a mounted phone may be touched only to make, answer or end a call, and a hands-free device may be touched to turn it on and off. Section 78(2) lets a GPS screen show navigation, and lets the vehicle's own gauges and systems display information. You may use a phone to call ambulance, police or fire services (s. 78.1(5)), and the hand-held ban does not apply when the vehicle is off the roadway or lawfully parked, not moving and not impeding traffic (s. 78.1(6)).

Eating, grooming or reaching for something is not a section 78.1 offence. The Ministry notes, though, that any kind of distraction can lead to a careless driving charge if it endangers other people, and careless driving carries six demerit points and a possible suspension of up to two years.

How does a distracted driving charge work, step by step?

The officer serves a ticket or a summons. Most phone charges start as a Part I offence notice (a ticket) under section 3 of the Provincial Offences Act. The officer must serve it personally within 30 days of the alleged offence (s. 3(3)). An officer may instead serve a summons, which means you must attend court and there is no option to pay out of court.
You have 15 days to choose an option. The back of the ticket lists your choices. You can pay, ask for a meeting with the prosecutor (where the ticket offers one, s. 5.1(2)), or give notice that you want a trial (s. 5). If 15 days pass and you have done nothing, you are deemed not to dispute the charge (s. 9(1)(a)).
If you pay, you are convicted. Section 8(2) says the court office's acceptance of your payment is a guilty plea, a conviction and a fine in the amount of the set fine. The suspension and demerit points then follow automatically.
If you ask for a meeting, you talk to the prosecutor. At an early resolution meeting, you and the prosecutor may agree that you will plead guilty to the same offence or a substituted one and make joint submissions on penalty, including time to pay (s. 5.1(7)). Our page on what happens at an early resolution meeting walks through that conversation.
If you ask for a trial, the clerk sends a notice of trial. The court office sends you and the prosecutor the date and place (s. 5(5)). Before trial you can request disclosure, which is the officer's notes and other evidence the prosecutor holds.
At trial, the prosecutor must prove the offence beyond a reasonable doubt. Before a plea is taken on a section 78.1 charge, the court clerk must tell you that a conviction carries a licence suspension (HTA s. 219(1)). A justice of the peace hears the evidence and decides; our article on preparing for a provincial offences hearing covers the day itself.
After a conviction, the Ministry acts. The Registrar suspends the licence for the period set by section 78.1(6.2) and records the demerit points. The court adds costs and a victim fine surcharge to any fine.

In Hamilton, tickets are processed by the City's Provincial Offences Administration office at 50 Main Street East. Our page on how Hamilton's Provincial Offences Court works covers the local request methods, virtual appearances and disclosure requests.

What are the penalties for a first, second and third conviction?

Distracted driving penalties for drivers with A to G licences (HTA s. 78.1; O. Reg. 339/94)
Conviction (within five years of the last)	Fine range if convicted in court	Licence suspension	Demerit points
First	$500 to $1,000	3 days	3
Second	$500 to $2,000	7 days	6
Third or later	$500 to $3,000	30 days	6
Paid out of court (any)	$615 total, including the victim fine surcharge and court costs	Same as the conviction number above	Same as above

The suspension is not a sentence a justice chooses. Section 78.1(6.2) says the Registrar "shall" suspend the licence after a conviction, and the Ontario Court of Justice's guide for defendants confirms a justice of the peace has no power to waive an automatic suspension or demerit points. You also pay a licence reinstatement fee each time your licence is suspended, according to the Ministry.

Demerit points for a phone conviction work differently from most offences. Normally, no points are recorded when the court's penalty includes a suspension, but section 3(1) of O. Reg. 339/94 makes an exception for sections 78 and 78.1, so you get both. Section 2(2) of the same regulation records six points instead of three when the new offence was committed less than five years after a previous section 78 or 78.1 conviction. Our guide on how demerit points add up and when a licence is suspended explains the warning letter at six points and the 30-day suspension at 15.

What changes the answer?

The table above is the starting point. Several rules can move the result up or down.

A ticket versus a summons. When a charge is started with a Part I ticket, section 12(1) of the Provincial Offences Act caps the fine at $1,000, even where the Highway Traffic Act allows more. The Ministry's page says the higher maximums of $2,000 and $3,000 apply when a summons is received or when you fight the ticket and lose. If you were served a summons, read our page on what a Part III summons means, because you must attend court.
The five-year window. Under section 78.1(6.3), an offence committed more than five years after your previous conviction is treated as a first offence again. The same five-year look-back decides whether you get three points or six (O. Reg. 339/94, s. 2(2)).
Novice drivers. If you hold a G1, G2, M1 or M2 licence, the Ministry says you face the same fines but no demerit points. Instead, the suspension is 30 days for a first conviction and 90 days for a second, and a third conviction cancels your licence and removes you from graduated licensing. Our page on tickets for G1 and G2 drivers covers the other novice rules.
The exceptions in the Act. Hands-free use (s. 78.1(3)), calling emergency services (s. 78.1(5)), and being lawfully parked or off the roadway while stopped and not impeding traffic (s. 78.1(6)) are all defences built into the section. Ambulance, fire and police drivers are exempt (s. 78.1(4)(a)), and the Minister can prescribe other exemptions by regulation (s. 78.1(7)).
A screen, not a phone. A visible display screen is charged under section 78, which has its own exceptions for GPS navigation, logistics tracking, collision avoidance and vehicle gauges (s. 78(2)). The penalties and suspensions mirror section 78.1.
Changes passed but not yet in force. A 2026 amendment (S.O. 2026, c. 7, Sched. 5) adds higher fines of $1,000 to $6,000 and suspensions of 7 to 60 days when the offence is committed with a commercial motor vehicle, and narrows hands-free use where the device shows entertainment, text or images on its screen. As of the e-Laws currency date of October 2, 2026, these take effect on a day still to be named. Check the current version before you rely on them.

A worked example

For example, imagine a Hamilton driver named Dana, fully licensed for ten years, who is stopped at a red light on Main Street when an officer sees a phone in her hand. The officer hands her a ticket for section 78.1(1). Dana had a phone conviction four years ago.

Dana first works out what a conviction means for her. Because her last conviction was less than five years ago, this would be a second offence: a seven-day suspension and six demerit points, not three (s. 78.1(6.2)(b); O. Reg. 339/94, s. 2(2)). Paying the $615 would lock that in on the day the payment is accepted.

Within 15 days she asks for a trial and requests disclosure from the Hamilton prosecutor's office. The officer's notes say she was "observed holding a device." Dana says the phone was in a dashboard mount and she touched it once to end a call, which the Ministry's guidance allows. Whether that holds up depends on the evidence at trial, and a justice of the peace may or may not accept it. She could also ask for an early resolution meeting first, knowing that any plea to the same section still triggers the automatic suspension. The point of the example is the order of decisions: count the five years, read the disclosure, then choose. This is a made-up scenario, not a real client or result.

Common mistakes people make with phone tickets

Paying to "make it go away." Payment is a conviction under section 8(2). The suspension, points and the record of the conviction all follow.
Missing the 15-day window. After 15 days with no response, the clerk can enter a conviction without a hearing (s. 9). Getting that undone means applying to reopen the conviction within 15 days of learning about it.
Forgetting the earlier conviction. Many drivers assume every ticket is a first offence. If you had a section 78 or 78.1 conviction in the last five years, the penalty and the points both go up.
Thinking a red light is "not driving." The Ministry is clear that the law applies while you are stopped in traffic or at a light.
Not asking for disclosure. The prosecutor's evidence is free, but the Ontario Court of Justice says you must ask for it, and the request may have to be in writing. Without it you are guessing at what the officer will say.
Ignoring the fine after conviction. A fine is due 15 days after it is imposed (POA s. 66(1)). If it goes unpaid, more consequences follow; see what happens if you do not pay a traffic fine.

What to do this week

Write down the date you were served and count 15 days forward. Put that deadline in your calendar.
Check your driving record or your own files for any section 78 or 78.1 conviction in the last five years.
Read the back of the ticket to see which options it offers, including whether an early resolution meeting is available.
Write a short, dated note of what happened: where you were, where the phone was, whether it was mounted, and what the officer said.
Choose an option and deliver it to the court office named on the ticket. Keep proof of when and how you sent it.
If you choose a meeting or a trial, ask the prosecutor for disclosure in writing as soon as you have a date.
If a suspension would affect your work or family, get advice before the deadline rather than after.

Frequently asked questions

Can I touch my phone if it is mounted on the dashboard?

Only in a limited way. The Ministry of Transportation says a securely mounted phone may be touched only to make, answer or end a call. Scrolling, typing or programming a GPS by hand is not allowed while driving; voice commands are.

Does a distracted driving ticket affect my insurance?

A paid ticket is a conviction, and the Registrar records the demerit points on your Ontario driving record. How an insurer treats that record is up to the insurer and your policy, not the court. The safer course is to treat the decision to pay as a decision to accept a conviction.

Can the prosecutor reduce a phone charge?

The Provincial Offences Act allows a plea to the offence charged or to a substituted offence at an early resolution meeting (s. 5.1(7)). Whether a prosecutor agrees to anything is up to the prosecutor and depends on the facts. The justice of the peace must still accept the plea.

Does an appeal stop the suspension?

Not by itself. The Ontario Court of Justice's guide to appeals says filing an appeal does not stop the consequences of a conviction, so you would ask the appeal court for a stay by motion. Separately, section 5 of O. Reg. 339/94 says demerit points are not entered, or are removed, once notice of the appeal is served on the Registrar, unless the conviction is upheld.

How long do I have to appeal a conviction from a ticket?

For a charge started by ticket, a notice of appeal must be filed within 30 days of the decision, and the appeal is heard by a provincial judge of the Ontario Court of Justice (POA s. 135). The court's guide adds that any fine must be paid before the appeal is filed unless a judge allows otherwise, and paying does not waive your right to appeal (s. 114).

Can a phone ticket be thrown out because it took too long?

Section 11(b) of the Charter protects the right to be tried within a reasonable time. Delay arguments have their own notice rules and tests, explained on our page about when a charge can be stayed for delay.

Is distracted driving the same as speeding for fines?

No. Speeding fines rise with each kilometre over the limit, while phone fines are set by the number of convictions. Our page on how speeding fines are calculated covers the other common ticket.

Sources

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This page gives general information about Ontario law, not legal advice for your situation. Cheddar Paralegal PC is a paralegal firm licensed by the Law Society of Ontario; licensed paralegals can help only with matters the Law Society allows paralegals to handle.