About Drive Clean

• Doing the right thing for the air we breathe
• Different programs for different vehicles
• Owners' responsibilities
• Seeing results
• Drive Clean Compliance

Doing the right thing for the air we breathe 

The Drive Clean program helps Ontarians make smart choices about the way we maintain and drive our vehicles. "Driving clean" through proper vehicle maintenance can:

• save on fuel consumption
• prolong your vehicle's life
• help protect the air we breathe

Improvements in vehicle-emissions technologies continue to reduce harmful emissions from new vehicles. However, these vehicles can become heavy polluters too, unless they are properly maintained. And, many older vehicles that do not have the newest technologies will be on our roads for years to come.

Different programs for different vehicles 

Drive Clean has a program for light-duty vehicles and one for heavy-duty vehicles:

Owners' responsibilities 

Under Drive Clean, your vehicle must have an emissions test to renew your registration and licence plates. If your vehicle needs a test, you will be notified by the Ministry of Transportation in the registration renewal documents.

As a consumer-protection measure, an emissions test is also required when buying or selling used vehicles with a model year older than the current calendar year. This helps ensure that consumers do not purchase a used vehicle with emissions problems.

Seeing results 

Here are some very positive facts about – or resulting from – the Drive Clean program:

• Drive Clean was introduced because motor vehicles are a major domestic source of smog and several other toxic contaminants. Smog can have serious health consequences for many people, particularly children, the elderly and those with respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses.
• Through Drive Clean, vehicle owners have an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the quality of our air through good vehicle maintenance and by identifying and correcting emissions problems.
• In 2013, Drive Clean began using computer-based testing technology on most light-duty vehicles. The new test is faster, more accurate and better at identifying polluting vehicles than the old tailpipe test. The test will result in more effective repairs and greater reductions in smog-causing emissions.
• A well maintained vehicle that is using less fuel saves money at the gas pumps as well as emits fewer pollutants. Early identification of emissions problems also helps avoid major repair bills and results in vehicles that are more reliable, run more smoothly and will likely last longer on the road.

Drive Clean Compliance 

All vehicles on Ontario’s highways – whether registered in Ontario or out-of-province – are subject to the provincial Environmental Protection Act.

The act prohibits excessive visible exhaust emissions and the alteration or removal of emissions control equipment. This applies to vehicles even if they have passed a Drive Clean test.

In addition, the act makes it an offence to be involved in the production of a false Drive Clean pass or to try to use one for a vehicle registration transaction.