SAFETY INSPECTION
Street Brothers Auto Repair in Richmond Hill is licensed by the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO) as a Licensed Ontario Vehicle Inspection Station.
A safety standards certificate shows that your vehicle meets the minimum safety requirements. You can’t put a license plate on a vehicle with out one.
Street Brothers Auto Repair is authorized to give out a safety certificate immediately upon completion of the vehicle safety inspection.
You need a vehicle safety inspection when:
– buying a car
– transferring ownership
– buying out your leased car
– out of province / country transfer
– selling your car
Essentially, you have to prove that this car that you’re taking possession of is safe enough to be registered, insured, and put on the road. The province of Ontario wants to do its due diligence to ensure that every vehicle on the road is safe enough to be there. An unsafe car endangers everyone on the road – not just the driver.
The following information on a safety standards certificate was taken from the Ontario Ministry of Transportation site
Overview
A safety standards certificate confirms that your vehicle met the minimum safety standards on the date the certificate was issued. It is not a warranty or guarantee of the vehicle’s condition.
You can buy and register a vehicle without a safety standards certificate, but cannot put plates on a vehicle without one.
To get a certificate, your vehicle must first pass an inspection at an inspection station, licensed by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO).
Where to get a certificate
Any inspection station in Ontario, licensed by MTO, can give you a certificate once your vehicle passes an inspection. Most licensed inspection stations have a sign that says Motor Vehicle Inspection Station.
When you need a certificate
You need a safety standard inspection and certificate if you are:
– registering a rebuilt vehicle
– transferring a used vehicle to a new owner (unless the new owner is your spouse)
– registering a vehicle in Ontario that was bought in or came from another province, territory or country
– changing the status of a vehicle from unfit to fit
Who is exempt
You do not need a safety standards inspection and certificate if you are:
registering a used motorized snow vehicle, off-road vehicle, motor-assisted bicycle (e.g. moped), or trailer
transferring the vehicle to your spouse
If you have questions or need more information on exemptions, please call ServiceOntario’s Driver and Vehicle Contact Centre at:
416-235-2999
Toll-free: 1-800-387-3445
Inspection criteria
When you take your vehicle to a licensed Motor Vehicle Inspection Station, they must use government-regulated inspection criteria to determine if your vehicle meets the minimum standards to pass inspection.
Learn more about the inspection rules for:
– light duty trucks and passenger vehicles that need a safety standard certificate (PDF)
– motorcycles with only one front wheel
– motorcycles with two front wheels
– salvage motor vehicles (i.e. vehicles that are damaged due to a collision, impact (e.g. a large tree falls onto the vehicle), fire, flood or have been stolen and dismantled)
– commercial vehicles (e.g. trucks and trailers), buses, school buses and accessible vehicles (2.42 MB PDF)
Cost
The cost of a safety standard inspection and the certificate is different at each Motor Vehicle Inspection Station. This isn’t regulated by the government.
Validity Period
A safety standards certificate is valid for 36 calendar days after the inspection.
Please note that if it expires before you register your vehicle, you will have to pay for a new inspection and certificate.
Certifying a salvage vehicle as rebuilt
A salvage vehicle is a vehicle that has been identified as stolen and dismantled or damaged as a result of a collision, impact (e.g. a large tree falls onto the vehicle), fire or flood.
In order to register and put a plate on a salvage vehicle:
– it must be inspected, certified and/or repaired by a specialized Motor Vehicle Inspection Station, licensed to conduct more in-depth, structural inspections (call the inspection station to confirm)
– you must get both a Structural Inspection Certificate and a Safety Standards Certificate from the inspection station
The vehicle will be re-branded from salvage to rebuilt once you submit a Structural Inspection Certificate at any ServiceOntario location.