Ontario G1: Zero Alcohol, and 9 Novice Points Means 60 Days

Ontario’s G1 knowledge test is not only signs and right-of-way. The MTO handbook also examines the demerit-point table and the zero-alcohol rule that applies to every G1, G2, M1 and M2 driver. This page is for those two clusters. The two-part pass (signs and rules, 16/20 each) is in the signs and rules article; fees and the G1→G2→G clock are in the G1 test guide.

Zero alcohol is a test question, not a slogan

Ontario.ca states a zero-tolerance rule if you are 21 or under, or if you hold a G1, G2, M1 or M2 at any age. A fully licensed adult’s 0.05 warn range and 0.08 Criminal Code limit are different numbers. Mixing them is a common fail.

The accompanying driver is not exempt from numbers either: a Class G (or higher) licence, at least four years’ experience, seated in the front passenger seat, and a BAC under 0.05 — zero if that person is 21 or under. Those facts appear on ontario.ca’s G-licence page and in the handbook chapter on getting a licence.

Practise them in impaired driving, not only in a mixed quiz. Young and novice extra penalties on a first alcohol or drug offence currently include a 7-day roadside suspension, an 8-hour education course and a $250 administrative penalty, plus a possible fine if convicted. Ontario.ca notes that some impaired-driving penalties change on 1 July 2026 — re-read that page before you sit.

Demerit points: novice thresholds

The official handbook chapter Keeping Your Driver’s Licence (updated 22 June 2026) splits the table. Fully licensed drivers are warned at 6–8 points, interviewed at higher totals, and suspended at 15. Level One and Level Two (G1 / G2) use a tighter scale:

Points stay on the record for two years from the offence date. After a 60-day novice suspension the remaining four points can push you back toward another interview. Reach nine again and the handbook says the next suspension may be six months.

Do not memorize another province’s 8-point Class 7 line and call it Ontario. Drill the Ontario numbers in the G1 question bank.

G1 conditions that sit on the same paper

• Zero BAC for the G1 driver.
• Every passenger in a working seatbelt.
• No driving midnight to 5 a.m.
• No 400-series highways or high-speed expressways unless a certified Ontario instructor is with you.

Those four also appear as rules items. See highway driving for the 400-series ban.

How to study without mixing tables

1. Copy the novice 2 / 6 / 9 thresholds onto a card. Write “full licence = 15” on the back so you do not swap them.
2. Do impaired-driving questions until “G1 = zero” is faster than “0.08.”
3. Then sit a rules-only set. If that half is weak, a high signs score will not save you.

Handbook and ontario.ca win if a blog (including this page) ever disagrees.

Official sources

• MTO handbook — keeping your licence
• Ontario.ca — impaired driving
• Ontario.ca — get a G licence