Part VII of the Provincial Offences Act, the statute governing Ontario traffic prosecutions, lets either side appeal. Don't expect to redo the trial from the start, because the appeal court reviews what happened the first time. Three questions point you to the right route: how did your case begin, was there a hearing, and how many days have gone by?
Reopening or appeal: choosing the right route
These are two different tools, and picking the wrong one wastes time you may not have:
- An appeal (sections 116 and 135). Use this when a court has made a decision you say was wrong in its result or sentence, typically following a trial or guilty plea.
- Reopening (section 11 of the Act). Use this when you were convicted without a hearing, perhaps because, through no fault of your own, you did not respond to the ticket or you missed the prosecutor meeting or trial date. Success removes the conviction and restarts your case.
How reopening works
The application is made on the prescribed form, filed at the court office within 15 days after you become aware of the conviction. Your affidavit or other information has to satisfy the clerk that, through no fault of your own, one of the following occurred. If it does, the clerk must strike out the conviction:
- you could not attend a meeting with the prosecutor;
- you could not appear for a hearing; or
- a notice or document about the offence never reached you.
When the clerk declines, the application goes to a justice for review. If the conviction is struck out, the court notifies you of a new meeting, plea appearance or trial date, and your case carries on.
Default convictions have a second, separate 15-day application. It applies where the clerk relied on a certificate of offence that was defective or not complete and regular on its face. Ask a paralegal which one suits your situation.
Which court hears the appeal
That depends on how the case began:
| How the case began | Where the appeal goes |
|---|---|
| Ticket (Part I) or parking (Part II), which covers most traffic tickets | Ontario Court of Justice, with a provincial judge hearing it |
| Summons (Part III), the usual start for most stunt driving and other serious charges, with a justice of the peace at trial | Ontario Court of Justice, with a provincial judge presiding |
| Summons (Part III), with a provincial judge at trial | Superior Court of Justice |
The Court of Appeal for Ontario is a further possibility in a Part I or II case, but the bar is high. You need leave, the question must be one of law alone, and a judge of that court must consider the appeal essential in the public interest or for the due administration of justice. Our court directory will point you to the right court office.
Deadlines: 30 days, and asking for more time
Part I or II case. File your notice of appeal with the clerk of the court within 30 days after the decision under appeal, using the prescribed form and stating your reasons.
Part III case. The appeal rules give a defendant 30 days after the decision to serve the notice of appeal on the prosecutor. It must then be filed, with proof of service, within five days of service.
Missed deadline. Section 85 gives the court power to extend the time, including after it has expired, and your notice of appeal can go in together with the extension application. Because you are limited to one application to extend the time to appeal a conviction, get it right the first time: explain the delay clearly and show why the appeal has merit.
The fine comes first
Section 111 sets a precondition. Without full payment of the fine imposed by the decision under appeal, a defendant's notice of appeal will not be accepted for filing. For Part I or II appeals, the rules add that the receipt must be filed along with the notice. This payment is not a guilty plea. It is simply a condition of being allowed to challenge the conviction.
There is an alternative. A judge may waive payment and instead order a recognizance, meaning a promise to appear on the appeal in an amount set by the judge. The waiver application may accompany the notice of appeal, and the prosecutor is notified and may make submissions.
Your record during the appeal
An appeal does not by itself stay (pause) the conviction; that takes a judge's order. The demerit point regulation treats points differently. Once notice of the appeal has been served on the Registrar of Motor Vehicles, neither the conviction nor its points go on your record unless the conviction is upheld. Points that are already there come off, and a resulting suspension is stayed as of the date of service on the Registrar. Our demerit points guide shows how points add up.
Transcripts and written argument
The record of the trial is what an appeal is decided on. A strong appeal points to a specific error at trial and shows it from that record.
Part I or II appeals
Here the court carries out a review, using any of these tools: rehearing the recorded evidence, ordering a party to supply a transcript, hearing from a witness (including someone who did not testify at trial), getting a written report from the trial justice, or relying on agreed facts.
Under the appeal rules, you need a transcript only when a judge orders one. Once it is ordered, you have 30 days from being told it is ready to file it, and missing that date can get the appeal dismissed. If your argument is about something going wrong at trial, expect the transcript to be your main proof.
Part III appeals
An appellant files a certificate about the transcript along with the notice of appeal, followed by the transcript. Written argument (a factum) is needed only if a judge orders it. If you are the appellant and won't be at the hearing, though, you must file a written statement of your issues and arguments ahead of time.
How an appeal can end
In a Part I or II appeal, the court's options are to affirm, reverse or vary the decision, or, where the ends of justice require it, to order a new trial, normally before a different justice.
In a Part III appeal against conviction, these are the possible results:
- Appeal dismissed. The conviction stands.
- Conviction set aside and acquittal entered. This requires an unreasonable finding or one the evidence does not support, a wrong decision on a question of law, or a miscarriage of justice.
- New trial ordered.
- Sentence varied, on a sentence appeal, within the limits the law allows.
You are not the only one who can appeal: the prosecutor may too, against an acquittal or a sentence among other things. And your appeal is at risk of dismissal if you miss the hearing or disregard court orders, so see it through.
The trial record, rather than any sense of unfairness, determines whether an appeal is worthwhile. Our case law library has examples, and our services page covers how we can help.
Sources
- Provincial Offences Act, ss. 9, 11, 85, 111, 112, 116, 120 to 122 and 135 to 139 (e-Laws, consolidation from April 15, 2026) (checked 2026-11-01)
- O. Reg. 722/94, Rules for appeals under s. 135 of the POA (e-Laws) (checked 2026-11-01)
- O. Reg. 723/94, Rules for appeals under s. 116 of the POA (e-Laws) (checked 2026-11-01)
- O. Reg. 339/94, Demerit Point System, s. 5 (e-Laws) (checked 2026-11-01)
General information only, not legal advice.