Alcohol-, drug- and cannabis-impaired driving in B.C., and driving after taking cold medicine or sleeping pills: the penalties, whether you could go to jail, and whether your immigration status could be affected

1. First, separate three tracks: criminal, licence and immigration status

The same incident can lead to three separate tracks, each dealt with on its own:

• The criminal track (federal): Canada's Criminal Code decides whether it is a crime, how much the fine is, whether you go to jail, and how long a court prohibits you from driving. This track goes to court.
• The licence track (B.C.): B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act covers roadside driving prohibitions, vehicle impoundment, administrative penalties, getting your licence back and remedial programs. Police can issue these at the roadside on the spot, without waiting for a court.
• The immigration track (federal immigration): For people who are not Canadian citizens, a criminal conviction may lead to a finding that they are "inadmissible", which can affect PR, visas and refugee claims.

ICBC says that a 90-day administrative driving prohibition is issued under the Motor Vehicle Act and is separate from any criminal charges arising from the same incident. So remember three things:

• Paying B.C.'s roadside penalties or reaching the end of the prohibition does not necessarily mean the criminal side is over;
• If the criminal side has not been decided yet, the B.C. prohibition still applies;
• A B.C. roadside prohibition or administrative prohibition is not, in itself, a criminal conviction.

For example. Police at the roadside ask you to blow, the device shows FAIL, and on the spot you get a 90-day prohibition and your vehicle is impounded for 30 days. That is the licence track. Police can also recommend charges under the Criminal Code; that is the criminal track. Only if you are eventually convicted of a criminal offence, and you are not a Canadian citizen, does the immigration track come in.

2. "Under 0.08 means you're fine" is wrong: how the Criminal Code works

Section 320.14 of the Criminal Code sets out two ways to commit the offence; meeting either one is a crime:

1. Impaired ability to drive: your ability to drive is impaired "to any degree" by alcohol, a drug, or a combination of the two. This one does not depend on a number, does not require a crash first, and does not depend on whether the drug was bought legally or prescribed by a doctor.
2. Blood concentration at or over the limit: within two hours after you stop driving, the concentration in your blood reaches the legal limit.

What the legal limits are (all the numbers below mean "at or over"; being exactly at the limit also counts):

A few notes:

• What THC is. THC is the main ingredient in cannabis that makes people "high". The numbers in the table are concentrations in the blood. They are not the THC percentage printed on cannabis product packaging, and they are not the result of a roadside saliva test. The Department of Justice Canada says that proving these blood concentration offences requires a blood test.
• 0.08 is the criminal limit; in B.C., roadside penalties start at 0.05. A breath reading between 0.05 and 0.08 may not be a criminal offence, but in B.C. you will still be prohibited from driving on the spot, and your vehicle may be impounded (section 5). L and N drivers face stricter rules: they cannot have any at all (section 6).
• "Two hours" is not a safe waiting time. The Criminal Code looks at the concentration within two hours after you stop driving. The law has a few very narrow exceptions, for example if you drank only after you stopped driving, you had no reason at that time to expect to be asked for a breath or blood sample, and the amount you drank matches the concentration measured. These exceptions are looked at one by one based on the evidence. So never take it to mean "wait two hours after drinking and then you can drive".
• It can count even if the vehicle is not moving. The B.C. government's information page says that under the Criminal Code, driving while impaired is a crime, and this applies even when the vehicle is not moving. A B.C. 24-hour prohibition can also be issued as long as you have "care or control" of the vehicle. For example, if you have been drinking and you sit in the driver's seat with the engine running to keep the heater on while you wait for someone, you can still be investigated.
• Not just cars. When Health Canada describes the risks of impaired driving, it says that "driving" here also includes driving a truck, motorcycle, boat, snowmobile or off-road vehicle.
• What the Department of Justice says. A hybrid offence means the prosecutor can choose, depending on how serious the case is, to proceed by the less serious summary conviction procedure or the more serious indictment procedure. Except for the lower THC offence, which can only proceed by summary conviction, all of the offences above are hybrid offences.

3. Cold medicine, sleeping pills and painkillers: sold at a pharmacy or prescribed by a doctor does not mean safe to drive

First, what the official sources say:

• The B.C. government's "impaired driving" page says: driving after drinking alcohol, taking prescription or illegal drugs, or even over-the-counter cold medication, to the point where your ability is affected, is impaired driving, and it is a criminal offence.
• Health Canada says: prescription drugs, including opioid pain relievers and benzodiazepines (a group of drugs often used to calm people, ease anxiety and help with sleep), can also affect your ability to drive; always read the information that comes with the medicine and follow it.
• The Government of Canada's "drug-impaired driving" page says: cannabis, illegal drugs and some prescription drugs can affect your movements, slow your reactions, weaken your memory and attention, make your speed go up and down and make you weave from side to side, and leave you unable to react in time to something sudden.

"Medication-impaired driving" is not a legal term. What the law looks at is two things: whether your ability to drive was affected, and whether the prosecutor can prove it. So taking one pill does not automatically make you guilty; and showing a prescription or the medicine box does not mean you are automatically in the clear.

Cold and allergy medicine: check whether it contains an "antihistamine". Health Canada's labelling standard for adult oral non-prescription cough, cold and flu products (adopted on February 4, 2025, in effect from April 1) applies to oral non-prescription cold medicines for people aged 12 and over. It lists these antihistamine ingredients (look for the English names in the ingredient list, Medicinal ingredients, on the back of the box):

• diphenhydramine
• chlorpheniramine
• brompheniramine
• doxylamine
• pheniramine

The standard requires the label of a cold medicine that contains an antihistamine to warn that it may cause drowsiness and that you should not drive or do anything that requires you to stay alert, that alcohol, sedatives and tranquilizers may increase drowsiness, and that you should avoid alcohol.

The same brand of cold medicine often comes in several formulas. When you buy one, read the ingredient list and the Warnings section; do not just go by words like "Nighttime", "Daytime" or "Non-drowsy" on the front of the box.

Sleeping pills: one zopiclone product as an example. In Health Canada's Drug and Health Product Register, the patient information for one zopiclone product (Drug Identification Numbers DIN 02468492 and 02469154) says that this medicine may affect your alertness the next day. In these three situations, do not drive or operate dangerous machinery:

• if you do not feel fully awake;
• if it has been less than 12 hours since you took it, even if you feel fully awake; older adults and people taking 7.5 mg should be especially careful;
• before you know how this medicine affects you the next day.

The same information also says: do not drink alcohol while taking this medicine; and taking it together with other tranquilizers, sleeping pills, sedating antihistamines, anti-seizure medicines, narcotic pain relievers, antipsychotics or antidepressants may make the side effects stronger.

This is only one product from one manufacturer. Other sleeping pills and other manufacturers may say different things; go by the leaflet in the box you have and what your doctor or pharmacist tells you. Even when the number of hours on the leaflet has passed, that does not necessarily mean it is safe to drive.

This guide does not give a formula for "how many hours after taking it you can drive". Different medicines, different doses, each person's health, and other medicines taken at the same time all have different effects. Cannabis is the same: the Government of Canada says that cannabis affects each person differently, so there is no guidance on "how much you can take and still drive, or how long to wait before driving".

How to ask a pharmacist. Transport Canada's road safety brochure recommends: for a prescription medicine, ask your doctor whether it will affect your driving; for an over-the-counter medicine, ask a pharmacist whether it will affect your driving. Take the medicine box to the pharmacy counter, and you could say:

To check that a pharmacist is registered to practise in B.C., you can search by name on the College of Pharmacists of BC website; for doctors, you can search the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC) directory. If pharmacies are closed at night, you can also call 8-1-1 (HealthLink BC). The service's page lists pharmacists as one of the 8-1-1 staff, and offers interpretation in more than 130 languages; the page does not say what hours pharmacists are available.

Following the official guidance, you can:

• If the box, the leaflet or your doctor says "do not drive", do not drive.
• If you feel drowsy or dizzy, have blurred vision or cannot concentrate after taking it, do not drive. Ask family or friends for a ride, or take transit, a taxi or a ride-hailing service.
• If you are taking a medicine for the first time, have switched medicines or increased the dose, and do not yet know how you react, do not drive yet; ask a pharmacist.
• For a prescription medicine you take long term, ask your doctor or pharmacist before stopping or changing it; do not decide on your own just so you can drive.

4. How police check: breath, saliva, coordination tests and blood; refusing is also an offence

1. Mandatory breath tests: police do not need to smell alcohol first. Criminal Code subsection 320.27(2): when police lawfully stop a vehicle and have an approved screening device with them, they can require the person driving to give a breath sample right away. This does not require police to suspect first that you have been drinking. ICBC says that every summer and winter, police in communities across B.C. hold CounterAttack roadchecks specifically to look for impaired drivers.

2. If police suspect alcohol or a drug in your body. Subsection 320.27(1): if police have reasonable grounds to suspect that you have alcohol or a drug in your body, and you have driven within the past three hours, they can require you to do the prescribed physical coordination tests at the roadside right away (in English, the Standardized Field Sobriety Test), or give a breath sample, or give a sample such as saliva to be tested with approved drug screening equipment.

3. What saliva tests check for. The Department of Justice Canada says saliva screening can detect some drugs, including THC in cannabis and cocaine; a positive result most likely means recent use of cannabis or cocaine, and police can then require a drug recognition evaluation or a blood sample. Not every drug that affects you can be detected. The approved devices listed in B.C. Order in Council 350/2026 also check for THC and cocaine.

4. Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) evaluation. It is done at the police station. RoadSafetyBC, the B.C. government office that handles driving prohibitions and driving record reviews, lists what the evaluation includes: taking your pulse, blood pressure and temperature; checking whether your eyes can follow an object, and the size of your pupils in light and in the dark; balance, walk-and-turn, one-leg-stand and finger-to-nose tests with your eyes closed; checking your mouth and nose, and looking for needle marks on your arms and neck. The Department of Justice says the evaluation may include taking a bodily fluid sample.

5. Blood tests. To prove the blood concentration offences, a blood sample is needed.

6. In B.C., if your breath result would lead to a prohibition, you can blow again. RoadSafetyBC says: if a roadside breath result would lead to a prohibition, police must give you a chance to blow a second time, on a different device; if the two results differ, the lower one is used.

7. When you get a 24-hour prohibition, you can ask to be tested. RoadSafetyBC says: police do not have to give you a breath test or a physical coordination test before issuing a 24-hour prohibition. If you believe alcohol did not affect your driving, you can ask police to test you with a breath device; if you believe a drug did not affect your driving, you can ask to do the prescribed physical coordination tests.

Refusing a test is an offence in itself. Criminal Code section 320.15: if you know police have made a lawful demand for a test and, without a reasonable excuse, you refuse or fail to comply, that is an offence. The minimum fine for a first offence is $2,000, higher than the usual $1,000 for a first offence (section 7). In B.C., refusing to blow is treated the same as a FAIL: a 90-day prohibition, 30-day vehicle impoundment and a $500 penalty. So "if I don't blow and don't cooperate, there is no evidence" is wrong.

If you truly cannot blow for a health reason (for example, a breathing condition), tell the police honestly and clearly at the time. Whether it counts as a "reasonable excuse", whether the police demand was lawful, and whether the evidence can be used are decided on the facts and the law; that is for lawyers and the courts.

5. In B.C.: police can prohibit you from driving and impound your vehicle on the spot

These are administrative penalties under B.C.'s Motor Vehicle Act. They do not go to court and are not criminal convictions. But the prohibition starts immediately, and the costs are not small.

1. Alcohol roadside prohibitions (IRP, Immediate Roadside Prohibition)

The breath device has two results: WARN means a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05 or more; FAIL means 0.08 or more. The penalties and costs published by RoadSafetyBC:

When reading this table:

• Towing and storage costs are based on an average-sized vehicle towed 10 km. A longer tow or a bigger vehicle costs more. For the 3-day and 7-day prohibitions, if police did not impound the vehicle, there is no such cost.
• The amounts do not include tax and may change; any increase in your insurance is not included.
• From the second WARN, RoadSafetyBC may require you to take the "Responsible Driver Program"; with a third WARN or a FAIL, you may also be required to install an ignition interlock (section 8). These costs are extra.
• When you get an IRP, police take your licence on the spot and the prohibition starts right away. When it ends, you must apply to ICBC to get your licence back and pay the reinstatement fee, and you must first pay off any money you owe ICBC or the provincial government.
• If you blow a FAIL, police can also recommend charges under the Criminal Code.
• A reading between 0 and 0.049: a driver with a full licence generally will not get an IRP for this; but L drivers, N drivers and new Class 5 drivers may get a 12-hour suspension (section 6).

2. 24-hour prohibitions

If police have reasonable grounds to believe that alcohol or a drug has affected your ability to drive, and you were driving or had care or control of a vehicle at the time, they can issue a 24-hour prohibition.

• You hand over your licence on the spot; the prohibition runs a full 24 hours from the moment it is served, and you can only get your licence back after it ends;
• Police can also impound the vehicle for 24 hours. The impoundment cannot be appealed, and you pay the towing and storage costs;
• This prohibition stays on your driving record permanently, and RoadSafetyBC may consider it when reviewing your driving record;
• If you have three 24-hour prohibitions, you may be required to take the Responsible Driver Program, install an ignition interlock, or both.

A 24-hour prohibition can also be reviewed, but the application must reach RoadSafetyBC within 7 days of getting the prohibition; late applications are not accepted. You cannot apply online: complete the paper form "Application for Review of a 24-Hour Prohibition", available at any ICBC driver licensing office, and submit it to RoadSafetyBC with the application fee (this guide did not confirm the amount of the fee; check the form). The grounds you can use are very narrow. For alcohol, they are "I was not the driver and did not have care or control of the vehicle" or "I asked for a breath test and police did not let me take one"; for drugs, they are "I was not the driver and did not have care or control of the vehicle" or "I asked to do the physical coordination tests and police did not give them to me".

3. 90-day Administrative Driving Prohibition (ADP)

This is a different process from the 90-day IRP for a FAIL above. Police may issue an ADP in these situations:

• Your blood alcohol concentration is 80 mg (0.08) or more;
• Within two hours after driving, your blood drug concentration reaches the prescribed limit (the same limits as in the table in section 2);
• Within two hours after driving, your combined alcohol and drug levels reach the prescribed combined limits;
• A Drug Recognition Expert evaluation finds that your ability is impaired by a drug, or by a drug combined with alcohol;
• Without a reasonable excuse, you refuse or fail to comply with a test demand under Criminal Code section 320.27 or 320.28.

To get your licence back when an ADP ends: first pay any fines you owe to a court or the government; pay off any money you owe ICBC (for example, the Driver Risk Premium, section 8); book a visit to an ICBC driver licensing office and bring ID; and pay the $31 short-term licence fee and the $250 licence reinstatement fee. There may also be other requirements; see RoadSafetyBC's notice.

4. When you get a prohibition notice, the 7 days are critical

3-day, 7-day, 30-day and 90-day IRPs and 90-day ADPs can all be reviewed. RoadSafetyBC says that within 7 days from the date of service, you must complete all three of these:

1. Submit your review application;
2. Pay the review fee in full, in one payment (by credit card online);
3. Book your review date.

RoadSafetyBC says the application is not complete until a review date has been scheduled.

• Applying online: you must have handed your licence to police at the time, and you need the number and the service date on your prohibition notice. Submit only once; to make changes, call the RoadSafetyBC Appeals Registry at 1-855-387-7747 and press 5, or email AR.Review@gov.bc.ca.
• Applying in person: at ICBC, some Service BC centres or designated agents.
• About 24 hours after you book your date, the police evidence will be emailed to you; you can keep sending documents until 48 hours before the review. Written submissions can be up to 30 pages, not counting evidence. The decision is sent to you by regular mail.
• The review fee does not include the penalty for the prohibition.

Even if you have applied for a review, do not drive. An IRP takes effect the moment it is served. RoadSafetyBC's review page says: "You must not drive while your licence is prohibited." Until a decision is made, treat yourself as still prohibited.

A 12-hour suspension cannot be reviewed; if you disagree, talk to the police detachment named on the notice.

5. Driving while prohibited makes things much worse

Driving while prohibited or suspended is an offence. ICBC and RoadSafetyBC say:

• First conviction: a fine of $500 to $2,000, possibly up to 6 months in jail, or both;
• Any later conviction, no matter how long since the last one: a fine of $500 to $2,000, plus 14 days to 1 year in jail;
• You will also be prohibited from driving again for at least 12 months;
• The vehicle you were driving is always impounded, even if it is not yours: 7 days the first time, 30 days the second time and 60 days the third time; the vehicle is only released after the owner pays the towing and storage costs in full.

Related: for an overall explanation of tickets, penalty points and ICBC's extra insurance charges, see Guide No. 19, Traffic tickets, disputes and penalty points.

6. L drivers, N drivers and new Class 5 drivers: none at all

Who must follow "zero tolerance". B.C. Order in Council 350/2026 amended the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations, in effect from October 19, 2026:

• L drivers (learner's licence) and N drivers (novice licence) in the Graduated Licensing Program;
• People who move up from an N licence to Class 5 under the new rules: after moving up, they must build up 12 months of compliant driving before their zero tolerance period ends;
• Some new residents who exchange an out-of-province or foreign licence for a B.C. Class 5: those under 25 with less than 36 months of previous driving experience, and those 25 or older with less than 24 months, also have a zero tolerance period after the exchange; it ends once their previous driving experience plus their compliant driving after the exchange adds up to 36 months or 24 months.

RoadSafetyBC's guidelines call the last two groups "Drivers with Restriction 55". RoadSafetyBC's and ICBC's web pages call this a "Class 5 licence with restrictions", and 12-hour suspensions apply to these drivers too. Being an adult, not displaying an N sign, and having Class 5 on your licence does not mean you have no zero tolerance restriction. If you are not sure whether this applies to you, call ICBC: Greater Victoria 250-978-8300, elsewhere in B.C. toll-free 1-800-950-1498, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Pacific Time); you can ask for service in the language you are most comfortable with.

What you cannot have. While driving, you cannot have any alcohol, cocaine or THC (cannabis) in your body. These three are what the regulation names; it does not require everyone to stop all prescription medicines. But if another medicine affects your ability to drive, the Criminal Code and the 24-hour prohibition still apply (sections 2 to 5).

What can happen.

• If any of these three is in your body, you may get a 12-hour suspension: you hand over your licence on the spot, and you cannot drive until the suspension ends and you get your licence back from police. A 12-hour suspension cannot be reviewed.
• If your alcohol level is 0.05 or more, or you are affected by a drug, you are dealt with the same way as a full-licence driver: an IRP, a 24-hour prohibition or an ADP as in section 5.
• RoadSafetyBC will review your driving record and may add a further prohibition. Under section 4.8 of RoadSafetyBC's October 2026 Driver Improvement Program Policies and Guidelines, new drivers and Drivers with Restriction 55 enter the Driver Improvement Program as soon as their driving record has a single IRP, 12-hour suspension or 24-hour prohibition. The prohibition lengths in the guidelines are: one, 1 to 6 months; two (in any combination), 3 to 8 months; three, 6 to 12 months; four, 12 to 18 months; five, 16 to 24 months; six or more, referred to RoadSafetyBC for handling.
• This table covers alcohol and drugs. High-risk offences such as excessive speed, driving without due care and attention, using an electronic device while driving, and emailing or texting while driving fall under a different provision in the same guidelines (section 4.7): a new driver convicted of even one of these within two years may be prohibited for 3 to 12 months. Do not mix up the two.

After a prohibition, you have to start over.

• N drivers: if RoadSafetyBC prohibits you again, the N stage starts over after you get your licence back;
• L drivers: you must retake all the required tests;
• New drivers must go a continuous period (up to 24 months) without a prohibition before they can apply for Class 5;
• If you already have Class 5 but are still in the restriction period: after a prohibition, the restriction period starts again for a full 12 months.

Read this together with the new rules for moving up from October 19. ICBC says: from October 19, 2026, moving up from an N licence to Class 5 no longer requires a second road test; instead, your driving record is assessed. The conditions: under 25, at least 24 months of safe driving (reduced to 18 months if you took an approved course during the learner stage); 25 or older, at least 12 months; and during this time, no convictions for excessive speed or using an electronic device, and no prohibitions or suspensions. ICBC's page does not say in detail whether a 12-hour suspension by itself counts as a "suspension" here; but even a single 12-hour suspension during the N stage will be dealt with by RoadSafetyBC under section 4.8 of the guidelines, which may lead to a further prohibition, and a prohibition does affect moving up.

An example (hypothetical). An N driver has one glass of beer with dinner, thinks "it was only one glass, I'm definitely under 0.05", drives home and comes to a roadcheck. The breath reading is 0.02, below WARN, but N drivers cannot have any alcohol, so police can issue a 12-hour suspension; RoadSafetyBC then reviews the record and, under the guidelines, may add a prohibition of 1 to 6 months; after the prohibition, the N stage starts over.

Related: for how to move up your licence and how new residents exchange their licence, see Guide No. 6, Driver licensing, sections 3 and 8; for the 3-to-12-month rule for new drivers who speed excessively or use a phone, see Guide No. 19, Traffic tickets, disputes and penalty points, section 8, and Guide No. 33, Phones and driving in B.C., section 5.

7. Criminal conviction: the fines, whether you go to jail, and how long a court prohibits you from driving

The following applies to ordinary cases involving adults where no one was injured or killed, meaning Criminal Code subsection 320.14(1) (impaired ability or concentration at or over the limit) and subsection 320.15(1) (refusing a test). The lower THC offence is counted separately and covered further down.

Minimum penalties (section 320.19):

Maximum penalties:

• Proceeding by indictment: up to 10 years in jail;
• Proceeding by summary conviction: a fine of up to $5,000, or jail for two years less a day, or both.

The minimum penalty is the floor below which the court cannot go; it does not mean "pay $1,000 and that's the end of it". The actual sentence depends on the facts of the case.

The lower THC offence (2 ng to less than 5 ng). This can only proceed by summary conviction, with a maximum fine of $1,000 (subsection 320.19(2)); the court may (but does not have to) also prohibit you from driving for up to 1 year. But if it can also be proven that your ability was impaired, you may be charged with the more serious offence, so this $1,000 is not the upper limit in every situation.

If someone is injured or killed.

• Causing bodily harm to another person (section 320.2): up to 14 years in jail by indictment; by summary conviction, a fine of up to $5,000 or jail for two years less a day, or both;
• Causing the death of another person (section 320.21): indictment only, with a maximum of life imprisonment;
• The minimum penalties for these two offences are: a fine of at least $1,000 for a first offence, at least 30 days in jail for a second offence, and at least 120 days in jail for a third or later offence. The higher first-offence fines in the table above for a high blood alcohol concentration or refusing a test come from section 320.19, not from these two sections.

Court-ordered driving prohibitions (section 320.24). If you are found guilty under subsection 320.14(1) or 320.15(1), the court must also prohibit you from driving (except under the treatment program exception described below):

• First offence: 1 to 3 years;
• Second offence: 2 to 10 years;
• Third and later offences: at least 3 years;
• In all three cases, plus any period of imprisonment.

Subsection 320.24(10) also sets the earliest time a person under a prohibition can register in a provincial alcohol ignition interlock program: first offence, as decided by the court (which may set no waiting period); second offence, at least 3 months after sentencing; third and later offences, at least 6 months after sentencing.

There are two legal exceptions to the minimum penalties, and both are for the court to decide under the law:

• Treatment program (section 320.23): if the prosecutor and the accused both agree, the court, after considering the interests of justice, can delay sentencing so the person can take part in a treatment program approved by the province; during the delay, the court must first impose a driving prohibition. If the person completes the program successfully, the court can choose not to impose the minimum penalty or the mandatory prohibition, but cannot grant a discharge.
• Minimum jail term too harsh (section 718.4, added in 2026): for an offence with a minimum jail term, if the minimum would be "cruel and unusual punishment" for this person in this case, the court must impose a shorter jail term than the minimum and give reasons.

Neither of these can be used just by signing up for a course yourself, paying a fee, or saying "my family is going through a hard time". Whether you are convicted, which procedure is used, which offence number it counts as, and the actual sentence all depend on the full facts of the case. Please talk to a lawyer (section 11).

8. After a conviction, B.C. adds more: a licence suspension, a remedial program, an ignition interlock and an insurance premium, and your insurance may not cover a crash

After the court sentences you, B.C. adds its own consequences separately.

1. B.C. licence suspension (separate from the court prohibition). RoadSafetyBC says: if you are convicted of certain Criminal Code driving offences, your B.C. licence is suspended for at least 1 year; if you already had a conviction in the past 10 years, for 3 years; with three or more, the suspension is indefinite, and you must wait at least 5 years before you can apply to get your licence back. The suspension cannot be appealed. When the suspension or prohibition ends, apply to get your licence back at any ICBC driver licensing office. You must pay a re-licensing fee and any fines you owe, and you may also have to take a test; some people must also take the Responsible Driver Program first.

2. Responsible Driver Program (RDP). RoadSafetyBC sends a letter requiring people who were prohibited from driving because of alcohol or drugs and who meet the set conditions to take this program; after some Criminal Code convictions, you can only get your licence back after completing it. If you do not take it, you cannot get your licence.

• The fee is $1,200; it is offered online or in communities across B.C., and run by CAMH (the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health);
• Three steps: first a phone assessment; then an 8-hour or 16-hour course; and a one-on-one follow-up 6 months after the course, which cannot be skipped;
• You must complete it within 1 year of the date on your referral letter, and the whole program can take up to 11 months, so register as soon as you get the letter;
• People on provincial government assistance, such as income assistance or disability assistance, can apply to pay a reduced fee of $852.50 (at most 5% of participants each month; the reduced fee cannot be paid in installments). If you are not getting the reduced fee, you can pay the $1,200 in four installments: $505 when you register (within 30 days of the date on your referral letter), $150 before booking the assessment (within 30 days of registering), $450 before booking the course (within 90 days of registering) and $95 before booking the follow-up (within 6 months of registering). Registering late or missing a payment could delay your progress and may lead to your licence being cancelled;
• To register: the quickest way is CAMH's registration website, www.ResponsibleDriverProgram.ca; you can also download the registration form and mail, email or fax it to CAMH. Once your registration is processed, you will get a confirmation email with a list of service providers and next steps. For questions about registration, payment or the program, call 1-844-398-4144 or email RDP.info@camh.ca.

3. Ignition Interlock Program. A breath-testing lock installed in a vehicle: you must blow before starting it, and if alcohol is detected the vehicle will not start; while you are driving, it also asks you to blow again at random times.

• It must be installed in every vehicle you drive, and you pay all the costs yourself; the service provider is Smart Start (phone 1-844-432-4776);
• For cars there is no installation fee, but there is a $150 administration fee; installation on a motorcycle costs $250; you can pay in interest-free weekly installments; some people on provincial government assistance can have the basic installation and monitoring fees cut in half;
• To apply for the reduced fees: if you receive income assistance or similar support from the B.C. Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, get your income assistance confirmation from My Self Serve and email it to NoBarriers@smartstartcanada.ca with the subject line "No Barriers Financial Assistance Plan Application", including your full name and driver's licence number;
• Failing a breath test, missing scheduled maintenance, tampering with the device, or driving a vehicle without one are all violations, and may lead to a longer program or your licence being cancelled;
• If you meet the set conditions and are required to install one, you cannot get a B.C. licence without it.

How to get started (the steps RoadSafetyBC lists):

1. First make sure you have received RoadSafetyBC's letter;
2. Call ICBC at 1-800-950-1498 to ask whether you are eligible to apply for an interlock-restricted licence;
3. If you are, book the installation on the Smart Start website or by calling 1-844-432-4776;
4. For the installation, bring proof of vehicle ownership and attend in person to learn how to give breath samples and to sign the paperwork;
5. Right after it is installed, take the "Install Notice Certificate" and two pieces of ID to an ICBC driver licensing office to get an interlock-restricted licence.

4. ICBC Driver Risk Premium (DRP). This is a separate charge from ICBC, apart from your vehicle insurance premium; you have to pay it even if you have no car and do not buy vehicle insurance. Each year, around your assessment date (usually your birthday), ICBC looks at your driving record for the past three years and sends one bill a year; one offence can affect your bills for several years in a row. The amounts in ICBC's table (from October 1, 2021):

The amounts keep going up with more offences. To pay less, ICBC says you can surrender your licence during the billing period: surrendering it for the whole billing period may cancel the premium, and surrendering it for at least 30 days can reduce it.

5. If you crash, your insurance may not cover it. ICBC says: if you crash while impaired, you have likely breached your insurance conditions, and you may personally have to pay the full cost of damage to other people's property or injuries to other people. This is a separate matter from whether you are convicted of a criminal offence; it depends on how ICBC handles your claim, and if you are not sure, ask a lawyer.

Related: for the general process for ICBC crash claims, and which injury benefits are reduced if you are convicted of a criminal offence such as impaired driving (section 2), see Guide No. 38, ICBC no-fault crash claims.

6. Other consequences on your driving record. A court prohibition is added to your B.C. driving record; if RoadSafetyBC thinks you should be prohibited for longer, it can add more (section 4.9 of the guidelines). If you are convicted of a driving offence in the U.S. and ICBC is notified within 3 years after the conviction, B.C. may also prohibit you from driving based on the equivalent Canadian offence (section 4.10).

9. Immigration status: citizens, permanent residents, international students and workers, refugee claimants and protected persons

First, the most important rule. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act paragraph 36(1)(a): if you are convicted in Canada of a federal offence for which the maximum penalty under the law is 10 years or more, or for which you were actually sentenced to more than 6 months in jail, a permanent resident or foreign national may be found inadmissible for "serious criminality". What matters is the maximum the offence can carry, not only what the judge actually gave you.

Why impaired driving can cross this line.

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says: from December 18, 2018, the maximum penalty for most impaired driving offences went up from 5 years to 10 years, so under immigration law they are mostly treated as serious criminality;
• Paragraph 36(3)(a): a hybrid offence, which can proceed either by summary conviction or by indictment, is always treated as an indictable offence, even if this particular case actually proceeded by summary conviction;
• So if an ordinary impaired driving offence committed after December 18, 2018 leads to a conviction, it may count as serious criminality under immigration law, even if you were only fined and the case proceeded by summary conviction.

Situations that are different.

• For offences committed before December 18, 2018, IRCC goes by the penalties at the time: they may count only as ordinary criminality, unless you were sentenced in Canada to more than 6 months in jail; IRCC also says that once 10 years have passed since the sentence was completed, you may qualify for "deemed rehabilitation". However, under paragraph 36(3)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the rehabilitation route covers convictions or acts outside Canada; for convictions in Canada, you need a record suspension (see "What you can do afterwards" below). Ask an immigration lawyer how this applies to you.
• The lower THC offence (2 ng to less than 5 ng) can only proceed by summary conviction, with a maximum fine of $1,000; on its own, it is not in the "maximum 10 years" group.
• B.C. roadside prohibitions, 12-hour suspensions, 24-hour prohibitions and 90-day ADPs are not criminal convictions.
• But foreign nationals must also consider subsection 36(2): a conviction in Canada for an indictable offence (hybrid offences count), or for two federal offences arising from separate incidents, may make them inadmissible for "criminality".
• A conviction outside Canada, or doing something outside Canada that was against the law there and would be an offence in Canada (even without a conviction), can also be assessed under immigration law (paragraphs 36(1)(b) and (c), and 36(2)(b) and (c)). Do not just look at whether the local law calls it a "minor offence".

By status:

The steps a PR goes through. In broad terms: if an immigration officer thinks you are inadmissible, the officer can write a report to the Minister (subsection 44(1)); if the Minister thinks the report is well-founded, the Minister can refer it to the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) for an admissibility hearing (subsection 44(2)); after the hearing, a removal order may be made; you only lose PR status at the moment the removal order comes into force (paragraph 46(1)(c)). "May be inadmissible" and "has been removed under the law" do not happen on the same day, and there are remedies you can use in between.

Do not mix up the two "6 months".

• Paragraph 36(1)(a): an actual sentence of "more than 6 months" in jail counts as serious criminality; but even without jail, a maximum of 10 years can also count as serious criminality.
• Section 64: whether a PR with serious criminality can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). For a conviction in Canada with a jail sentence of "6 months or more", there is no appeal; for a conviction outside Canada or acts committed outside Canada, there is also no appeal. If you were only fined in Canada, section 64 does not block you. Ask a lawyer whether you can appeal and how many days you have to do so.

What you can do afterwards (according to IRCC).

• Convicted in Canada: you need to apply for a record suspension (handled by the Parole Board of Canada). Paragraph 36(3)(b) says a record suspension that has been granted and has not been revoked or ceased to have effect cannot be used to find someone inadmissible. How many years you must wait before applying depends on the Parole Board's rules; this guide did not check.
• Convicted outside Canada: you can apply for "rehabilitation" once 5 years have passed since your sentence was completed (including probation), or since the day you committed the act.
• To enter or stay in Canada temporarily: you can apply for a temporary resident permit (TRP). You need a strong reason and must pay a fee, and it is up to the officer's discretion, with no guarantee of approval; even with a TRP, border officers at the port of entry can still refuse you entry.

All of these require a separate application and waiting for a decision; submitting an application does not automatically make the problem go away.

A reminder. If you are not a Canadian citizen and have been charged, have a lawyer look carefully at the effects on your status before you plead guilty; do not plead guilty just to "get it over with quickly". When an immigration form asks whether you have been charged or convicted, answer truthfully, and ask a lawyer how to fill it in.

10. Five hypothetical examples

The following are all hypothetical situations made up to help you understand. They are not real cases and not predictions of sentences, and they all assume the relevant facts can be proven under the law.

Example 1: After a dinner with friends in Victoria, a driver with a full licence blows a WARN. Suppose this driver has a full licence, is not in a zero tolerance period, and this is the first WARN in 5 years. Police issue a 3-day IRP on the spot and may impound the vehicle for 3 days. The driver pays a $200 penalty and a $250 reinstatement fee, plus towing and storage if the vehicle is impounded, for a total starting from $600; to challenge it, the driver can apply for a written review within 7 days, for $100. This in itself is not a criminal conviction, and it will not lead to deportation. But if police have other evidence that the driver's ability to drive was already impaired, "under 0.08" does not rule out a criminal case.

Example 2: After taking a nighttime cold medicine, the driver still insists on picking up the children. Suppose the medicine contains diphenhydramine, the box says it may cause drowsiness and not to drive, and the driver is already very drowsy and slow to react. Buying the medicine legally does not make the driving legal. If police have reasonable grounds, they can issue a 24-hour prohibition; for a criminal conviction, the prosecutor would also have to prove that the driver's ability was actually impaired by the medicine. Showing the medicine box does not guarantee you are in the clear, and taking the medicine does not automatically make you guilty. The safest choice: ask someone else to pick up the children, or take a taxi.

Example 3: Took a sleeping pill last night and "feels awake" in the morning. Suppose someone took, at 11 p.m., a zopiclone product whose leaflet says not to drive if less than 12 hours have passed since taking it, even if you feel fully awake, and wants to drive to work at 8 a.m. the next morning. It has only been 9 hours, so according to the leaflet they should not drive. Sleeping a few hours, drinking coffee or "I'm used to it" cannot replace the leaflet and what the doctor or pharmacist says.

Example 4: An N driver has one glass of beer. Suppose the driver has an N licence and blows 0.02. That is below WARN, but N drivers cannot have any alcohol, so police can issue a 12-hour suspension, which cannot be reviewed. RoadSafetyBC then reviews the driving record and, under section 4.8 of the guidelines, may add a prohibition of 1 to 6 months; after the prohibition, the N stage starts over, and moving up to Class 5 is pushed back too.

Example 5: A PR's first impaired driving offence, with only a fine. Suppose it happened after December 18, 2018. This PR is convicted under subsection 320.14(1), fined $1,000 and prohibited by the court from driving for 1 year. There was no jail, but this offence carries a maximum of 10 years, so under immigration law it may count as serious criminality. Whether an immigration officer will write a report, whether it will be referred to a hearing, and whether a removal order will be made have to be looked at step by step; because the sentence was not 6 months or more in jail, section 64 does not block an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division. In B.C., the licence will be suspended for at least 1 year, the driver may have to take the $1,200 Responsible Driver Program and install an ignition interlock, and ICBC will also charge the Driver Risk Premium according to its table: for one Criminal Code driving conviction, $1,108 a year, possibly for several years in a row. "No jail means no immigration risk" is wrong.

11. If something has already happened: what to do first today

1. Do not drive. Arrange for family or friends to drive you, or take transit or a taxi. Driving while prohibited is an offence (section 5).

2. Read the notice in your hand carefully. Which kind is it: a 12-hour suspension, a 24-hour prohibition, a 3-day / 7-day / 30-day / 90-day IRP, a 90-day ADP, an impoundment notice, or criminal court papers telling you to appear? On what date was it served? What is the number? For an IRP or ADP, within 7 days of service you must apply for a review, pay the review fee in full and book a date; all three must be done.

3. Keep your documents. All notices from police, impoundment papers and court documents; medicine boxes, leaflets and prescriptions; and write down what happened as soon as you can: the time, the place, what you ate, drank or took and when, and what the police said. Over time it is easy to forget.

4. Find a lawyer. Everything below is from the Legal Aid BC website:

• If you have just been arrested or detained, or police are investigating you but you have not been charged yet: call the Brydges Line at 1-866-458-5500. It is free across B.C., and lawyers answer 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, giving you legal advice on criminal matters. You could say: "I've been arrested for impaired driving. I need to speak to a lawyer."
• If you have been charged and must go to Provincial Court: there are duty counsel lawyers at the court, whatever your income. They can explain the charges, the court process and your rights, can appear for you at a bail hearing, and, if there is enough time, can also help you with a guilty plea. Ask the local court registry when duty counsel is available.
• If you want a free lawyer for your whole case: if a conviction could mean jail, a conditional sentence that would severely limit your liberty, losing the job you earn your living from, or immigration proceedings that could lead to being removed from Canada, you can apply for a legal aid lawyer; your household's monthly net income and assets must also be within the limits. Call the Legal Aid BC call centre: Greater Vancouver 604-408-2172, elsewhere in B.C. 1-866-577-2525. The call centre page gives the hours as Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Pacific Time (the criminal law services page says until 4 p.m.; the two pages differ, so if you cannot get through, try again at another time). If you cannot get through, you can also call a local Legal Aid BC office; Legal Aid BC says this may get you help more quickly (the criminal law services page lists local numbers). The call begins with a recorded message, which includes Mandarin and Cantonese; tell the person who answers which language you speak and they can arrange a phone interpreter (more than 100 languages). Have proof of income ready (your two most recent pay stubs, or a tax slip or bank records) and documents about your case. You could say: "I've been charged with impaired driving. I'm a permanent resident and I'm worried about deportation. Can I get legal aid?"
• If you are detained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at its enforcement centre in Vancouver: Legal Aid BC has immigration duty counsel there, whatever your income, who can appear for you at a detention hearing.
• If you hire your own lawyer: before hiring, check the Law Society of British Columbia's Lawyer Directory: enter the lawyer's name to see whether they can currently practise, their contact details, any practice restrictions and any discipline history. The Law Society does not recommend particular lawyers; its "Finding a Lawyer" page lists ways to find a lawyer, and also mentions Access Pro Bono (free legal services) and legal aid.
• If you are not a Canadian citizen: it is best to find a lawyer who understands both criminal law and immigration law, or have a criminal lawyer and an immigration lawyer look at your case together.

5. Do not hide anything. Report what you need to report truthfully; if you do not know how to fill in a form or what to say, ask a lawyer first.

12. Checklist before you go out

• Before a party, decide how you will get home: choose a designated driver who will not drink, take transit, a taxi or a ride-hailing service, or ask family or friends to pick you up.
• Before taking a medicine, read the ingredient list and the Warnings section; with a new medicine, a different medicine or a higher dose, do not drive yet; ask a pharmacist.
• For sleeping pills, go by the hours on the leaflet; if you do not feel awake, do not drive.
• L drivers, N drivers, new Class 5 graduates and some drivers who recently exchanged for Class 5 (Restriction 55, see section 6): no alcohol, cannabis or cocaine at all.
• If police demand a breath sample, cooperate; if the result would lead to a prohibition, you can ask to blow again on a different device.
• If you get an IRP or ADP: within 7 days, apply for a review, pay and book a date. Even after applying, do not drive.
• If you are arrested: call the Brydges Line at 1-866-458-5500.
• If you are not a Canadian citizen: before pleading guilty, ask a lawyer about the effects on your status.

Related guides

• → No. 19 · Traffic tickets, disputes and penalty points
  How to read, pay and dispute a ticket; why ICBC sends another bill after your points go up (section 7); the Driver Improvement Program guidelines and the thresholds for new drivers and Drivers with Restriction 55 (section 8); 12-hour suspensions, 24-hour prohibitions, IRPs, ADPs and impoundment (section 9).
• → No. 6 · Driver licensing
  How to choose among the eight licence classes; getting from L and N to Class 5, how moving up works from October 19, 2026, and the 12-month restriction period (section 3); the ID and driving experience documents new residents need to exchange a licence, and the zero tolerance period after the exchange (section 8).
• → No. 33 · Phones and driving in B.C.
  L and N drivers cannot use any electronic device while driving, not even hands-free; a new driver convicted once of using a phone within two years may be prohibited for 3 to 12 months (section 5); how the costs of a phone ticket add up and how to dispute it (section 9).
• → No. 38 · ICBC no-fault crash claims
  If you caused a crash and are convicted of a criminal offence such as impaired driving, which injury benefits are reduced by a set formula (section 2); how to report a crash (section 3) and claim injury benefits; if the other driver is convicted of a criminal offence such as impaired driving, whether you can sue them (section 11).

Main official links in this guide

These are all the official pages used in this guide; the end of each section also lists the ones for that section. The current text of the Criminal Code, the Blood Drug Concentration Regulations, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on the federal laws website; the pages of the Department of Justice Canada, Health Canada, the Government of Canada, Transport Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), B.C. Order in Council 350/2026 on the B.C. Laws website, the B.C. government and RoadSafetyBC (including the October 2026 Driver Improvement Program Policies and Guidelines), ICBC, HealthLink BC and Legal Aid BC; and the Law Society of British Columbia's "Finding a Lawyer" page were all opened and read on November 3, 2026. For the Law Society's Lawyer Directory, we only checked that it opens; the search pages of the College of Pharmacists of BC and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC (CPSBC) were copied from an official directory and not opened again this time. The CAMH registration website was copied from the link on RoadSafetyBC's program page and not opened. There are a few things we could not check, so this guide does not cover them: how a conviction affects a citizenship application or entry to the U.S.; and what sections 320.11 (definitions) and 320.18 (related to ignition interlock programs) of the Criminal Code say.