Ontario · Red Light / Stop Sign · Toronto
Red Light or Stop Sign Ticket in Toronto
Ticketed for a red light or stop sign in Toronto? The $325 fine is the smaller cost — 3 demerit points and a conviction on your record for three years is the larger one. Understand what you're actually paying before you pay it.
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Red Light / Stop Sign in Toronto — how it actually works
Whether the OPP ticketed you on a 400-series highway or Toronto Police Service on the DVP, the Gardiner, or a city street, an officer-issued red light charge under s.144(18) or a stop sign charge under s.136 of the Highway Traffic Act is heard at whichever of Toronto's three Provincial Offences courts serves that area.
The set fine is $260 for a red light ($325 with costs) and $110 for a stop sign ($150 with costs), but that's the smaller part of the cost — a conviction carries 3 demerit points and sits on your driving record, visible to insurers, for three years. How these charges are defended in Ontario covers the amber-light defence and how an officer's vantage point gets challenged.
Given the volume of both officer-issued and camera-issued tickets across the city, confirming which type you actually have is the first step — they're defended completely differently, and only one of them is something we handle.
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Red Light / Stop Sign in Toronto
Is my Toronto red-light ticket from a camera or an officer?
That distinction matters enormously. An officer-issued ticket carries 3 demerit points and goes on your driving record; a red-light camera ticket carries no points and is issued to the registered plate holder as an administrative matter. We defend the officer-issued charge — camera tickets are a separate process we don't handle.
Which of Toronto's three courts hears a red light or stop sign ticket?
Whichever one serves the area where it was issued — Toronto South (92 Front St E), Toronto East (1530 Markham Rd), or Toronto West (2700 Eglinton Ave W). It's printed on your ticket, not decided by where you live.
Is there a defence if I was already committed to a Toronto intersection when the light changed?
Yes — the amber light defence. If you were too close on the amber to stop safely, entering the intersection may not be an offence. Amber-phase timing at the specific intersection is an obtainable municipal engineering figure.
Related pages
This may not be the whole picture — here's how we handle other charges in Toronto, and how Red Light / Stop Sign plays out in other Ontario cities.
Other charges in Toronto
Red Light / Stop Sign elsewhere in Ontario
Legal information, not legal advice. Laws, fines and demerit points change; check the current Highway Traffic Act and the Ontario Court of Justice set-fine schedule before relying on a figure. Using this site or sending a form does not create a paralegal-client relationship.