SAAQ to reuse photo already in drivers' files for licence renewal

An SAAQ driver's licence notice is shown in Montreal, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes)

Drivers who need to renew their driver's licence by the end of 2023 won't have to visit a Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) service centre.

The SAAQ announced on Wednesday that it will reuse the photos already in drivers' files to produce their new licences.

People whose driver's licence expires between June 1, 2023 and Dec. 31, 2023 will receive their licence automatically by mail, along with their payment notice.

"The Société invites those who already had an appointment for a photo-taking at a point of service to cancel that appointment," SAAQ said in a press release.

Drivers whose licence expires in January 2024 or later are not affected by this measure, said SAAQ spokeswoman Geneviève Côté. She added that the SAAQ is "continuing to monitor the situation closely" to see if other dates should be added.

"We are currently in a position to reuse customers' photos as part of their driver's licence renewal process, to save them a trip. For the time being, we're doing this for customers who are affected by the dates that are mentioned," said Côté, without elaborating on the reason for implementing this measure at this specific time of year.

"This is one of the measures that have recently been put in place to be able to further control traffic at our various branches," added the SAAQ spokeswoman.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 19, 2023.