Is the Interlock Stream Worth It? The Real Numbers
Installing early costs money and shortens the suspension. What each side of that trade adds up to, using published Ontario fees rather than guesses.
Blog · Costs & budgeting
What this actually costs
Nobody lays these out in one place, so people budget for one of them and get surprised by the other five. None of these are our fees.
The cost of a DUI in Ontario: every fee in one table
MTO licence reinstatement is $281.00. Back on Track is $894 after a conviction or $344 after an administrative suspension. A G2 road test is $53.75 and a G is $91.25. Extra knowledge test attempts are $16.00 each.
DriveTest fees are set by the Government of Ontario, include applicable taxes, and have been effective since 12 July 2019.
The recurring one people forget
The device lease is monthly, and it runs for the whole condition. Smart Start Ontario published a lease of $77.97 including tax per month plus an MTO monthly fee of $7.50 as at 27 July 2026, with installation and removal at no charge. ALCOLOCK does not publish an Ontario schedule.
Treat that as one provider’s price on one date rather than the Ontario rate, and get your own quote. Over a twelve-month condition the monthly figure is the largest single line in most people’s budget.
Avoidable costs, which is the useful part
- Out-of-order road test: 50% of the fee forfeited, because the car did not match the licence. Entirely avoidable.
- Unlock code: Smart Start listed $84.75. Usually the aftermath of a lockout.
- Failing Back on Track: re-register and pay the full fee again, with a delay remedial.net describes as eight months or more.
- Missed provider appointment: a programme violation. The cost is not a fee, it is six extra months on your condition.
Why we do not publish our own price
Four things move it a long way: how many road tests you need, whether training goes with the car, which DriveTest centre, and how far out the date is. One published figure would either overcharge the simple bookings or get revised upward on the complicated ones, so we quote the actual booking in writing instead, with no deposit taken to produce it.
Read the long-form version in getting your licence back, in order. If a road test is part of your route back, we cover interlock car rental for a G2 or G road test and the ten-hour interlock training course. Related reading: life after a DUI in Canada and Ontario interlock program rules, or browse every Ontario DUI licence recovery article.
Start here
The guide this category feeds
Every article in this category links back to one long-form guide. If you only read one thing, read that.
Pillar guide
Getting your licence back, in order
The complete, sourced version of everything this category covers, in one place.
Read the guide All guidesSix guides to getting your licence back
The programme, the streams, Back on Track, reinstatement, the road test and the device.
See all six The blogAll eight categories
From the first suspension through to life on the other side of the condition.
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Articles in this category
What an Ignition Interlock Costs Per Month in Ontario
The recurring cost people forget when budgeting: the device lease, the MTO monthly fee, and the avoidable charges that push the total up.
Questions
Common questions in this category
Why do other sites still say Back on Track costs $634?
Yes, after an impaired driving conviction, and $344 after an administrative suspension. The $634 figure still circulating is out of date.
Why will you not publish a price for the course?
Because the honest number depends on your test date, your centre, the class of test and whether you need the training as well. We send a written figure the same day, and nothing is charged to produce it.
Availability & pricing
When the driving part comes round
We do not handle suspensions, remedial programmes or device installation. We teach the device and rent an interlock-equipped car for a road test. Send the date when you have one and we will quote it in writing.
- Answered the same day, Monday to Saturday
- A written figure with everything included
- If you don’t need a road test, we’ll tell you that instead
Phone is faster. Someone answers Monday to Saturday, evenings included.