CVOR System – How It Works

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The CVOR system monitors a carrier’s CVOR record over a two-year period. This automated computer system contains information that includes:

  • Carrier information (e.g. fleet size, kilometres travelled, commodity transported, overall violation rate, Safety Rating, etc.)
  • Convictions
  • Reportable collisions
  • CVSA safety inspections
  • Ministry interventions (i.e. letters, interviews, audits and sanctions)

The CVOR certificate identifies the carrier and contains a unique nine-digit identification number. The certificate (or a photocopy) must be carried in each commercial motor vehicle operated under the CVOR certificate. Carriers must surrender the certificate when requested by an MTO enforcement officer or police officer for inspection purposes.

Other Canadian Jurisdictions

Carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in Ontario that are plated in other Canadian jurisdictions must provide a safety fitness certificate issued by that jurisdiction in place of a CVOR certificate.

Jurisdictions outside Canada

Since January 1, 2006, carriers operating commercial motor vehicles in Ontario that are plated in any jurisdiction outside Canada may no longer substitute a vehicle permit for a CVOR certificate. They must apply for and obtain a CVOR certificate.

Lease

Where a lease is involved, the lease must identify both the vehicle and the lessee’s CVOR number. Documented proof of the lease must also be carried in the vehicle. No CVOR Certificate is required if operating a vehicle leased for less than 30 days to transport personal goods only or to transport passengers for free.

Errors on CVOR records

If a carrier finds outdated information on its CVOR record, such as the address, contact information, fleet and/or rate of travel information, it is the carrier’s responsibility to notify the ministry. Applications for updating this information are available from the Carrier Sanctions and Investigation Office.

If there is incorrect information on a carrier’s record (e.g. an event on the record that is incorrect or the wrong carrier’s information), the carrier is responsible for contacting the Carrier Sanctions and Investigation Office. A CVOR Analyst will investigate the complaint and make corrections to the record, if necessary.

The carrier’s fleet

The vehicles that must be reported as part of a carrier’s fleet size are all trucks (including leased, rented and owned) having a gross weight or registered gross weight of more than 4500 kg and all buses. (A bus is a motor vehicle designed to carry ten or more passengers, not including the driver.) Trailers and converter dollies are not counted as part of the fleet size.

INCLUDE:
  • All the trucks and buses in a carrier’s fleet that operate in Ontario and are plated in Ontario, the United States, or Mexico.
DO NOT INCLUDE:
  • Any trucks or buses in a carrier’s fleet that are plated in other Canadian jurisdictions.
  • Any trucks or buses in a carrier’s fleet that NEVER travel in Ontario.
  • Any trailers or trailer converter dollies in a carrier’s fleet.
Fleet/kilometric data

The Highway Traffic Act requires carriers to report fleet size and travel information to the Ministry within 15 days after the fleet size 20 percent greater or less than last reported and also upon request. If the fleet size or rate of travel fluctuates throughout the year, the average rate of travel in Canada for the fleet operating in or through Ontario should be reported.

Carriers must maintain travel records (over a period of up to 24 months) of the kilometres travelled by the trucks and buses in its fleet. These records must be kept separate (i.e. one record of kilometric travel for trucks, and a separate record for buses). Carriers must report any significant changes in:

  • Total kilometres driven in Ontario
  • Total kilometres driven in all other Canadian jurisdictions, and
  • Total kilometres driven outside of Canada.

Note: For more information on determining fleet size and rate of travel please contact MTO Carrier Sanctions and Investigation Office

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