Pre-Trip Inspections and DVIR Requirements in Ontario

The Legal Requirement

The daily vehicle inspection requirement in Ontario is governed by Highway Traffic Act Section 107 and Ontario Regulation 199/07. These provisions implement NSC Standard 13 (Trip Inspection), which applies consistently across Canadian jurisdictions.

No carrier shall permit a driver to operate a commercial vehicle on a highway unless that vehicle has been inspected as required. This is not a driver obligation alone — the carrier is jointly responsible for ensuring inspections occur and records are maintained.

The 24-Hour Rule

A DVIR must be completed every 24 hours. This is commonly misunderstood as "before each new trip" — but the legal requirement is a time-based clock, not a trip-based one. A vehicle inspected yesterday but not yet inspected today cannot legally operate regardless of:

• Whether the same driver is operating it
• Whether it never moved overnight
• Whether it was parked at a terminal

For multi-driver operations where a vehicle is handed off between drivers, each driver must verify the current inspection status. If the 24-hour window has expired, a new inspection is required before the vehicle moves.

Which Vehicles Are Covered

The DVIR requirement applies to:

• Trucks, tractors, and trailers with a registered gross weight exceeding 4,500 kg
• Buses with a seating capacity of more than 10 passengers
• Tow trucks (regardless of weight)

Each vehicle type has an applicable inspection schedule under O. Reg. 199/07. Drivers must use the correct schedule:

Defect Classification: Minor vs. Major

When a driver identifies a defect, it must be classified and reported on the DVIR. The classification determines whether the vehicle can continue to operate:

The Repair Documentation Requirement

This is where carriers most commonly fail. Completing the DVIR is the first step — but the carrier's obligation does not end when the driver signs the form. When a defect is noted:

• The defect must be repaired (or a decision to continue under minor defect rules must be documented)
• The person who performed the repair must sign off on the same DVIR — or on an attached repair record that is cross-referenced to the original DVIR
• The repair record must identify who did the repair, what was done, and when
• The signed repair record must be retained alongside the original DVIR

An "open defect" — a defect noted on a DVIR with no corresponding repair sign-off — is treated by MTO auditors as evidence of a systemic maintenance failure. It is one of the most common critical findings in Ontario facility audits and directly affects your maintenance profile score.

Even if the repair was actually made, an unsigned DVIR looks identical to one where no repair was made. The signature is not a formality — it is the evidence.

Electronic DVIRs

Electronic DVIR systems — including those integrated into ELD devices — are permitted under Ontario Regulation 199/07 and the federal Commercial Vehicle Drivers Hours of Service Regulations. The electronic record must meet the same content requirements as a paper DVIR and must be producible during a roadside inspection or facility audit.

Carriers using ELD-integrated DVIR systems should verify that their system captures driver sign-off, defect classification, and repair certification in a way that an auditor can review. A system that records the inspection but not the defect sign-off or repair certification does not fully satisfy the requirement.

What MTO Auditors Look for in DVIR Records

During a facility audit, the vehicle maintenance profile reviewer will pull a sample of DVIRs — typically covering the most recent 6 to 12 months — and cross-reference them against:

• Repair work orders or shop records, to verify that noted defects were actually addressed
• Roadside inspection outcomes, to see whether defects found at roadside had been noted or missed in recent DVIRs
• Date continuity, to identify gaps in the inspection record

Auditors are specifically alert to: forms that appear to have been completed as a batch (same handwriting, same ink, multiple dates), unsigned or incompletely signed forms, defects noted but no corresponding repair record, and roadside out-of-service conditions that should have been caught by a pre-trip inspection.

A carrier whose DVIR records are thorough, continuous, and include signed repair documentation will score significantly better on the maintenance profile than one with gaps and unsigned forms — regardless of whether their vehicles are actually well-maintained.