Regulators such as the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC) exist to protect the public interest. However, OMVIC and similar regulatory bodies do not receive government funding. Instead, they are funded through fees (e.g., registrations, applications, renewals, transactions).
OMVIC has undergone significant transformation and growth in recent years and faces increased operational costs due to implementing recommendations from the Auditor General’s 2021 Value-for-Money Audit and new strategic and regulatory initiatives. In addition, OMVIC is developing and implementing several critical new operational projects and is experiencing heightened service demands across all departments due to industry growth and increased enforcement activity.
Without further adjustments, OMVIC risks being unable to adequately deliver on its consumer protection mandate and strategic goals.
Therefore, OMVIC proposes to increase its registration fees by 2.5% effective September 1, 2025. This represents the rate of inflation since the last fee analysis and review in 2023-2024. The transaction fee is proposed to increase beyond inflation by $9.50 from $12.50 to $22.00.
To ensure it can continue to regulate the industry and protect the public effectively, OMVIC conducted a review of its fee structure in 2024 to plan for the increased regulatory and operational costs expected in 2025 and beyond.
The total cost of expanded programs and new initiatives over the five-year period from 2025 to 2029 is projected to be $29.2M. Even without expanding programs and new initiatives, OMVIC faces rising operational costs due to inflation, increased staffing needs, and necessary technology upgrades. OMVIC’s commitment to consumer protection requires ongoing resources to safeguard consumers in the motor vehicle marketplace. Additionally, implementation of the Auditor General’s recommendations is required. A fee increase is essential to maintaining OMVIC’s financial health and sustainability, and to effectively fulfilling its public interest mandate.
OMVIC’s largest source of revenue is derived from registration and transaction fees. These revenue streams have declined by ~15% over the past five years from $20.329M in 2018 to $17.432M in 2022 (source, OMVIC’s audited financial statements). OMVIC strives to breakeven on an annual basis. Without fee increases, OMVIC’s reserves will end up fully depleted.
As a result, OMVIC is proposing to increase fees to meet anticipated and unexpected demands. A fee increase will ensure that OMVIC has the processes, tools, and resources to fulfill its public protection mandate.
For additional details on the proposed fee changes, please refer to OMVIC’s consultation information document.
OMVIC’s administrative agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement provides the OMVIC Board of Directors the authority to set and collect fees consistent with its operating principles and obligations.
Where the OMVIC Board has approved a fee change, OMVIC must provide the Minister with 30 to 45 days advance written notice, following which at least 60 days written notice must be provided to registrants.
Therefore, on December 17, 2024, the OMVIC Board approved a Fee Increase Proposal, including inflation increases to all OMVIC registration fees and a $9.50 increase to the transaction fee, effective September 1, 2025. A submission was made to the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery and Procurement to advise of the Board’s intention.
The OMVIC Board now welcomes the opportunity to hear from consumers and registrants about its proposed plan.
Join OMVIC for a live webinar and Q&A session on Zoom to learn more about OMVIC’s fee proposal.
Date/Time: Click here to register for the webinar on Tuesday, May 27, 2025 at 11:00 a.m.
This webinar will provide an opportunity to learn more about why OMVIC proposes raising fees and what fees are used for. A brief presentation from OMVIC will be followed by a Q&A period during which registrants and stakeholders can have their questions answered.
Also, click here to see Frequently Asked Questions.
OMVIC will review all feedback and present a final recommendation to the OMVIC Board by June 13, 2025. Resultant changes will be communicated to registrants and stakeholders.
Please provide any feedback using this online form by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 6, 2025.
If you have any questions, please email [email protected].
1. Why did OMVIC not choose to stagger the $9.50 transaction fee increase over a period of years?
Financial forecast models show that increasing the transaction fee on September 1, 2025, is essential to achieving a financial break-even position. Second, increasing all fees on an expected date (such as September 1, 2025) is most efficient, logistically, for systems, forms, policies and processes, and stakeholder communications.
2. Can fee increases be avoided by adjusting OMVIC’s human resources?
An adjustment to OMVIC’s human resources is an unlikely option given the Auditor General’s recommendation was to increase resources in OMVIC’s various operational areas. The Auditor General of Ontario’s 2021 Value-for-Money Audit Report noted that OMVIC had not increased resources devoted to enforcement actions, and staffing of key areas, including complaints, inspections and registration, had remained largely unchanged over the years. Several audit recommendations included the request for OMVIC to conduct workload studies and ensure it had the right amount of staffing to best deliver on its mandate. The investments in personnel following the Value-for-Money Audit were necessary to address the recommendations of the Auditor General. However, these investments have contributed to OMVIC’s current and projected operating deficits.
3. What key factors did OMVIC consider in assuming dealerships could bear the additional costs associated with fee increases?
OMVIC considered an inflationary increase was reasonable at 2.5% given that OMVIC, as most organizations, faces rising annual costs due to inflation. Additionally, the proposed $9.50 increase to the transaction fee is often passed on to consumers at the point of sale/lease. If a motor vehicle is kept for four years, this averages $9.50/4 years = $2.38 per year. If a motor vehicle is kept for 8 years, this averages $9.50/8 years= $1.19 per year.
4. Would it be possible for OMVIC to implement fee increases so that all registrants, regardless of when their fiscal year begins and ends, receive notice of one full fiscal year (as opposed to the fees taking effect on the same start date for all registrants regardless of their fiscal year)? If not, why not?
It is possible; however, doing so would present significant logistical and administrative challenges and require additional human resources to re-program and re-configure OMVIC’s registration systems and tracking mechanisms for each individual registrant, given that we have ~8,000 dealers and ~30,000 salespeople, each with their own unique fiscal year start and end dates. Aligning the transaction fee increase from $12.50 to $22.00 with a common date facilitates effective communication with consumers.
5. OMVIC has been reported to have large, accumulated surpluses over the years. Why is an increase necessary?
OMVIC has experienced consecutive deficits for the past several years. A recommendation from the Auditor General of Ontario 2021 Value-for-Money audit was that OMVIC should use its accumulated surpluses for programming. Now, the accumulated surpluses are nearly depleted. Without fee increases, OMVIC’s reserves will be fully depleted.
