Power Vessel Operators Permit - Procedure Guidelines

Toronto Port Authority by-law No.7 requires that " No person shall operate a power(ed) vessel within the Port and Harbour of Toronto unless authorized to do so under the provisions of" .... (the by-law)

Acquiring such permit comprises of 2 parts:

• (i)to obtain a 30 day Learners Temporary Permit, then
• (ii) take a written and practical test to obtain Boat Operator's Permit

Operators permits are granted to persons 14 years and older, and are for 1 or 2 year duration, expiring December 31 of a given year.

(i) Learners Temporary Permit

Written Application: can be made to the Harbour Permit office at 475 Unwin Ave., Toronto, Ontario, M4M 3M2 (Tel:416-778-1230) providing full name, address, telephone number, age, height and gender. Enclose Cheque or Money Order in the amount of $32.00 payable to the "Toronto Port Authority" covering $5.00 Temporary Permit, $7.00 Postage and Handling, $20.00 non-refundable exam fee and information material for test preparation.

or

Attendance in person at the Permit Office located on the second floor at 60 Harbour St. between 9:00AM and 4:00PM from mid April through September which case the $7.00 handling fee is waived.

Note: Holders of a temporary permit must be accompanied by on Operators Permit holder whenever operating a vessel in Toronto waters.

 (ii)Operators Permits

Issued subject to (multi choice) written and practical tests within the 30 day term of the Temporary permit. Tests are conducted each Thursday commencing in early May through late September from 8:00AM to 5:00PM by appointment only - arranged through the permit office. If the learners permit expires before passing the test, another temporary permit must be obtained at a further $5.00. The examination office is located at 475 Unwin Ave. (Outer Harbour Marina). Bring your temporary permit to the testing dock.

The $15.00 non-refundable examination fee is required each time the test is taken. When passed, the fee is applied for the current years licence. The temporary permit is endorsed by the examiner and the permit is mailed to the applicant.

Failure to renew prohibits the operator from navigating a powered vessel in the Port and Harbour of Toronto.If you fail to renew your permit for 1 to 2 consecutive years, the permit may be reinstated by the payment of the fee for the missed years plus the current year. If 3 consecutive years are missed, the operator will be required to pass a  retest of the written paper, but will not be required to pay for missed years. All fees and charges would apply as for a first time applicant.

Off Site Testing

Special arrangements may be made through the permit office for instruction and/or testing of groups. Applicants (clubs, marinas, groups, etc.) are responsible for obtaining their temporary permits not less than 2 weeks prior to the test date and may co-ordinate same into a single batch if required.

Personal Water Craft (PWC)

Operators of PWC's must be licenced in the Port and Harbour of Toronto in the same manner as that for other power vessel operators. All procedures, costs and fees apply as indicated above. However the operator must take the practical test on a PWC and the Operators Permit must be endorsed for PWC only.

Operators Permit Suspension

When suspended or revoked, the holder of that permit, if or when, permitted to again operate a power vessel in the Port will be subject to full retesting and associated charges as for a first time applicant

Power vessel operators permit office 416-778-1230