Help Guides
How to renew your Ontario health card online, and why it might not let you.
Renewing online takes about ten minutes when it works. When it refuses you, there is always a reason, and usually a simpler route than you expect. Here is the whole picture, from ontario.ca.
You can renew online at ontario.ca if your photo health card expires within 180 days (or expired less than 180 days ago), your photo and address are up to date, and you have a valid Ontario driver’s licence or Ontario Photo Card. The new card arrives by mail in about four to six weeks, and you print a temporary document to carry until then. If online refuses you, it is an in-person renewal at ServiceOntario, with a video option for some people.
Only ever renew by typing ontario.ca into your browser yourself. ServiceOntario sends renewal reminders only to people who signed up for them, and never with a payment link. If a text or email offers to renew your card, it is a scam.
Who can renew online
Ontario.ca lists the conditions. You need all of them.
- A valid Ontario photo health card that expires within the next 180 days, or expired less than 180 days ago.
- A photo and signature on file that are still up to date. If your photo is five years old or older, you need a new one, and that means going in person.
- An address on file that is current. If you moved recently, you cannot renew online until 90 days after the change.
- Either a valid Ontario driver’s licence (not suspended, cancelled or expired, with up-to-date photo, signature and address) or a valid Ontario Photo Card.
What to have ready
- Your current health card.
- Your driver’s licence or Ontario Photo Card.
- A printer, because you will print a temporary document to carry until the new card arrives.
- A credit card only if you are renewing your driver’s licence at the same time. The health card renewal itself is free.
Renewing online, step by step
Go to ontario.ca and search for "renew health card"
Type the address into your browser yourself. Never follow a link from a text or email, however official it looks.
Enter the numbers from your health card and your licence or photo card
The website checks them against what ServiceOntario has on file. This is where it tells you if you cannot renew online, and why.
Confirm your address
If the address shown is wrong, stop here. Update it through the separate change-of-address service first, then wait 90 days to renew online, or renew in person.
Print the temporary document and carry it
Your new card arrives by mail in about four to six weeks and is valid for five years. Until it comes, the printed document is your proof of coverage.
Would you rather do it with someone beside you?
We sit with you at your kitchen table, go through the website together, and print the temporary document. Part of our tutoring visits across Durham Region.
See Tech TutoringWhy the website might not let you
The most common reasons, and what to do about each.
- Your photo is five years old or older. A new photo has to be taken in person at ServiceOntario.
- You moved in the last 90 days, or the address on file is out of date. Update the address first, then renew in person or wait out the 90 days.
- Your name has changed. That means a new card with a new photo, in person.
- You are turning 16, or you are between 75 and 80. Both need a new photo in person. People 80 and older can usually renew by mail, and the renewal notice will say so.
- You still have an old red and white card. Those are replaced in person with a photo card.
- Your driver’s licence is suspended, expired, or needs a test. Use an Ontario Photo Card instead, or go in person.
- Your card expired more than 180 days ago, or expires more than 180 days from now. Online renewal only works inside that window.
If online says no
In person: bring your current health card and proof of identity and residency to any ServiceOntario centre. If your citizenship or immigration status has changed, bring that document too. You may be able to book an appointment through ontario.ca, which saves the queue.
By video: ServiceOntario runs a pilot where some people can renew over a video call with a representative instead of visiting. It is only for cards that have not yet expired, and only if you either have a permanent exemption from the photo and signature requirement, or are 18 or older with a valid photo card that does not need a new photo or signature. Other conditions may apply, so contact ServiceOntario to ask whether you qualify.
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Government websites, online accounts, passwords and the printer that will not print the one page you need. We handle all of it in your home across Durham Region.
Get Help TodayFAQ
Common questions about renewing a health card
- Is there a fee to renew an Ontario health card?
No. Renewing a health card is free, online or in person. If a website or a caller asks for a payment to renew it, it is a scam.
- How long does the new health card take to arrive?
About four to six weeks by mail. Print the temporary document at the end of the online renewal and carry it until the card comes. The new card is valid for five years.
- My health card already expired. Can I still renew online?
Yes, if it expired less than 180 days ago and you meet the other conditions. Past 180 days, or if you need a new photo, renew in person at ServiceOntario.