ServiceOntario text about a parking ticket or licence suspension? It is a scam.
It is a scam. No Ontario city texts about parking tickets, and ServiceOntario does not text about fines, violations or your licence.
A text claims to be from ServiceOntario, a city, or a "licensing authority" about an unpaid parking ticket or traffic violation, and says your licence or plates are at risk unless you pay through a link. "Does ServiceOntario text you?" is one of the most common questions people type into Google after getting one. The short answer is no, not about this.
Is this the message you received?
Received in DurhamDRIVER STATUS NOTE: Effective 31-08-2026, your license is subject to revocation due to a expired traffic violation on your record. Intervene prior to this date to stop the suspension and circumvent legal steps. Review your ticket(s) here: [link removed] REF: [reference removed]
Reported in OntarioService Ontario - Notice of Statutory Violation: Formal Parking Violation Notice: Our records reflect an outstanding penalty liability concerning your vehicle for an infraction occurring on April 18, 2026. Final Notice of Enforcement: You are directed to choose one of the available resolution options no later than April 23, 2026. Absent any remedial action by the specified date, your file will be escalated for mandatory legal processing. Clear Your Outstanding Penalty Debt: [link removed] Unpaid parking violations shall attract additional interest and fees and will be referred to the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) for plate denial...
Reported in OntarioNOTICE OF LICENSE REVIEW: Failure to pay your $110 parking violation will trigger a review of your driver’s license status. Payment is required to close this matter. [link removed] — Bylaw Licensing Authority
The first was received in Ajax in August 2026. Five people confirmed the second. Between waves the reference number, the fine, the deadline and the name of the "authority" change. What stays the same is a threat to your licence or plates and a link to pay, which no Ontario government office sends. Note the American spelling "license" in all three.
How it works
The text warns of late fees, legal action, plate denial or a licence review unless you pay through the link. The link opens a fake payment page that takes your card details. There is no Ontario Ticket Department and no Bylaw Licensing Authority. Real parking tickets are left on your windshield or mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle.
There is a simple reason no city can text you about a ticket. When a municipality looks up a plate, the Ministry of Transportation gives it only the registered owner’s name and mailing address, never a phone number. The City of Kingston spelled that out in a January 2026 warning about the same texts.
Durham has been here before. In January 2023 the City of Pickering and Durham police warned about parking ticket texts. The City says it does not use text messaging to communicate about parking tickets or fines, and that all communication about outstanding fines goes to the registered owner by mail.
How the real ServiceOntario contacts you
ServiceOntario sends reminders by email, text or phone only if you sign up for them, and only about renewals: licence plates, driver’s licences, health cards and Ontario Photo Cards.
Those reminders will never demand or ask for any payment, never ask for your credit card information, date of birth or banking details, never threaten to report fees or fines to police, banks or collection agencies, and never tell you something is wrong and ask you to call or click a link. Any link in a real reminder is a full ontario.ca or serviceontario.ca address.
Source: Ontario.ca: ServiceOntario renewal reminders (September 2026)
Does ServiceOntario send text messages?
Only renewal reminders, and only if you signed up for them. They cover licence plates, driver’s licences, health cards and Ontario Photo Cards. They never ask for a payment, never include card or banking details, and never threaten fines. A text about a ticket, a violation or a licence suspension is not from ServiceOntario.
What to do
- Do not tap the link and do not reply. Replying tells the sender the number is live.
- If you are worried you really have a ticket, check your city’s own parking website, typed into your browser, or call the number on the city’s site.
- To check your licence, sign in at ontario.ca yourself. Never use a link from a text.
- If you tapped the link, entered details or paid: here is exactly what to do next, step by step.
- Report the text by forwarding it to 7726 (SPAM). How to do that on iPhone and Android.
- Got a different message? Run it through our one-minute checker.
Sources
If this has already happened to you, our scam recovery visit can lock down your accounts and devices. And if you are just not sure whether something is a scam, asking us is always free.