Table of contents

Overview

If you are a driver who wishes to dispute your Notice of Administrative Penalty, you can apply for a review through SafeRoads Alberta.

Financial hardship and inconvenience are not grounds for cancellation of your Notice of Administrative Penalty.

An adjudicator cannot consider arguments such as:

  • you do not have the financial means to pay for the fines
  • you need your vehicle to get to and from work
  • you need your vehicle to take your kids to school or a family member to a medical appointment

The grounds to cancel a Notice of Administrative Penalty for an Immediate Roadside Sanction can be found in section 4 of the SafeRoads Alberta Regulation.

  • Representation

    If you choose to be represented by a lawyer or an agent, consent to representation is required. For ease of use, SafeRoads Alberta has a Consent to Representation form (PDF, 74 KB) you can complete and upload to the SafeRoads portal. This form will be deemed an original.

  • Using an interpreter

    An interpreter can attend your oral review if you need translation to and from the English language.

    You must indicate in the SafeRoads portal that an interpreter will attend your review and make arrangements for your interpreter to be available for the review as scheduled.

  • Using a translator

    You can use a translator of your choice to help you prepare your written review submission if you need translation to the English language.

Eligibility and costs

To apply for a review, you must apply within 7 days of receiving the Notice of Administrative Penalty.

Costs

  • You must pay a non-refundable application fee of $150.
  • If you choose to be represented by a lawyer or agent, you are responsible for any costs for the representative.
  • If you choose to use an interpreter, you are responsible for any costs for the interpreter.
  • If you use a translator, you are responsible for any costs for the translator.

How to apply

  • Step 1. Access the SafeRoads portal or go to a registry agent

    Read Immediate Roadside Sanctions review request before you start your application process.

    To apply for a review, access the SafeRoads portal or visit a participating Alberta registry agent.

    Not all browsers work the same, so there may be some variation in user experience depending on what browser and device is used. For the best experience, use Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge to access the SafeRoads portal. If you are having trouble accessing the SafeRoads portal, clear your browser's cache.

    If you choose to apply for a review at a participating Alberta registry agent, bring your Notice of Administrative Penalty or Seizure Notice. Payments made at an Alberta registry agent may be subject to a service charge.

  • Step 2. Schedule your review

    You will choose the date you would like your application to be reviewed by an adjudicator and submit your request. You will receive confirmation of your review via your preferred contact method.

    You will choose the method of your review. If you select an oral review, you will select what you would like to happen if you fail to participate in your review. You will choose to:

    When you submit your request, your review will be held within 21 days from the date you were issued your Notice of Administrative Penalty.

    See the Standard Reviews: Requesting and Scheduling Program Policy and the Standard Reviews: Abandonment or Failure to Participate in Review Program Policy for more information.

  • Step 3. Provide supporting documents

    You or your representative must submit all of your supporting documents through the SafeRoads portal at least 2 full calendar days before the scheduled review.

    Participating registry agents may provide this service for a service charge.

    Supporting documents may include:

    • your written submission
    • photographs
    • video or audio recordings or both
    • witness statements
    • technical materials
    • a driver abstract
      • provides information from a person’s driving record including current status of the driver’s licence, conviction information, demerits points and suspensions
      • may be submitted to support disputes related to occurrence level
      • can be ordered online or at an Alberta registry agent

    SafeRoads Alberta will only accept supporting documents submitted through the SafeRoads portal. No other forms of submission will be accepted or considered as part of the review.

    See Supporting document requirements (PDF, 170 KB) for more information.

    Additional documents may be uploaded by law enforcement up to 4 calendar days prior to your scheduled review. It is your responsibility to check back to ensure you have all of the information and to update your grounds or arguments for the review accordingly.

  • Step 4. After you apply

    Your review will take place within 21 days from the date you were issued your Notice of Administrative Penalty. Reviews are conducted orally (video-conferencing) or in writing, not in person.

    Oral review

    If you choose an oral review, the videoconference link to attend your review can be accessed in the review details page in the SafeRoads portal. You should connect a few minutes before the scheduled review time to ensure that you have no technological issues. Your review will take 30 minutes.

    You will not receive a verbal decision at the time of your oral review.

    Written review

    If you choose a written review, you or your representative will provide a written submission with your reasons for disputing the Notice of Administrative Penalty and supporting documents at least 2 full calendar days in advance of the date of your review to be considered.

    You or your representative do not attend the review.

At your review

The adjudicator will: 

After conducting a review, the adjudicator can confirm or cancel your Notice of Administrative Penalty.

If you were issued a Notice of Administrative Penalty for a second or subsequent occurrence in error, the adjudicator can – upon proof of the error – adjust the occurrence level down so that the penalty is reduced.

The adjudicator’s decision will be provided in writing within 30 days from the date you were issued your Notice of Administrative Penalty.

You will be notified by your preferred contact method when the adjudicator’s decision is available in the SafeRoads portal.

If you did not choose email or text as your preferred method of contact, a copy of the decision will be mailed to the preferred mailing address as identified in the SafeRoads portal. SafeRoads Alberta has no control over Canada Post delivery dates, so you may receive the mailed copy of the decision after the 30 days.

SafeRoads Alberta decisions for impaired driving sanctions are subject to publication on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) website.

Judicial review

You may seek judicial review of decisions rendered by SafeRoads Alberta by filing an originating application with the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, in accordance with section 24(2) of the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act and serving on the Director no later than 30 days after the date on which the decision was received.

Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, S.A. 2020, c. P-30.8
Judicial review

24(1) Subject to subsection (2), no decision or order of the Director or adjudicator is to be questioned or reviewed in any court by application for judicial review or otherwise, and no order is to be made, process entered or proceedings taken in any court whether by way of certiorari, injunction, declaratory judgment, prohibition, mandamus, quo warranto, application to quash or set aside or otherwise, to question, review, prohibit or restrain any decision or order of the Director or adjudicator or any of the Director’s or adjudicator’s proceedings.

(2) A decision or order of the Director or adjudicator may be questioned or reviewed by way of an application for judicial review seeking an order in the nature of certiorari or mandamus if the application is filed with the Court of [King’s] Bench and served on the Director or adjudicator no later than 30 days after the date on which the decision or order was received by the applicant.

(3) On an application for judicial review under subsection (2), the standard of review is reasonableness.

For information on how to seek a judicial review, visit the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta website at Filing Procedure: Judicial Review of Saferoads Decisions.

The preferred method for serving filed documents is via e-mail at [email protected]. Additional authorized methods of service can be found in Part 11 of the Alberta Rules of Court.

Changing or abandoning a review

  • Changing a scheduled review

    You can reschedule the date or time of your review and change the review type up until 11:59 pm the day before the scheduled review to any available date within 21 days from the date you were issued your Notice of Administrative Penalty through the SafeRoads portal or at an Alberta registry agent during business hours.

  • Abandoning a scheduled review

    There are 2 ways a request for a review can be abandoned:

    1. through the SafeRoads portal or at an Alberta registry agent at any time up to the start of your scheduled review
    2. if it is an oral review, once the review has started by letting the adjudicator know that you wish to abandon

    By abandoning your request for review:

    • your Notice of Administrative Penalty remains in effect
    • you will not receive a refund of the application fee
    • the fine is due by the date listed in your notice details in the SafeRoads portal

    A review is deemed to be abandoned if you or your representative:

    • in the case of an oral review, have elected to abandon your review and do not attend
    • in the case of an oral review, do not attend and do not provide a written submission
    • in the case of a written review, do not provide any material

    See the Standard Reviews: Abandonment or Failure to Participate in Review Program Policy for more information

  • Converting a review

    An oral review will be converted to a written review if you or your representative:

    • have elected to have your oral review converted to a written review, have submitted supporting documents, but do not attend your oral review
      • a decision will be made by the adjudicator on the basis of your written submissions
      • the review is not deemed abandoned
      • you will not receive any refund of the fee paid for the oral review

    See the Standard Reviews: Abandonment or Failure to Participate in Review Program Policy for more information.

Request for late review

If you did not apply for a review within 7 days of the date of issuance of your Notice of Administrative Penalty or your review was deemed abandoned, you can submit a request for a late review up to 12 months after the date of the Notice of Administrative Penalty being issued.

To request a late review, you must:

You will be notified of the decision to approve or deny your late review request through the SafeRoads portal.

If your request for a late review is approved, the date of the decision will be deemed to be the date of issuance of the Notice of Administrative Penalty. You will have 7 days from this date to apply for a new review.

See Late Reviews Request: Information Sheet and Late Reviews: Overview program policy for additional details.

Late evidence application

A late evidence application may be submitted if you have requested a review to be held within the standard 21 day timeline, then abandon the review in order to seek a late review for the purpose of introducing late evidence.

A late evidence application is a type of late review request that is specifically assessed under the prescribed exceptional circumstances set out in Section 10(3)(b) of the Provincial Administrative Penalties Regulation.

A late evidence application should be submitted once the evidence is available up to 12 months from the date the Notice of Administrative Penalty was issued.

Submitting a late evidence application does not guarantee that you will be granted a late review.

See the Late Reviews: Late Evidence Application Program Policy and the Late Reviews: Late Evidence Application Information Sheet for more information.

To submit your late evidence application:

You will be notified of the decision to accept or deny your request through the SafeRoads portal. 

If your request for a late review to submit late evidence is approved, the date of the decision will be deemed to be the date of issuance of the Notice of Administrative Penalty. You will have 7 days from this date to apply for a new review.

Contact

Connect with SafeRoads Alberta:

Contact SafeRoads Alberta

Related

Impaired driving laws

Federal impaired driving information

Federal impaired driving laws

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