G1 Test at DriveTest North Bay
Yes. You can write the G1 knowledge test at North Bay.
New North Bay Mall, 300 Lakeshore Dr, Unit 502
North Bay, Ontario P1A 3V2 · Open in Google Maps
Greenhorn Driving School
DriveTest data retrieved August 22, 2026
DriveTest runs North Bay out of New North Bay Mall, 300 Lakeshore Dr, Unit 502 in North Bay. It is one of the 56 full DriveTest Centres in Ontario, and one of 40 examination locations DriveTest files under Northern Ontario. By the last count anyone published, for 2022, it was the 38th busiest of the 56 centres for knowledge tests. Because it is a full centre and not a travel point, the G1 knowledge test here works the way it works everywhere else in the province: you walk in.
Yes. You can write the G1 knowledge test at North Bay.
It is a full DriveTest Centre, so the knowledge test is walk-in. There is nothing to book and no appointment to make. You join the queue at the counter, apply, pay, and sit the test the same visit.
What North Bay Handles
Examiners based here also travel to one outlying location: Mattawa. Those visits are mostly road tests, so if the G1 is what you need, North Bay itself is the trip.
Copied from DriveTest’s own centre locator on August 22, 2026. Services change. Check the official locator before you travel, and use it for live wait times too.
Published Hours
Counter, where the G1 happens
May to October
Monday to Friday
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM,
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
November to April
Tuesday to Friday
9:00 AM to 1:00 PM,
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Those are the hours DriveTest published on August 22, 2026. The number that actually matters is closing time, because a knowledge test the office cannot finish before it shuts will not be started. DriveTest asks you to arrive at least an hour before close, and that is the floor, not the target.
Nearest Alternatives to North Bay
If North Bay is queued out or closed on the day you can go, these are the closest locations that also offer the knowledge test. Distances are straight-line, calculated from the coordinates DriveTest publishes, so every one of them is shorter than the drive. Around the Great Lakes it can be much shorter.
| Location | Distance |
|---|---|
| Huntsville215 Main St W, 1st Floor, Huntsville · Maps | 108 km |
| SudburyMontrose Mall, 782 LaSalle Blvd, Sudbury · Maps | 119 km |
| New LiskeardTimiskaming Square, 883303 ON-65, Unit 4A, New Liskeard · Maps | 139 km |
| EspanolaEspanola Mall, 800 Centre St, Unit 101D, Espanola · Maps | 178 km |
Before You Go
None of this is specific to North Bay. It is specific to Ontario, and it is where most wasted trips come from.
- Bring original documents. Photocopies, scans and photos on a phone are refused at the counter. You need original proof of identity, and if you are under 16 you need a parent or guardian with you.
- There is a vision screening first. Bring your glasses or contacts if you wear them. It happens before the written test, not after.
- The fee is $159.75 for the Class G1 licence package, set by the province and the same at every location. A retake of the knowledge test is $16.
- Nothing is bookable. Knowledge tests are first come, first served at every DriveTest Centre. Arrive well before closing rather than close to it.
Turn Up Having Already Passed It Once
The trip is the expensive part, not the $16. Our G1 practice test is free, has no ads and needs no account: 200 questions on signs and rules of the road, a 40-question mock in the real two-section format, an explanation on every answer, and unlimited retakes.
How Busy This Centre Is
In 2022 this centre ran 10,592 knowledge tests. For scale, the busiest centre that year was Mississauga at 173,833, and the quietest was Kirkland Lake at 1,235.
The same 2022 table puts this centre's road test pass rates at 80% for the G2 and 86% for the full G. Those are road test numbers, not knowledge test numbers. No per-centre G1 pass rate has ever been published by anyone, so treat any site that quotes one as guessing.
These figures come from Appendix 2 of the Ontario Auditor General’s December 2023 audit of driver training and examination, which is the last time per-centre numbers were published anywhere. They describe the 2022 calendar year, so read them as a picture of relative demand rather than of today’s queue. For today’s queue, DriveTest updates live wait times through the day.
Common Questions About North Bay
Yes. You can write the G1 knowledge test at North Bay. It is a full DriveTest Centre, so the knowledge test is walk-in. There is nothing to book and no appointment to make. You join the queue at the counter, apply, pay, and sit the test the same visit.
New North Bay Mall, 300 Lakeshore Dr, Unit 502, North Bay, Ontario P1A 3V2. DriveTest lists it under Northern Ontario as a DriveTest Centre.
As published by DriveTest on August 22, 2026, the counter is open May to October, Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM,, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM, November to April, Tuesday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM,, 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Hours change, so check the official locator before you travel. Arrive at least an hour before closing: DriveTest will not start a knowledge test it cannot finish before the office shuts.
Huntsville, roughly 108 km away in a straight line, at 215 Main St W, 1st Floor, Huntsville. After that, Sudbury at about 119 km. Straight-line distance is always shorter than the drive.
The same as everywhere else in Ontario. DriveTest fees are set by the province, so there is no local pricing. The Class G1 licence package is $159.75 and covers the knowledge test, a G2 road test later, and a five-year licence. A retake of the knowledge test is $16.
We are a driving school in Richmond Hill, not DriveTest, and we do not administer tests. Everything on this page about North Bay is taken from DriveTest’s own centre locator on August 22, 2026. Where DriveTest publishes nothing, we say so instead of filling the gap.