Alberta drivers are getting their GDL taken off this week but it's not that simple

Approximately 500,000 drivers in Alberta will start to be selected to have their GDL removed thanks to “new technology” being introduced this week.

The province announced earlier this year the changes to the GDL program, which was established in 2003.

On June 25, an “IT system change” will come into place, which will automatically review a GDL driver’s file to determine if they are eligible to exit the GDL program.

If they are, the system will “automatically exit the driver from the GDL program and notify the driver that they now have full non-GDL status,” the province says.

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Those drivers that get the green light to exit the GDL program will then get a letter from the Government of Alberta in July.

Some drivers in Alberta may have already had their GDL taken off, with the province saying back in April that those who have an urgent need to exit the GDL program right away, like for a job, and think they are eligible based on the GDL exit criteria could go to their local registry agent office to confirm their eligibility.

The province added that all restrictions on a driver’s GDL licence will remain in place until the driver has either attended a registry agent and received their Class 5 licence or Class 6 licence, or received a letter from the Government of Alberta in July indicating they have exited the GDL program.

Drivers who meet the criteria and are eligible to exit the GDL program include those who are at least 18 years old, have completed 24 months of probationary driving, and are “suspension and demerit-free” for the last 12 months.

Daily Hive reached out to the Alberta government for more information regarding the GDL removal but has not heard back.

In September, the province first announced that in the spring of 2023, drivers would automatically qualify for their full Class 5 or Class 6 driver’s licence.

This would remove the need to do a second road test and save $150 in the process.