subject: What is a Safety Standard Certificate (SSC)? [print this page] A safety standard certificate (SSC) is a document that is issued by a Motor Vehicle Inspection Station (MVIS) that is duly approved and recognized by the government. The SSC is a document which certifies that a particular vehicle is safe to be driven along Ontario roads. The minimum standards for getting an SSC are based on what is defined by the Ontario Highway Traffic Act.
Importance
An SSC is needed on many occasions. However, for the purpose of this article, an SSC is needed when a used motor vehicle is sold to another person as fit. Furthermore, it is also needed when a car from another province or country is imported to Ontario. The SSC sets the norm of what is safe and what is not in Ontario roads.
The SSC is indispensable in making sure that only those cars which are actually fit for Ontario's roads are allowed to be driven there. This becomes even more pronounced since the SSC can be an effective tool against imported used cars whose titles were washed. Title-washed cars are wrecked and rebuilt car whose negative brands were removed by exploiting loopholes in the law. Title washed cars are commonly from the State of Mississippi in the United States, because it is the state with the most lenient laws about cars that were rebuilt or salvaged.
Inspections
A vehicle that was inspected in an MVIS and was found to be needing repairs, the car's owner must comply or an SSC will not be issued. However, the repairs need not be made in on-site in the MVIS it can be made by a mechanic from some other place. But then, a car must still be brought back to the MVIS within 10 calendar days so that the MVIS will not charge another set of inspection fees.
Inspection fees vary per MVIS. There is no pre-set range for inspection fees. Thus, it is best to look around your area and survey the prices of MVIS's.
When shopping around for a new car, make sure that the car you're inspecting has an SSC that is, at the most, 36 days old. This is the maximum age for an SSC to be valid for purposes of transferring of car ownership. Furthermore, aim to secure an even newer SSC to lessen the likelihood that the car had acquired serious damage from the time when the SSC was issued to the point when the car was put on display.
Aside from what was stated, the SSC document has major weaknesses if it was done improperly. Since there are more than 13,000 MVIS's in Ontario, it is practically impossible for the Provincial Government to ensure that none of them go wrong. If you suspect that an SSC should be made invalid, a new SSC inspection must be issued, accompanied by an investigation by the provincial government for possible misdemeanor on the previous inspector's part.
If fault was found on the part of the previous inspectors, fines will be imposed. Fines range from $400 to $20 K. The gravity of the offense has a lot to do with determining the actual amount of the fines.
