Used Vehicle Information Package: What a UVIP Tells You, What It Leaves Out, and What to Check in Kingston
Somebody has told you that you need a used vehicle information package before you buy that car, and you would like to know what it actually proves.
A used vehicle information package is a document the Government of Ontario produces about one specific vehicle, and in a private sale the person selling the car is the one required to hand it to you.
This guide covers what is in it, who provides it, what it costs, how to order one, and the part it spends the most time on: what the document cannot tell you about the car standing in somebody's driveway.
Jim Thompson Chrysler is a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram store on Gardiners Road in Kingston, and our used-vehicle desk sees this document from both sides, the buyer's and the seller's.
Nothing below is legal advice. Every statement about Ontario's requirements is quoted from the province's own pages, named inside the sentence, and read on October 1, 2026.
Key Takeaways
A used vehicle information package is a description of a vehicle and its Ontario history, and the Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists the package's contents as the vehicle details, the Ontario registration history with owners and odometer readings, lien information, Retail Sales Tax information with the average wholesale value, the last known status of the vehicle's condition, and a bill of sale section.
In a private sale the seller provides a used vehicle information package, and the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, states that it is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act for a seller not to provide the buyer with one.
A used vehicle information package costs $20 and can be ordered online or bought in person at a ServiceOntario centre, according to the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026. That is a provincial fee, and no dollar figure in this article belongs to a dealership.
Every line in a used vehicle information package is a record of something reported to the province. Nothing in that package tells you the condition of the brakes, the tires, the timing belt or the underside of the car you are about to pay for.
Jim Thompson Chrysler in Kingston will inspect a private-sale vehicle on Gardiners Road before you hand over any money and tell you plainly what we find, and the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists a purchase from a registered used vehicle dealer among the sales that need no package at all.
What Is a Used Vehicle Information Package?
A used vehicle information package is a description of a vehicle and its Ontario history, assembled by the province from its own registration records.
The Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists what one contains:
the vehicle details, including the year, make, model, colour, body type, cylinders and power
a vehicle registration history in Ontario, including all present and previous owners, their city of residence and the odometer reading on record
vehicle lien information
Retail Sales Tax information and the average wholesale value of the vehicle
the last known status of the condition of the vehicle, including whether it has been reported as wrecked and whether it is registered as unfit and needs a safety standards certificate to be registered
a bill of sale section
Every line in that list is a record of something reported to the province at some point, rather than an opinion about the vehicle standing in front of you today.
A used vehicle information package is a records document, and that single fact is the reason the middle of this guide exists.
UVIP or Used Vehicle Information Package: Are They the Same Thing?
Yes. UVIP is simply the acronym for the used vehicle information package, and the two names describe one document ordered from ServiceOntario.
A seller who says they will "send you the UVIP" means that provincial package, with the Ontario registration history, the odometer readings on record and the lien information in it.
The province's own page uses the full name, and plenty of buyers and sellers just say the four letters.
If you searched the four letters and then the full name, you were searching for the same provincial document twice.
Who Has to Provide a Used Vehicle Information Package, and What Does It Cost?
In a private sale, the seller does. The Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, states that the seller is legally required to provide a used vehicle information package to a buyer when selling a pre-owned vehicle.
Not providing one is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act, per the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026.
The package costs $20, according to the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, which lists Visa and Mastercard as the payment methods.
That is a provincial fee set by the Government of Ontario. There is no dealership number anywhere in this article, and there will not be one.
And here is who should stop reading. The used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists sales that do not require a package at all, and two of them cover a lot of people: transferring ownership between family members, and purchasing a vehicle from a registered used vehicle dealer.
The exempt sales run further than those two, and the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists a transfer between taxi licence holders, a vehicle previously bought or sold outside Ontario, a donation to a licensed religious, charitable or benevolent organization, a transfer to a hospital, local service board, municipality, school board, university or college, and a vehicle given away as a prize in a registered lottery or raffle.
So if your "private sale" is your father-in-law's car, or if you are buying from a dealership here in Kingston, nobody is ordering this package at all.
Being exempt from the form is not the same as being exempt from the questions it answers, which is the next section. If you would rather not do a private sale at all, browse our used inventory and bring every question on this page with you.
How Do You Order One, and What Do You Need to Order It?
Two ways. The Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists ordering online and buying one in person at any ServiceOntario centre.
To order one you need the vehicle identification number (VIN) or the licence plate number of the used vehicle, plus your Ontario driver's licence number or registrant identification number (RIN), or your name and address, according to the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026.
If you have only the plate number rather than the VIN, the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, states that the package will include information about the vehicle currently attached to that plate number.
Timing matters when a seller has three people lined up to see the car. An online order is sent within five business days and can take up to ten days to arrive by mail, while a ServiceOntario centre can issue the package the same day, according to the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026.
If you are meeting a seller on a Saturday morning off Division Street or out in Amherstview, the in-person route is the one that does not hold up the sale.
What Does a Used Vehicle Information Package Not Tell You?
A used vehicle information package tells you nothing about how the vehicle drives, stops or holds itself together today, because it is built from registration records rather than from an inspection.
A records document is exactly what the province built it to be, and it is a useful one. The thing to know is that a used vehicle information package is not a clean bill of health.
Here is where a used vehicle information package actually gets read. You are standing in somebody else's driveway off Bath Road in Kingston on a Saturday in October, the car is running, and there is a folded sheet of paper in your hand.
The seller is waiting. There is a number in your head, a bank app in your pocket, and the seller has mentioned that somebody else is coming to look at it this afternoon.
What you want from that sheet of paper is permission to say yes, and it was never built to give you that.
It is not a mechanical inspection
Nobody looked at the car to produce your package, so it carries no reading on the brakes, the tires, the suspension, the rust underneath, the state of the fluids or whether a timing belt is overdue.
The package also carries no service history. A vehicle whose previous owner skipped every maintenance interval and a vehicle with a folder of receipts produce the same registration record.
Its history is Ontario's history
The registration history in the package is the vehicle's history in Ontario, per the Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026.
Years that a vehicle spent registered in another province or another country are not part of an Ontario registration history, and the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists a vehicle previously bought or sold outside Ontario among the sales that require no package at all.
So a car that arrived here two years ago has a short Ontario story, however old it is.
"Reported as wrecked" is a record entry, not a repair list
The package carries the last known status of the vehicle's condition, including whether it has been reported as wrecked and whether it is registered as unfit, per the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026.
A registration status is a different thing from a body-shop file. Damage that was repaired without ever changing the vehicle's registration status is not something a registration record is built to show you.
The tax value is not an appraisal of this car
The package includes Retail Sales Tax information and the average wholesale value of the vehicle, per the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026.
An average wholesale value describes a class of vehicle rather than the particular one in the driveway, with its own kilometers, its own winters and its own history. What that figure means for the tax you pay is a question for the ServiceOntario counter when you register the vehicle, and not for us.
So bring the car to somebody who will look at it
Brakes, tires, rust, fluids and old repairs are physical questions, and physical questions get answered by putting the vehicle on a hoist rather than by reading a form.
Our service department will look over a vehicle you are thinking of buying privately, measure the tread and the brakes, and tell you what we find, whatever make it is and whether or not you buy anything from us afterwards.
What Should You Check Before You Hand Over the Money?
Six things, and most of them take minutes. The package in your hand is the starting point of this purchase rather than the finish line.
Read the package against the car in front of you
Compare the VIN on the package against the VIN on the vehicle, and compare the odometer readings on record against what the dash is showing you now.
Compare the name of the current owner on the package against the name of the person selling you the car, and ask about any difference rather than assuming one.
Check the lien information, and check its date
The package includes vehicle lien information, per the Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, and a loan registered against a vehicle is the kind of thing a buyer wants to know about before money moves.
Nothing in a package is dated later than the day it was produced, so if the copy you are handed was ordered weeks ago, it is fair to ask the seller for a current one.
Have the vehicle inspected before you pay, not after
A pre-purchase inspection is the one check on this list that gets underneath the vehicle, where the rust, the brake wear and the old repairs sit.
Bring it to our service department on Gardiners Road and we will go over it and tell you honestly what we see, including the things that are going to need money in the next year.
Ask about open recalls by VIN
An open recall is outstanding manufacturer work on that specific vehicle, so it is worth knowing about before you buy rather than after.
We can look a VIN up in the manufacturer's own system for the makes we are franchised on, which are Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.
For any other make we cannot make that lookup and we will say so plainly. Our service team will still inspect the vehicle and tell you what we find on it, whatever the badge says.
Know that the safety standards certificate is a separate document
A safety standards certificate is not part of the used vehicle information package, and the buy or sell a used vehicle page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, treats it as a separate item the buyer receives only where one is required, from a licensed mechanic.
A safety standards certificate has its own rules and its own article coming in this series, so the point to carry out of here is that the package and the certificate are two different pieces of paper.
And register the vehicle in your own name on time
The buy or sell a used vehicle page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, states that the buyer must register their name as the new owner of the vehicle within six days of the purchase, at a ServiceOntario centre, with the used vehicle information package and the bill of sale among the documents required.
Transferring ownership is its own subject with its own guide to come, and the registration deadline comes up quickly once the car is already in your driveway.
If a vehicle you are buying privately turns out to need more than you want to spend, our used Kia Telluride guide is a useful read on how the same paperwork questions look on a dealer lot.
Financing a Used Vehicle in Kingston, O.A.C.
Financing is available on the used vehicles we sell, O.A.C., and that is as specific as an article can honestly get about anyone's credit.
A private sale and a dealer sale are funded differently, and which lenders will do what is a conversation for a desk with your actual situation on it rather than for a page on the internet.
If you want the finance side moving before you visit, start a credit application, O.A.C. It takes a few minutes, it is not binding, and nobody here will promise you an outcome before seeing it.
If you already have a vehicle, find out what it is worth before you shop rather than after. See what your current vehicle is worth online, then let us appraise it in person and put the number in writing, any make, paid off or not.
And if you are the seller in this story rather than the buyer, we buy vehicles outright, which skips the strangers in your driveway and the package you would otherwise be ordering.
For the difference between a lease and a loan on your next vehicle, our lease versus finance guide covers the structures without a single rate or payment in it.
Why Buy Your Next Used Vehicle at Jim Thompson Chrysler in Kingston?
Because the paperwork, the inspection, the appraisal on your current vehicle and the credit application all happen in one building on Gardiners Road, with people who will tell you what a vehicle needs instead of waiting for you to find out.
Our live inventory shows what is currently available, and it is the honest answer to "what have you got" at any hour of the day.
What that looks like in practice:
We appraise your current vehicle in person, whatever make it is and whether or not it is paid off, and put the value in writing. Get the online estimate first if you want a number before you drive over.
Our service team will inspect a vehicle, whatever the make, including one you are buying from somebody else. On a Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep or Ram we also check its VIN for open recalls in the manufacturer's own system.
Start a credit application online so the finance side is moving before you arrive, O.A.C., with nothing binding about it.
Ask us the questions a used vehicle information package answers about any vehicle you are considering, and ask us the ones it does not answer as well.
Current offers live on our specials page rather than in an article, because they change and an article does not.
If you are shopping a body style rather than a nameplate, start with our used SUVs or our used trucks.
Our best used 7 seater SUV guide and our Corolla Cross versus RAV4 comparison are both useful reading before you come in.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does UVIP stand for?
UVIP stands for used vehicle information package, and the acronym and the full name describe one document. The Government of Ontario's used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists the package's contents as the vehicle details, the Ontario registration history, odometer readings on record, lien information and a bill of sale section.
Who has to provide a used vehicle information package in a private sale?
The seller does. The used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, states that the seller is legally required to provide one to the buyer, and that it is an offence under the Highway Traffic Act for the seller not to provide it.
How much does a used vehicle information package cost in Ontario?
A used vehicle information package costs $20, according to the used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, payable by Visa or Mastercard. The same page lists two ways to get one: order it online, or buy it in person at a ServiceOntario centre, which can issue it the same day.
Does a used vehicle information package tell you if a car is mechanically sound?
No. A used vehicle information package is built from Ontario registration records, so it carries no reading on the brakes, tires, rust, fluids or service history, and nobody inspected the vehicle to produce it.
Somebody has to put the car on a hoist before you pay, and at Jim Thompson Chrysler in Kingston that is our service department.
Do I need a used vehicle information package if I buy from a dealership in Kingston?
No. The used vehicle information package page at ontario.ca, read October 1, 2026, lists a purchase from a registered used vehicle dealer among the exempt sales, so at Jim Thompson Chrysler in Kingston you are not the one ordering one, or paying the $20 the same page lists.
Ask us the same questions anyway.
Find Your Next Used Vehicle in Kingston Without Ordering a Used Vehicle Information Package
Order a used vehicle information package if you are buying privately, read it against the car, and get somebody to look the vehicle over before you hand over any money.
Or skip the errand. Browse our used inventory, bring us every question on this page, and ask the ones the form cannot answer.
See what your current vehicle is worth first, then start a credit application if you want the finance side moving before you arrive, O.A.C.
Come and see us on Gardiners Road, just off Highway 401, whether you are coming from the west end, downtown, Amherstview, Odessa, Napanee, Gananoque or off the Wolfe Island ferry.
Visit us at 805 Gardiners Road, Kingston, ON K7M 7E6
Browse inventory online, value your trade, apply for credit approval, O.A.C., book service, or contact our team.
Local: (613)-389-4426 Sales: (877)-251-9249 Parts: (888)-711-5309 Service: (888)-713-0742
About the Author:
Kerry Irven is the Vice President of New and Used Automotive Operations for Heighton Automotive Group, a family-owned and operated automotive group serving communities across Eastern Ontario. Kerry began his automotive career in new-car sales, building his experience on the showroom floor and working his way through multi-store dealership operations.
With over 25 years in the automotive industry, Kerry has helped grow automotive businesses from one location with 40 to 50 vehicles in stock to more than 500 vehicles across 10 rooftops. His hands-on background in both new and used-vehicle operations gives him a practical understanding of what customers look for when shopping for their next vehicle.
Throughout his career, Kerry has always been actively involved in staff coaching and in understanding customer wants and needs, helping ensure the businesses he works with continue to adapt to what customers are truly looking for.
One of the most exciting chapters of his career has been the shift into modern automotive marketing, embracing new technology, transparent pricing, customer-first inventory strategies, and new ways to create a better vehicle-shopping experience.
Kerry has completed extensive automotive training, including certification through the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council, involvement with the Used Car Dealers Association of Ontario, Canadian automotive dealer training, and multiple customer service courses.
Born and raised on a farm, Kerry has always valued family, hard work, and a practical, down-to-earth approach. Joining Heighton Automotive Group and working alongside Thomas Heighton and family, along with managing partners Kyle Lothian and Martin Gougeon, has allowed him to bring those same values into the car business. It has also allowed Kerry to continue following a simple philosophy: treat every customer exactly the way he would want to be treated.
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