You should first check his/her ownership for the car, and match another piece of his ID with photo (e.g. drive lience). If the car is not belongs to him, don't buy, even the owner is his father or spouse. You must buy a used car from owner himself. The seller should prepare a package from Transportaion Department for you, which shows the historical ownership of the car (when the car were sold the first time, second owner, thrid,..., and any lien with car, i.e. if the car related to any money as collateral). If everything is OK, you pay the price, and get the ownership transfer page. Then go to Transportation office to get transfer, buy lience plate and sticker. You have to have ownership, insurance, plate, valid sticker and your drive lience to drive this car legally. To get insurance, you need have safety check certificate, and emission test certificate in the Toronto area (not requested in Ottawa currently, but may change soon). Safety test ($45-60) is only for brakes, tires, lights, body... safety items, nothing to say about the engine. If you want to make sure about the engine and transmission, go to Canadian Tire to do 101 points check (around $120), which give you a complete record. Good luck.