Canada’s first enhanced driver’s license launched in B.C.

The Province of British Columbia and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), in cooperation with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), are developing an optional enhanced driver's license (EDL) which will authorize holders to drive, and could serve as an alternative to a passport, for entry into the United States by its land and sea ports under the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).

The EDL contains the same information as the standard B.C. driver's license, with the addition of a Canadian flag to distinguish the EDL from a standard driver's license, a machine-readable zone and a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip that contains a unique identifier to help border officials identify EDL holders at the border.

The B.C. EDL program will begin as an initial phase, in which 500 EDLs will be offered at the designated Driver Services Center in Richmond and Cloverdale. Eligible participants must be (a) Canadian citizens; (b) born in British Columbia and hold a valid B.C. government-issued birth certificate; (c) hold a valid B.C. driver's license; (d) intend to use the EDL to travel to the United States by land or sea; and (e) agree to share select personal information in connection with EDL with Canadian or U.S. border authorities.

Limiting the number of EDLs in the first phase allows the government of British Columbia, as well as the CBSA and CIC to test the effectiveness of the EDL program, to ensure all citizenship, privacy, and security requirements of the Canadian and U.S. governments are met, and to gather feedback from participants and the various agencies involved before it is offered to more Canadian citizens residing in British Columbia who drive and wish to travel to the United States by land or sea. In the first phase, there is no cost for the EDL. When the program is fully implemented, there will be an additional charge, which has not yet been determined.

The EDL is a new, voluntary option for drivers that allows for more convenient travel to the United States's Since 2006, British Columbia has worked with the Government of Canada and Washington state to develop an enhanced driver's license that will meet the new U.S. passport requirements at the border. Last November, American Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff confirmed that these enhanced driver's licenses would be accepted as alternatives to passports at US land and sea border crossings.

Ontario and Quebec have introduced plans to create similar driver's license.

Beginning on February 1, 2008, Canadian citizens 19 years or over will require, at a minimum, government-issued photo identification, such as a driver's license, together with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or citizenship card, to enter the United States by land or sea. As always, a Canadian or US passport, US passport-card, a NEXUS, SENTRI or FAST card, US military ID with travel order, and US merchant mariner document will be acceptable. Border crossing rules for Canadian landed immigrants and people other than Canadian or American citizens will not changed.

Also beginning in February, American people can apply for a passport card that will be smaller than a regular passport but will include security features.