Radio frequency identification, or RFID, is a generic term for technologies that use radio waves to automatically identify objects. There are several methods of identification, but the most common is to store a number that identifies an object on a microchip that is attached to an antenna (the chip and the antenna together are called an RFID transponder or an RFID tag).
The antenna enables the chip to transmit the Identification number to a scanner when it is polled. The scanner converts the radio waves reflected back from the RFID tag into digital information that can then be passed on to computers that can make use of it.
Each Manitoba EDL or EIC has a RFID chip embedded in it to help speed up processing when you arrive at U.S. border crossings with RFID scanners.
As you approach the border at a land or water port of entry into the U.S., an RFID scanner will read your unique identifier number in your card’s RFID chip (called the RFID Tag Value) at a maximum distance of 4.5 metres. The U.S. border agent can then use your unique identifier number to quickly retrieve the personal information about you stored in a secure database that he or she needs in order to verify your identity and citizenship, and to help determine whether or not you will be allowed to enter the U.S.
It is important to note that the RFID chip contains one piece of personal information — it contains the RFID Tag Value that points to your EDL or EIC record. EDL and EIC records for all provinces issuing the cards are kept in a secure database located in Canada and maintained by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
To deter and detect fraudulent EDL and EIC cards, your RFID chip is engraved with a Tag Identifier (TID) that uniquely identifies each RFID chip and prevents cloning. Your EDL or EIC card is manufactured utilizing multiple layers of the highest quality plastics making the EDL or EIC card counterfeit resistant. It will also withstand ultraviolet (UV) rays and will not fade with age.
If there are no RFID scanners at the border crossing where you are entering the U.S., the border agent can swipe the MRZ on the back of your EDL or EIC to access your unique Encoded Document Number. Your Encoded Document Number performs the same function as the RFID Tag Value — allowing the border agent to quickly access personal information about you from your EDL or EIC record in the CBSA’s secure, Canadian database — but the actual numbers of the RFID Tag Value and Encoded Document Number are different, for added security.
Your EDL or EIC will come with a protective sleeve to help prevent tracking of your movements by an unintended RFID scanner. It is essential for your privacy protection that you keep your EDL or EIC card in this sleeve to block the ability that any RFID scanner would have to read the chip on your card without your knowledge.
However, if your RFID chip is read by an unintended scanner, the scanner would be able to retrieve the RFID Tag Value only and that number could not be used to access your personal information stored on the secure CBSA database.
For more information see the RFID Technology brochure.
Your personal information is safely transmitted from the secure CBSA database through a secure encrypted network connection to the U.S. Border Crossing Information (BCI) system.
Manitoba EDLs and EICs are also mailed in a protective envelope to prevent any possibility of the RFID chip being read during delivery to the cardholder.
It is important that your protective sleeve is not torn or otherwise damaged as it could potentially allow reading of the card by an unintended scanner. If the protective sleeve becomes damaged, immediately obtain a replacement sleeve free of charge from an Autopac agent or any Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centre.