The EDL and EIC are voluntary. There are a number of options available to you if you want to travel to the U.S. by land or by water. You need to be satisfied that it is the right option for you.
So, before you decide to apply for an EDL or EIC, it is important that you read the information in this Guide and the forms that you will be required to sign. This will help you understand the questions you will be asked as part of your application, what information about you will be shared with Canadian and U.S. authorities when you attempt to enter the U.S. using your EDL or EIC, and what consents you will be required to give.
The required forms are found in the Appendices to this guide:
If you have questions about the application process or these forms, or about the EDL or EIC Program, you can call or visit an Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centre.
If you have a Manitoba driver’s licence(i.e., you have an existing record with Manitoba Public Insurance)If you have a Manitoba driver’s licence, this document can be used as your proof of identity and Manitoba residency. That means if you apply for an EDL or EIC, you only have to establish your Canadian citizenship. As listed in Appendix A, you can do that by presenting one of the following documents:
The document you present must be the original, not a copy. *Manitoba Division/District Registrar birth certificates are not accepted. |
If you do not have a Manitoba driver’s licence(i.e., you do not have an existing record with Manitoba Public Insurance)If you do not have a Manitoba driver’s licence, you will need to present a combination of valid documents that prove your date of birth, identity, Manitoba residency, and Canadian citizenship. Appendix A to this Guide provides a list of the various documents that can be combined to provide the necessary proof. It is important to note that you will need to produce two (2) documents from the list in Appendix A that prove Manitoba residency — not just one. This is a requirement under secure document standards that provinces and territories across Canada are working to implement. All documents you present must be originals, not copies. |
All EDL EIC applicants must present documents that support their current legal name. If your current legal name is different from the name on your proof of citizenship document or if your driver’s licence does not show your current legal name (in full), you will also need to present one or more documents to show the link between those two names. These “linking” documents could include:
Once you have the proper document or combination of documents — including any necessary “linking” documents — you will need to bring it/them with you when you visit an Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centre to book your interview (Step 3) and when you attend your interview with one of Manitoba Public Insurance’s specialized EDL and EIC interviewers (Step 4).
Once you have decided to apply for a Manitoba EDL or EIC, you can visit any Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centre throughout the province to begin the application process and book your interview.
Remember to bring all the documents you gathered (in Step 2) with you.
If you have a Manitoba driver’s licence(i.e., you have an existing record with Manitoba Public Insurance)The Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative will ask you for your customer number in order to retrieve your customer record. He or she will then ask if any updates need to be made to your personal information on file, which consists of:
If you do not know your customer number, the Autopac agent can contact Manitoba Public Insurance’s Broker Enquiries Department to find out what it is. It is also important to check that the name Manitoba Public Insurance has listed in your customer record is your current legal name (as shown on the documents you will be presenting). If the two are different, have your customer record updated so that it reflects your current legal name. |
If you do not have a Manitoba driver’s licence(i.e., you do not have an existing record with Manitoba Public Insurance)The Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative will need to collect the following personal information to create your Manitoba Public Insurance customer record. This consists of:
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After your customer record has been created or updated, present your documents (including any “linking” documents, if required) to the Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative who will do a preliminary manual inspection of them and let you know if they are an acceptable combination from the list in Appendix A.
If you have presented a Manitoba birth certificate as proof of your birth date, legal name or Canadian citizenship, the Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative will enter the following additional information into your customer record:
This additional information is needed so that Manitoba Public Insurance can electronically verify the birth certificate information you present against Manitoba’s Vital Statistics Agency (MVSA) records, and is an added security measure against fraudulent EDL or EIC applications. As noted in the Are you eligible? section of this Guide, you will be asked to provide written consent to Manitoba Public Insurance verifying your birth certificate information with MVSA as part of your application for an EDL or EIC (see Appendices G and I). If you do not provide this consent, you will not be eligible to receive an EDL or EIC. The Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative will explain this consent and can answer questions you have about it.
If Manitoba Public Insurance has not taken a digital photograph of you in the past six months, your photo will be taken and your signature will be digitally captured. Both your photo and signature will be visible on the face of your EDL or EIC.
The Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative will then book the date and time of your interview, and collect your application fee. A detailed explanation of the fee for a Manitoba EDL or EIC is provided in the What does an EDL or EIC cost? section of this guide.
Once your interview has been booked and the application fee has been paid, an Enhanced Driver’s Licence Application Form or Enhanced Identification Card Application Form and an Application for Enhanced Driver’s Licence Interview Form or Application for Enhanced Identification Card Interview Form will be printed out for you to sign. If you presented a Manitoba birth certificate, the package of forms will also include the Consent to Manitoba Public Insurance and the Manitoba Vital Statistics Agency Sharing My Information Form.
Once you have signed the required forms, the Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative will digitally scan the form, as well as the original identity and citizenship documents (and any “linking” documents) you presented, into the Manitoba Public Insurance customer database.
The paper copies of the required forms, as well as the identity and citizenship documents (and any “linking” documents) you presented, will then be returned to you. Autopac agents and Manitoba Public Insurance interview locations are not permitted to retain copies of any information or documents you provide as part of your EDL or EIC application (see below).
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All elements of personal information you provide to the Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative as part of your EDL or EIC application are entered or scanned by the Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative directly into Manitoba Public Insurance’s customer database via a secure, encrypted network connection. These include:
Autopac agents and Manitoba Public Insurance representatives do not have direct access to the customer database or any of the information entered into it — and can only access your customer record when you provide your customer number for a product or service. Autopac agents and Manitoba Public Insurance representatives must not retain any copies of the forms you signed or the documents you presented as part of your application for the Manitoba EIC and EDL Program. Autopac agents and staff at the Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centres do not decide if you are eligible to receive an EDL or EIC. More information about how your personal information is protected throughout the EDL or EIC application process and once you receive your card is provided in the “Handling your personal information” and "Protecting your personal information and privacy" section of this Guide. |
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Note: If you visit an Autopac agent, you may also be asked if you consent to the agent maintaining some specific personal information about you on file for marketing purposes (e.g., for notifications, information on new products or services, etc.), such as:
This marketing consent is optional — and is separate from the EDL or EIC application process and any consents required to obtain an EDL or EIC. You are not required to consent to the Autopac agent keeping any of your information on file; and if you refuse this consent, it will not affect your eligibility for an EDL or EIC. |
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Note: Should you need to reschedule your interview date or time, you may simply call an Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance representative to do so. To ensure that you do not have to repay the application fee, please provide notice at least one full business day prior to your interview when calling to cancel or re-schedule. |
The last step in your application is to meet with a member of Manitoba Public Insurance’s EDL and EIC interview staff who has been trained and screened for special security clearances as part of the Manitoba EDL and EIC program. Remember to bring all the documents you gathered (in Step 2) with you.
The interviewer will walk you through the questionnaires and the Consent to Information Sharing Form that you are required to sign in order to determine your eligibility for a Manitoba EDL or EIC. The interviewer will make sure that you fully understand each of the documents before you sign it, and can answer any questions you may have.
As an added security measure to prevent fraudulent applications, the EDL and EIC interviewer will also re-inspect the citizenship and any associated document(s) proving birth date, identity, Manitoba residency and citizenship that were scanned during your initial visit to an Autopac agent or Manitoba Public Insurance Service Centre — so be sure to bring the same documents with you that were scanned at that initial visit to apply for and book your interview.
The interview is expected to last less than 30 minutes, and you are asked to arrive 15 minutes ahead of your scheduled appointment time. You must give notice at least one business day in advance if you need to cancel or reschedule your interview; otherwise you will have to repay the application fee. If you are late for your interview, you may lose your appointment and have to repay the fee and reschedule another interview.
Interviews are held at a select number of secure Manitoba Public Insurance locations across the province, as listed below:
Once you have completed your interview, and if your application was successful, your EDL or EIC will be mailed to you within seven to 10 business days.
Once you receive your EDL or EIC in the mail, instructions will be included on how to activate the card before you use it. You must activate your card at least 24 hours before using it for travel purposes — by calling 1-866-303-7437 and entering your personal activation code (similar to the process for activating a credit card). The unique, confidential activation code will have been printed on your original Enhanced Driver’s Licence Application Form or Enhanced Identification Card Application Form and you will have been reminded of it by your EDL and EIC interviewer during the interview. For security reasons, the card will have a 40-day activation period, and the instructions mailed out with your card will include the date on which your activation period expires — after which, it will be invalidated. If your EDL or EIC is invalidated, your driver’s licence will be cancelled (for an EDL), and you will need to go through the application process again and pay the fee to replace your new card.
Once issued and activated, an EDL or EIC is an important document denoting identity and citizenship. It is imperative that you maintain adequate control of your EDL or EIC to ensure it is used only as intended and you should keep it secure and in its protective sleeve for your privacy protection as explained in the Radio Frequency Identification Chip section of this Guide. Any use of your EDL or EIC is your responsibility, unless it has been lost or stolen.
