Topic: Identification Cards

To change your personal information, such as your name, address or gender, you must visit an Autopac agent or MPI Service Centre in person. The same requirements apply to an identification card as for changing information on a driver’s licence.

Exchanging a driver’s licence

If you decide that you will no longer drive, you can trade in your Manitoba driver’s licence for a Manitoba Identification Card.

The switch is free for Manitobans age 65 or over. For other Manitobans, a $10 administration fee is applied. To exchange a driver’s licence for an identification card, please visit an Autopac agent or MPI Service Centre.

Manitoba Public Insurance can refuse to issue you a Manitoba Identification Card. It can also suspend or cancel your card after it’s been issued.

Grounds that can be appealed

MPI may suspend, cancel or refuse to issue an identification card if it has reason to believe, based on your past conduct or on offences you have committed, that you have used your card inappropriately or have used it to commit an offence, or that you are likely to do so.

You may appeal a decision to refuse to issue, suspend, or cancel a card for the above reasons to the Licence Suspension Appeal Board, but you must do so within six months of MPI’s decision. You can contact the Board by phone at 204-945-7350 or by mail at 301 Weston Street, Winnipeg, MB, R3E 3H4.

Grounds that can be reviewed

MPI may also refuse to issue a Manitoba Identification Card if you do not meet all the eligibility criteria established in The Drivers and Vehicles Act. MPI can also suspend or cancel an identification card if it has reason to believe that:

  • You are not old enough to hold an identification card.
  • Your full legal name is not the name that you gave on your application for the identification card.
  • Your birth date or address is not correctly set out in your identification card.
  • You are not a resident of Manitoba.
  • You are not entitled to be in Canada for the period your identification card is valid.

If MPI refuses to issue or suspends or cancels your identification card for one of these reasons, you can ask MPI to review its decision through the Registrar of Motor Vehicles. MPI must do so and give you a written notice stating the results of its review and reasons for it. You must ask for this review within six months of the date of the decision. The results of the review cannot be appealed.

To request the review, you can contact the Registrar of Motor Vehicles by phone at 204-985-8770 ext. 1901 or fax at 204-954-5397; or by mail at 234 Donald Street, Box 6300, Winnipeg, MB, R3C 4A4.

Offences

It is an offence under The Drivers and Vehicles Act to:

  • Make a false or misleading statement in your application.
  • Permit another person to use your card.
  • Use another person’s card.
  • Possess another person’s card without their permission (a parent or legal guardian may retain or hold an identification card for their child).
  • Alter a card so as to be misleading or falsify a card.
  • Possess or use a falsified card or a card that has been altered so as to be misleading.
  • Possess or use a fictitious document purporting to be an identification card.

MPI or a peace officer may seize a Manitoba Identification Card if there are reasonable grounds to believe it has been altered so as to be misleading, has been falsified, is not accurate or valid, is not lawfully in the possession of the person who provided or produced it, or has been provided or produced to mislead MPI or a peace officer or for another fraudulent or unlawful purposes.

For more information about the Manitoba Identification Card, visit an Autopac agent or MPI Service Centre or call us in Winnipeg at 204-985-7000 or outside Winnipeg toll-free at 1-800-665-2410.

Identity verification is a vital part of the work we do at Manitoba Public Insurance. Manitobans expect their driver’s licences and identification cards to be secure and reliable. One of the tools we use to enhance the security of these documents is our facial recognition system.

How facial recognition technology works

When you apply for a driver’s licence or identification card issued by MPI, you are photographed. Facial recognition technology is then used to measure the specific characteristics of your face and create a mathematical equation. The system then compares the equation to others in the database. Our Identity Management team may perform further facial recognition comparisons on images that are too close for the software to distinguish.

Using facial recognition technology

Facial recognition technology helps us to prevent anyone from having two driver’s licences and/or identification cards or assuming someone else’s identity.

To discuss a concern about the collection and handling of your personal information, or to review your own information held in our care, contact:

Manitoba Public Insurance
Privacy & Access Specialist
900-234 Donald Street
Box 6300
Winnipeg, MB R3C 4A4
Phone: 204-985-8770 ext. 7384
Fax: 204-942-2217

Personal information safety

MPI and our Autopac agents follow Manitoba’s laws to protect your privacy and personal information. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, The Personal Health Information Act and The Drivers and Vehicles Act set out rules for how we may collect, use, share and must safeguard your personal information.

If your photograph and signature are processed by an Autopac agent, the agent will not retain, copy or store this personal information. It will be transmitted through an encrypted secure connection to MPI. We store your photo and signature on a separate MPI database on its own secure server.

Manitoba Public Insurance offers an optional Manitoba Identification Card for Manitobans who do not have a driver’s licence.

  • The card provides proof of age, identity and Manitoba residency.
  • It is voluntary. No one is required to have one.
  • The card cannot be used to enter the United States.

Eligibility

You can apply for a Manitoba Identification Card if you:

  • are a Manitoba resident
  • are entitled to be in Canada
  • do not already hold a driver’s licence

If you are under 18, your parents must co-sign your application.

If you have a valid Manitoba driver’s licence but want to replace it with a Manitoba Identification Card, you can go to an MPI Service Centre or any Autopac agent, surrender your driver’s licence, and apply for a Manitoba Identification Card for $10. If you are 65 and over, you can surrender your driver’s licence and obtain a Manitoba Identification Card for free.

Required documents

You will need original supporting documents that prove your:

  • birth date
  • full legal name
  • photograph
  • Manitoba residency and permanent address (please note that two supporting documents are required and they must be dated within 90 days of the date of application)

Use the Proving My Identity tool to determine the documents you need.

Documents must be originals, not photocopies. Electronic scans of these documents will be kept on file by MPI.

If you cannot provide one of the acceptable documents to prove your photograph or residency, in exceptional cases the MPI Guarantor Declaration Form may be used. You can download a copy of the Guarantor Declaration Form or you can ask an Autopac agent or MPI Service Centre representative to print the form for you.

Cost

The Manitoba Identification Card costs $20, including the photograph. (This fee may be waived under certain circumstances. See an Autopac agent for details.)

It’s good for up to five years and costs $20 to renew. A valid card may be replaced for $10 if it is lost, destroyed or damaged.

How to apply

  1. Gather all the necessary original required documents to meet the application requirements.
  2. Take your documents to any Autopac agent or a MPI Service Centre and register as an MPI customer (if you are not already a customer).
  3. The agent will take your photograph and will capture your signature digitally.
  4. If your application is approved, your card will be mailed to you within 10 business days. If you do not receive your card within 10 business days of your application, it is very important that you notify an Autopac agent or MPI. MPI will be able to determine if there is a possibility that your card has been stolen or lost in transit. If so, MPI will ask you to report this to police in order to protect your privacy.
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