Licensing Between the US and Canada

On September 16, 2008, New York State officials announced the creation of the Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL). This license, endorsed by federal officials, is supposed to ease lines experienced by motorists at crossings between New York State and the Canadian border.

The EDL is designed to allow citizens to carry a single, secure document that meets their driving, identity, and land and sea border crossing needs. Under current federal regulations for travel, it can also be used for domestic air travel. All license classes, including commercial and motorcycle, can be converted to an EDL.

For decades, Canadians and U.S. citizens have been exempt from presenting a passport or other secure document to leave or enter the United States. Under the federal government’s new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), beginning on June 1, 2009, the number of documents that U.S. citizens can present when returning to the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean will be limited to a small number of Department of Homeland Security-approved, highly secure identification cards. The Enhanced Driver License offered by New York State meets this requirement.

The new Federal mandate for border crossing now requires a passport or other federally recognized documents such as an EDL. Currently, more than 468,000 New York State jobs are supported by U.S.-Canada trade. In 2006, the U.S.-Canada merchandise trade was valued at more than $400 billion.

Another benefit of this new Enhanced Driver’s License is that it will expedite the travel required for those Canadians who currently hold jobs in New York State and those from New York State who hold jobs in Canada and must cross the border daily to get to work.

Under the federal government’s new Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI), beginning on June 1, 2009, the number of documents that U.S. citizens can present when returning to the United States from Canada, Mexico, Bermuda or the Caribbean will be limited to a small number of Department of Homeland Security-approved, it’s important to realize that a U.S Passport is not required for direct travel within the 50 States (including Hawaii, Alaska, and District of Columbia) and U.S Territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S Virgin Islands, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Swains Island). Please visit TSA for further information.

However, if you are traveling to a U.S. State or Territory THROUGH another country (for example, traveling through Canada to go to Alaska, or, traveling through Japan to go to Guam), you can go to the Department of State’s website and select the foreign country from a list provided there to determine the documentation required to travel to that country.

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