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This page provides answers to questions about the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) and New York State Enhanced photo driver licenses and non-driver photo ID cards that comply with the WHTI.
On September 16, 2008, NYS began to issue WHTI-Compliant EDLs (includes Enhanced learner permits) and Enhanced non-driver photo ID cards (ENDIDs) to applicants who can prove U.S. citizenship and NYS residency.
An EDL or ENDID can be used instead of a passport at U.S. land and sea border crossings between Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
You can apply for an EDL or ENDID at any time:
To apply for an EDL or ENDID, you must visit a NYS DMV office and provide your Social Security Card and proofs of identity, U.S. citizenship and NYS residency. Your proofs will be authenticated and verified by the DMV. You may also be interviewed about your documents. To apply, read form MV-44.1EDL and complete form MV-44EDL.
See the list of DMV offices and the notes about the offices. You cannot apply for an EDL or ENDID at an office that does not do driver license transactions. You also cannot apply for an EDL or ENDID at either the Broome County Motor Vehicle at 44 Hawley Street in Binghamton or the Erie County Motor Vehicle Office at Erie County Community College North.
The fee for an EDL or ENDID is $30 in addition to any fees required for your driver license or non-driver photo ID card transaction. In comparison, the cost of a U.S. passport is more than $100.
The fees for an early renewal vary based on the class of the EDL or type of ENDID and date you apply in relation to your day and month of birth. The early renewal page has a fee calculator to help determine your fee.
It takes the approximately two weeks from the date your application is processed to receive your Enhanced document in the mail. This is the same amount of time it takes to receive a regular NYS DMV driver license or non-driver photo ID card.
The cost is $15, except there is no fee to replace a 10-year ENDID if you are age 62 or older and a recipient of Supplemental Security Income (SSI). You pay the additional $30 EDL or ENDID fee noted above only when you apply for the Enhanced document the first time and at renewal.
The $15 fee to replace an Enhanced document is the same fee paid to replace a regular driver license or non-driver photo ID card.
An EDL or ENDID allows a NYS resident to travel by land and sea between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean without a U.S. passport. An Enhanced document also speed border crossings, costs less than a passport and fits in your wallet.
Yes. Non-driver photo ID cards for children under age 16 and persons with disabilities have been available from the NYS DMV for several years. Enhanced non-driver photo ID cards are also now available for children and persons with disabilities.
A parent can show his or her proofs that are required for an ENDID, complete form MV-45, and sign the name of the child if the child is too young to sign. An official of a government facility or a government-approved facility that represents a person with a disability can complete form MV-45A and sign the applications and documents for the person with a disability.
If a child or person with a disability travels with an adult, and both have an EDL or ENDID, it can speed land and sea border crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
Currently, yes. For domestic air travel within the U.S., an EDL, a regular driver license or a non-driver photo ID card are all acceptable as proof of identity to board a domestic flight. However, this is subject to change based on Federal laws and regulations.
No. An EDL is both a driver license and a travel identification document for land and sea travel between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean. For current NYS driver license holders, the original NYS driver license will no longer be valid once it is converted to an EDL, the EDL is your driver license.
An EDL or ENDID does not replace a passport, passport card or a NEXUS card, but can be used in place of these document to cross land and sea borders in the Western Hemisphere. An NYS EDL or ENDID can speed land and sea border crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, but an EDL or ENDID is not acceptable identification to travel by air to Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Caribbean or any other country.
A U.S. Passport Card is another type of WHTI-compliant document for land and sea border crossings between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean, but it is not valid for air travel to another country.
A NEXUS card is also a WHTI-compliant document that is acceptable to travel by land, sea or air between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Bermuda and the Caribbean.
A U.S. passport is acceptable to cross land, sea and air borders in countries worldwide.
Note: Only one of the documents mentioned above is required to cross a land or sea border in the Western Hemisphere.
No. The EDL or ENDID is offered as an option to NYS residents who are U.S. citizens. The current type of NYS photo driver licenses and non-driver ID cards remain available and valid.
Only an applicant who can provide proof of identity, NYS residency and U.S. citizenship is eligible for a NYS EDL or ENDID. An EDL is also available to a driver who qualifies for a commercial driver license (CDL) or a motorcycle license. Enhanced versions of other types of NYS documents are also available.
An EDL is valid for a maximum of 8 years, the same amount of time as a current NYS driver license. As with a regular non-driver photo ID card, an ENDID is issued for 4 or 8 years, or up to 10 years if you are age 62 or over and/or you receive Supplemental Security Income. If you convert from a regular driver license to an EDL or ENDID, the expiration date of your EDL or ENDID remains the same as the expiration date of your current document. If you choose to renew early, the expiration year of your document is extended.
If your name has changed, you must submit proof of the name change. Acceptable proof includes a marriage or divorce certificate, court-ordered name change documents, or 6 points of proof of identity in your new name. For more information, read the instructions for a change of name on DMV documents and records.
Yes. The NYS EDL and ENDID have a U.S. Flag image and the word "Enhanced" on the front of the document and a machine readable zone that uses optical character recognition (OCR) text on the reverse.
An Enhanced document also has a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag to speed border crossings.
The RFID tag is a requirement of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that can help to expedite traffic and reduce the environmental affects of traffic at border crossings. Equipment at border crossings can recognize an RFID tag from as much as 30 feet away to speed your crossing.
No. There is no personal identification information stored in the RFID tag. The RFID tag contains only a unique number assigned to the tag that will verify issuance of the document to one individual.
Information is available on the Internet about how to apply to replace a:
Social Security card, U.S. passport, NYS birth certificate, New York City birth certificate, other state birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, New York City marriage certificate, and U.S. citizenship and naturalization documents.
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (includes St. Croix, St. John and St.Thomas) are U.S. possessions. In addition, the U.S. State Department site has a list of the 17 countries, territories and islands that are not U.S. possessions but that are also part of "the Caribbean" under WHTI.
The Western Hemisphere Travel initiative (WHTI) is a federal law that regulates which documents U.S. citizens can use when they travel in the Western Hemisphere. Beginning June 1, 2009, only WHTI approved documents can be used for return to the United States. You can read more about this initiative at the web site of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
You can call the NYS DMV EDL Helpline to speak with a representative. You can call Monday through Friday except state holidays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., toll-free from within NYS, at 1-800-381-5451. This is a toll-free number; dial the number exactly as shown.
