Albertans can renew their driver’s licences and identification cards online starting Tuesday, the government announced.
The move aims to reduce red tape and improve access to services by integrating it into the existing MyAlberta eServices portal, the Alberta government said in a statement on Monday.
“Our government has been looking for ways to improve how we deliver services to Albertans,” Services Minister Nate Glubish said during a news conference on Monday afternoon.
“I’ve been hearing from people who wish to be able to renew their licences and ID card online… This will affect nearly every Albertan.”
To renew licences and ID cards online, Albertans will have to log in with a verified account and meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Be 18 to 75 years old to renew a driver’s licence or at least 18 years old to renew an ID card
- Be a resident of Alberta
- Have a driver’s licence that is not suspended
- Not require changes to demographic information, such as an address, height or sex, on their driver’s licence or ID card
- Have a card that has not been expired for more than six months
- Not require a medical examination report to renew their driver’s licence
- Have a photo and signature on the card that is less than 10 years old
Albertans can keep their expired licence or ID card until they receive their new card in the mail but a temporary licence is still needed to prove they have a valid form of identification. Old and expired cards will have to be destroyed once a new one arrives in the mail.
Temporary licenses can be printed off once the online renewal has been processed, the Alberta government said.
However, Albertans will still have to go to a registry in person if they are wanting to obtain a driver’s licence or ID card for the first time.
The government also said the service is secure and is able to validate someone’s identity the same way as an in-person service. It will not track nor store user information and will be designed with the highest security in mind, according to Glubish.
“Albertans are used to logging into various online services such as banking. This will be very similar to that,” Glubish said.
The Alberta NDP praised the move but noted people living in rural communities may not be able to access online renewal services.
“Online services are good, but they are still out of reach for large parts of the province because the UCP hasn’t followed through on their commitment to fix rural internet,” Service critic Jon Carson said.
“The UCP has made several announcements and promises to deliver high-speed internet to Albertans living in rural and remote communities, but they’ve failed to deliver.”