Policy

All Alberta driver's licences and ID cards are required by law to contain a photo and the signature of the cardholder, see SIMS User’s Guide.

Photo Requirements

When processing a driver’s licence / ID card service, including an operator duplicate service, a registry agent must review the client’s existing photo on file to determine if a new photo is required. A new photo is required when:

• The client does not have a photo.
• The existing photo is older than four years.
• The existing photo is unacceptable (does not meet current policy requirements).

Note:
While a new photo is only required when the above is applicable, it is best practice to capture a new photo for every driver’s licence/ID card service (with the exception of operator duplicate) if the client agrees to taking a new photo.

The photo must:

• Be a full front view of the face.
• Show a neutral facial expression (no smiling, mouth closed) with the client looking straight at the camera
• At the minimum show the facial features from the top of the forehead to the bottom of the chin.
• At the minimum show the facial features from the hairline on one side to the hairline on the other side.
• Show the eyes open and clearly visible with no hair across them.
• Have the top of the shoulders square and visible (not covered by long hair, bulky coats, scarves, etc.) to the camera.
• Have the face and shoulders centered in the photo.
• Be clear, sharp and in focus.

The photo must not:

• Contain head coverings (bandanas, headbands, scarves, toques etc.) that cover all or part of the hair (except when worn for religious or medical reasons as outlined below).
• Show the client wearing accessories such as earbuds or headphones.
• Show the client making any purposeful alterations to their facial features or facial expression.
• Show the client wearing eyeglasses including prescription eyeglasses, reading glasses, sunglasses, etc.

The photo may:

• Contain head coverings, only when they are worn daily for religious or medical reasons and only if the full facial features are clearly visible. The head covering must not cast a shadow across the face for facial recognition purposes. Some examples of acceptable head coverings include:
  • Turban, Patka or Dastaar.
  • Hijab (headscarf which covers a Muslim woman’s head and neck but not her face).
  • Khimar (Variation of the Hijab - a cape like veil with an opening for the face.  May cover a small portion of the forehead but leaves the face exposed).
  • Scarves or bandages for burn victims or clients who have lost their hair due to a medical condition / treatment; see the subsection below on Medical Exceptions.
  • Eye patches for clients missing an eye; see the subsection below on Medical Exceptions.

Note:
A registry agent must contact Registries Assurance when they are not familiar with a religious head covering prior to capturing the client’s photo.

Registry agents are encouraged to be sensitive to a client's special needs, customs, or religious beliefs, and whenever possible accommodate any special requests for photo capturing. For example, Muslim women with veils, burn victims or persons with disabilities, etc; agents can arrange with these clients to have their photo taken outside of regular office hours.

Medical Exception

When a client has a medical condition and requires a new photo, the client has the option to either:

• Re-use their existing photo on MOVES.
  • To re-use an existing photo, the client file must have a medical condition attribute (med-cond), see 2.20.01 Attributes Added by Registry Agents.
    • Existing photos can only be reused if they were originally captured on MOVES after July 2003 and if they meet current policy requirements.
  or
• Have a new photo taken.

If the client does not want their photo taken:

• A registry agent must delete the SIMS transaction.
• Registries Assurance must back out the MOVES transaction.
• The interim driver's licence or ID card receipt must be destroyed

Signature

A new signature must be captured at the SIMS workstation when a driver's licence and/or ID card is issued. Signatures cannot contain:

• Marks and symbols.
• Statements such as “without prejudice” or “under protest”.

Signature Exceptions

An "X" can be used as a signature when a client is unable to sign:

• A driver's licence application because the client is illiterate.
  or
• An Identification Card (ID) application because the client is illiterate, physically and/or intellectually disabled.
  • If the client is unable to mark an "X" a registry agent may indicate "unable to sign" in the signature area.

A registry agent must make a notation on the driver's licence or ID application indicating the client is unable to sign.

Date Originally Issued: Nov 14, 1989
Date Last Revised: May 17, 2022