The Commissioner encourages Albertans to review the three separate guidance documents, now available on the OIPC website, as changes come into effect today
The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (OIPC) of Alberta has developed guidance to enhance protection of Albertans’ personal information and to assist entities that will collect the information on new driver’s licences and identification (ID) cards, starting today.
The Alberta government announced in early June that on July 2, 2026, it will begin issuing driver’s licences and ID cards that will also incorporate personal health numbers (PHNs) and Canadian citizenship markers, when applicable.
“These changes will create new risks for the added personal information on these documents,” said Information and Privacy Commissioner Diane McLeod. “Because of this, my office has developed three separate guidance documents to help mitigate these risks. One guidance document is tailored for the public and provides background information and advice to help them protect the information that will now be displayed on their new driver’s licences and ID cards. The other two guidance documents were developed with private sector organizations and public bodies in mind. They will inform these two types of entities about the rules in Alberta’s privacy laws regarding the collection of the additional information now included on driver’s licences and ID cards.”
The new guidance documents can be found on the OIPC website at www.oipc.ab.ca:
The changes to driver’s licences and ID cards are enabled by amendments to legislation, including the Health Information Act (HIA), which was amended last year through the passage of Bill 11. HIA now permits a “person”, including an organization or public body, to collect a PHN in certain circumstances when the primary purpose of the collection is not to collect the PHN. When these changes to HIA were tabled in Alberta’s Legislative Assembly, the Commissioner issued a news release and sent a letter to the government, outlining her concerns about the changes.
“I encourage Albertans to review this guidance to gain a better understanding of how to protect the new information added to their driver’s licences or ID cards when interacting with public and private sector entities,” added McLeod. “I also encourage public bodies and private sector organizations to review the guidance relevant to them, in order to minimize the risk of over-collecting the personal information appearing on these documents, particularly citizenship information and personal health numbers.”
Through the OIPC, the Information and Privacy Commissioner performs the responsibilities set out in Alberta’s access to information and privacy laws, the Access to Information Act, the Protection of Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act during the transition period, the Health Information Act, and the Personal Information Protection Act. The Commissioner operates independently of government.
For more information:
Elaine Schiman
Communications Manager
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Alberta
communications@oipc.ab.ca
Mobile: (587) 983-8766