How Do I Apply for a NEXUS Card?

In order to apply for a NEXUS Card, you need to complete an application form, provide the required documentation, attend an interview at an enrolment centre, and receive your card in the mail.

Make sure you’re eligible.

  1. First, gather your documentation.
  2. Then, complete and submit the application, either online using the TTP website, or by mail (through a third party).
  3. Once your application has been conditionally approved, you will be able to book an interview at the nearest enrolment centre. If you are not eligible for a NEXUS Card, you will find out at this stage.
  4. Once you have attended an interview, and are approved, you will receive your NEXUS Card in the mail.
  5. You will need to activate your NEXUS Card before you use it.

Check Processing Times

Documentation Required for a NEXUS Application

Passport, Driver's License etc

You will need proof of identity and proof of citizenship or status. You should gather your documentation before you start the application.

An American or Canadian passport works as proof of identity and citizenship. If the passport is not American or Canadian, it can only be use as proof of identity. If you use your passport for both, we still recommend providing a second ID to be safe.

Proof of Identity Documentation Required for NEXUS

If you do not have a passport, you can get still a NEXUS Card, though it is not recommended because you will only be able to use it for driving across the border, not flying. The most common proof of identity that is not a passport is a Driver’s License. It must be a government-issued ID. Here are your options:

  • passport
  • driver’s license
  • state or provincial photo ID card (not usable for online system).

Proof of Status (Citizenship/Permanent Residence/Temporary Status) for NEXUS

Proof of Status for Citizens for NEXUS Card Applications

If you are an American citizen or a Canadian, you can use the following as proof of citizenship:

If you have status in the other country, you should provide proof of this as well, be it citizenship, permanent residence (see below) or temporary residence (see below).

Proof of Status for Permanent Residents for NEXUS Applications

If you are a permanent resident of one country, you will need to submit your Green Card or Canadian Permanent Resident Card as your proof of status in the country you reside in. Depending upon your nationality, you may have to provide proof of your temporary status in the other country as well (see below).

Proof of Status for Students/Workers for NEXUS Applications

If you are a permanent resident of the US or Canada and require a visa to enter the other country, you will also have to provide that visa. If you have a work permit or study permit you need to provide that too. Acceptable proofs of status

  • visitor visa to either the US or Canada
  • work permit for either the US or Canada
  • study permit for either the US or Canada.

Complete the NEXUS Application

Nexus application: mail or online

You can apply online using the TTP website or by downloading the paper application and mailing it in.

Note: Mailing in your application can now only be done through a third party, as the CBSA discontinued the service in early 2019.

Submitting an Online NEXUS Application

Don’t want to apply online?

  1. First, create a login.gov account if you don’t have one already.
  2. Once you have your login.gov account, go to the TTP website.
  3. Click on “Get Started” unless you are in one of the following situations:
    1. You have already started your application on the TTP website. In this case, click “I’ve already started.”
    2. You are renewing your NEXUS Card. In this case, click on the “I’m already a program member” button.
  4. Click “Next” only if you do not meet any of the criteria to login.

Creating a login.gov ID

Don’t want to apply online?

If you have ever applied for a NEXUS Card, a FAST Card or a SENTRI Card since October 2017, or used the US federal government’s login.gov system for any reason, you probably already have a login.gov account.

If you already have a NEXUS Card, and are just registering for your login.gov, you will need to provide your PASSID, which you can find on the back of your NEXUS Card.

In order to create your profile, you will have to provide:

  • Email address
  • Phone Number

The email address must be an email address you check regularly. CBSA and CBP staff will not call you, your application will be abandoned if you never book an interview.

Completing the Online NEXUS Application

Don’t want to apply online?

Go to the TTP website.

There are many steps to completing the TTP NEXUS Card application online, not including registration (see above). You can save your information and log back in and finish the application at any time. Here are the steps everyone has to complete:

  1. First,you must select your situation:
    • “Get started” for your first ever application
    • “I’ve already started” to resume an application either with TPP or with the old Global Online Enrolment System
    • “I’m already a program member” for renewals and replacements.
  2. Second, you must agree to the terms of the site, every time you log in. The fine print details that your information will be shared among various agencies belong to both the Canadian and US governments.
  3. If you chose “Get Started,” the next step is to review the steps required to apply for a NEXUS Card.
  4. The first real step of the application form is to fill in your “personal information”:
    1. your full name
    2. your date of birth
    3. your location of birth (town/city, region, country)
    4. your email address
    5. your phone number
  5. At this point, you are required to indicate whether you have ever applied for a NEXUS Card or a Fast Card or the Global Entry program before.
  6. Upon clicking continue, you will be asked to confirm your personal information at this point.
  7. Once again, your progress will be displayed, indicating that you have completed the “Account” stage and are now moving on to the “Application” section.
  8. The first step of the “Application” section is to indicate your citizenship so you can see which programs you are eligible. If you are not an American citizen you will later on have to prove your inadmissibility to the United States.
  9. The next step to to select the program you want to participate in.
  10. At this point you are required to agree to the process. You must give your consent for a personal background check on both sides of the border and you agree that the CBSA or CBP has the right to refuse your application at their discretion. You must also consent to an interview.
  11. Once you have selected the program, you’ll have to provide personal information in a profile including your:
    1. Surname
    2. Given name
    3. Middle name
    4. Date of Birth
    5. City of Birth
    6. Country of Birth
    7. State or Province of Birth
    8. Phone Number
    9. Email Address.
  12. Next, you’ll need to provide your “identifying characteristics” including:
    1. your gender (male or female only)
    2. your eye colour, which you select from a list of of options
    3. your height in either metric or imperial
  13. Below those fields, you’ll be asked whether or not you’ve ever used another name (such as a maiden name). If so, you’ll need to provide any previous surnames you’ve used. You also need to provide any nicknames you have used or currently use that aren’t obvious short-forms of your given name.
  14. The next step is to confirm your citizenship – the system will guess you are Canadian if you indicated you were not American earlier in the process. If you are not a Canadian or an American citizen, you will have to further prove your eligibility by
    1. proving you are a permanent resident of one country or the other and
    2. proving you are admissible to the country you are not a permanent resident of.
  15. On the next screen you’ll have to enter at least one phone number (a home and/or cell and/or work number). You will not be called – this information is for verification purposes.
  16. Next, you will have to prove your citizenship, by providing proof: first you must select your country of citizenship if you haven’t already and then you must select the appropriate proof of citizenship such as:
    1. US naturazliation certificate
    2. certificate of Indian status
    3. Canadian citizenship certificate (or card)
    4. passport (recommended)
    5. state or provincial birth certificate
    6. certificate of retention of Canadian citizenship.
  17. On the next screen, you will have to declare whether or not you are a Permanent Resident of the United States – this question is about your admissibility to the US.
  18. Next, you will have to prove your admissibility to the US, if you are not a US citizen. If you used a passport to prove citizenship, you can use it here as well, otherwise you’ll have to provide an alternate document.
  19. Next, you’ll have to prove that you are eligible to apply for NEXUS because of your residence.
  20. The next question is about your driver’s license, which is the primary way CBP and CBSA verify your residence in either Canada or the US. Even if you intend to use the NEXUS only for flying, you need to provide your valid driver’s license. (If you don’t have a driver’s license, you are still eligible for a NEXUS Card, but you’ll have to prove your residence, some other way, using some mail, for example.)
  21. After inputting your valid license information, you will have to add your current residential address.
  22. If you have a different mailing address, you will also have to provide this. If you do not provide an address in Canada or the US that the card can be successfully delivered to, you may never receive your NEXUS Card.
  23. You must provide your complete address history for the last 5 years, if different. Gaps will result in either an application delay or the outright refusal of your application.
  24. After entering all your address information for the last five years, you’ll have to provide your current employment status. There are options for retired people, students, and children as well.
  25. After entering your current employment status, you’ll need to provide your past employment status for the last 5 years, if different.
  26. The second last question regards your travel history to countries other than Canada, the US and Mexico. You should note that some territories of other countries are listed as separate countries and some are not. If you cannot find the territory on the list, you will have to find the sovereign country that has dominion over that particular territory.
  27. The final question concerns your criminal and travel history. Answering “yes” to any of these questions will not result in an automatic refusal, but if you have to answer yes to one or more of these questions, you should make sure that you are prepared to explain the situation at the interview (and providing supporting documentation).
  28. Once you have finished entering information, the system will present you with a page on which you can see what you entered. The system will only catch certain errors, such as gaps in your address history or gaps in your employment history. It will not catch most typos and it will not catch any omissions on your part that fall outside of its very specific questions. Review this page extremely carefully. You are asked to “Certify” that everything is correct at the end, and a failure to submit correct information is grounds for refusal.
  29. After you have certified, you will be asked to accept privacy statements by both governments.
  30. Next, you will be given one last chance to cancel your application at which time you will be informed of the fee (provided this is an adult application).
  31. On the next page, you’ll have to agree to the fee (if applicable).
  32. In order to submit online, you will have to pay by AMEX, MasterCard or VISA and you must provide your Credit Card information at this time. If you do not want to provide credit card information through the system, you will have to apply by paper or through a third party.
  33. Finally, you will receive a confirmation of your payment. Print this information for your records.

Submitting the NEXUS Application Online

Once you have completed the application, the system will ask you to confirm the information and point out any errors.

After you have “certified” your application, you will have to pay the fee of USD$50. You can only use approved credit cards.

Mail-in NEXUS Card Applications

CBSA discontinued mail-in applications as for 2019. If you want to submit an application by mail you must use a private company, such as Border Cards. Mail your completed application to:

57 Westchester Drive
London, Ontario
N6G 2K6

Next Steps After You’ve Submitted Your NEXUS Application

Once you have submitted your application online, either online or by mail, your application be reviewed by both the CBSA and CBP. This process can take some time.

If you are conditionally approved, you will then be asked to attend an interview:

  • If you submitted your application using the TTP website, your account will be updated and you will receive an email notification.
  • If you submitted your application by mail the third party company should contact you by email or phone. Border Cards uses email unless you do not have an email address.

Don’t want to apply online?

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