A “Ready Lane” is a dedicated lane for travelers entering the U.S. at land border ports of entry with identification that contains a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip. Watch for signage as you approach a port for information on which lane to use and whether it is open.
Ready Lanes are not as quick as NEXUS-only lanes, but they can be faster than regular lanes because the border agent does not need to type in your information. It is estimated that the lane averages 10-15 seconds faster per vehicle.
All travelers in the vehicle over the age of 16 must have an RFID-enabled card to use the Ready Lane. Children 15 years old and younger may travel in the Ready Lane with adult travelers if all adults in the vehicle have an RFID-enabled travel card.
While driving through the lane, all cardholders should hold their RFID documents up so that the flat face of the cards show through any window on the “driver’s side” of the vehicle. You will most likely see a sign that says something like “Point Cards Here” as you approach the card reader. If someone in the vehicle cannot hold their card, the driver should hold multiple cards up in a fan so that each card is visible and can be read by the RFID reader. Do not stack multiple cards.
Approved Ready Lane Documents
- U.S. Passport Card
- Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL)
- Enhanced Tribal Card (ETC)
- Global Entry
- NEXUS
- SENTRI
- FAST
- Enhanced Permanent Resident Card (PRC)
- Border Crossing Card (BCC).
Unfortunately, neither U.S. or Canadian Passports work in Ready Lanes, as the chips in passports cannot be read from the required distance.
Ready Lane Locations
Ready Lanes are operational at the following ports of entry on the Canadian Border:
- Peace Bridge – Buffalo, New York State
- Rainbow Bridge – Buffalo, New York State
- Ambassador Bridge – Detroit, Michigan
- Detroit Windsor Tunnel – Detroit, Michigan
- Peace Arch – Blaine, Washington State
- Lynden, Washington State
- Sumas, Washington State
- There are additional Ready Lanes on the U.S. Mexican border