Getting your License in Roatan
Although you may be permitted to operate a motor vehicle here on the island, as long as you have a valid driver's license from your previous home, you are supposedly expected to obtain a Honduran driver's license if you plan on staying or are here for 90 days. We were directed to the police station, located in a yellow building just west of Coxen Hole..... it's located up a steep hill, off of the main road, on the south side. The driveway is actually marked with a sign and is opposite a plant nursery.
I'd advise you to stop by the station to get the lasted directives on what you need to submit to them. Our experience, in February 2010 was as follows:
1. Apply for the license (fill out questionaire) and have the clerk type up the form,
2. Along with your Honduran Cedula (blue plastic resident I.D. Card), you must bring 2 "carnet" sized photos-- which are slightly snmaller than a passport photo. We were told to obtain these from The Galleria- a photo studio, located in the center of Coxen Hole in the "Marketplace" road. (fast, inexpensive and you may wait.... it is located on the second floor)
3. We were told to go to the small clinic (for a "medical exam") and the optical shop (for an "eye test"), downtown in Coxen Hole, just 2 blocks from the Municipal Building, on the same side of the road, as you head the one-way direction, exiting downtown central. Both of these are prepared on special paper, that the doctor's have on-hand, are stamped and signed. We found the process easy and each visit cost approx. 100.00 Lp ($5).
4. You take the completed forms and the photos back to the police station (not during lunch hour!) and have your photo and fingerprints taken. Payment is made- if you are applying for a motorcycle license as well, that is an EXTRA license and you pay for both. The fee was approx. $30 each, valid for 5 years. Then, hopefully, the laminating machine will be in working order and you will have your finished license (otherwise, you take it yourself to get it laminated).
Plan on spending an entire day for the process!
