Drivers License

Hi

Do you have you licence ???

Where you come from ???

Thanks

Merci

From Canada and we both have a Canadian, Ontario drivers licence.

@mjgbenoit There are precise steps on the internet, ministry of trnsportation page. Use the google translator if you can't read Spanish. You should receive a residence first.

Buenos Dias, You may use your valid Canadian drivers license as long as you carry your passport while you drive. The first step to get a CR drivers license is to make an appointment online, get a" dictamin medico" from a local clinic which is a physical you must take to prove you are physically fit to drive,eye test,blood pressure test,and mental exam.Not all clinics do this so check around. Next you must have your current license officially translated. Again check around,I had mine done in Liberia at a local abogada.If you have residency you must get a CR license.They are renewed easily if you have a clean record. You don't need to take a drivers test if your current foreign license is valid. Henrych mentioned that you need a residency card first, I think thats true,honestly i dont remember its been so long, suerte,pura vida.

If you are legal residents (pensionados, rentistas, etc) then you must get a Costa Rican driver's license, as you can only drive on your Canadian licenses for the time that Immigration stamped in your passports when you last arrived in Costa Rica (typically 90 days, but not always). That said, follow the advice of Surffeaver immediately above.

Just to clarify, at the present, your foreign driver's license is valid for 90 days from the last entry stamp in a valid passport.  This is irregardless of the number of days you are validated for your current stay.  Having said this if you enter Costa Rica On November 1st and are granted a 30 day stay, technically you can drive for 90 days from November 1st but you would need to exit after your 30 days and start again for another stay.  With the new granting of 180 day stays, if you arrived on November 1st and were given a 180 day stay, your driver's license would not be valid 91 days past November 1st.  Driver's licenses are regulated by Cosevi, not immigration.  There is talk of changing the 90 day allowance for driver's licenses to 180 days but any permanent change would be way down the road!