Mexican driver's license needed?

[Earl]

If you have a permanente visa and a Mexican plated vehicle, must you also have a Mexican driver's license, or is a US driver's license okay?

Thank you for your replies.

[cedros]

Any recognized drivers license from throughout the world including a US one is fine.

[jrod]

According to what I read from Jalisco transit law, foreign driver licenses are recognized under federal, not state law, and international treaty. The transit law does not appear to separate out foreign visitors from temporary or permanent residents, merely IDs them per foreign valid licenses, cut and pasted below:

CAPITULO V

De los operadores y conductores

Artículo 55.- Para operar o conducir vehículos en el Estado de Jalisco, es necesario contar con

licencia o permiso vigente, expedido por:

I. La dependencia del Ejecutivo del Estado competente

III. Por lo que se refiere a las licencias para conducir vehículos expedidas en el extranjero, su reconocimiento y validez quedarán sujetos a las disposiciones federales sobre la materia y a los convenios internacionales de los que México forme parte.

http://info.jalisco.gob.mx/sites/default/files/leyes/Ley_de_los_Servicios_de_Vialidad,_Tránsito_y_Transporte_del_Estado_de_Jalisco_0.pdf

[HarryB]

At a meeting with the state director of movilidad , he said if you had a Mexican plated car you needed a mexican licence. I don't know if Spencer discussed this with them?

[jrod]

At a meeting with the state director of movilidad , he said if you had a Mexican plated car you needed a mexican licence. I don't know if Spencer discussed this with them?

Harry, if you are recalling a meeting from last year, yes, I recall from a post last summer that Spencer spoke with him and pointed out federal law; if I remember correctly, the director cited a poor translation to English for his confusion. Maybe Spencer can weigh in, since things change often here, altho I think the above-cited law is [still] in effect.

[Osoprehistorico]

If a Mexican driver's license is needed to drive a Mexican plated car, how can people from elsewhere rent and drive cars legally?

[adolphsj]

Because of previous rumors and misinformation I asked Spencer about this 2 weeks ago and any

valid license from either US or Mexico is OK in this situation.

[Earl]

Thank you all! I will wait until closer to 2017 when my US license expires. Sounds as though I'm covered.

[RVGRINGO]

Ask 10 officials for the correct information and you will get 10 very different interpretations. Third grade reading skills make life tough.

[snowyco]

Ask 10 officials for the correct information and you will get 10 very different interpretations. Third grade reading skills make life tough.

Maybe it has to do with the schools and people who go to work for the government. Every time there's a new administration, governor, or mayor, My Mexican wife scans the papers to see who they are appointing, and almost universally she points out that they were all the "C" and "D" students.

Just like revenge of the "C" students in the USA, maybe it's a government employee issue. Studies show that when given a moderately complex tax return, 5 different IRS professional auditors give 5 different answers on the taxes owed.

[Intercasa]

Valid license from another country should be fine if that country recognizes Mexican licenses. Nobody has shown me otherwise to date. As transito is a state agency it is usually a state issue unless stopped by federal police in that case federal transit law lays they need a license from their home country competent authority. Also gives them the right to check immigration documents.

Artículo 89.- La internación legal a territorio nacional de los vehículos que transiten con placas o
documentación extranjera, deberá ser acreditada por sus respectivos conductores, mismos que si son de
alguna otra nacionalidad demostrarán su legal estancia en el territorio nacional y ser titulares de la respectiva
licencia de manejo que les haya otorgado la autoridad competente de su domicilio.

En caso de violación a lo dispuesto en el párrafo que antecede, además de la imposición de las sanciones
pecuniarias que apliquen en materia de tránsito, se dará aviso a las autoridades fiscales y de las del Instituto
Nacional de Migración que correspondan. El conductor extranjero será entregado a la autoridad migratoria y el
vehículo remitido al depósito más cercano para su resguardo y custodia.

[gpyros]

>> If you have a permanente visa and a Mexican plated vehicle, must you also have a Mexican driver's license, or is a US driver's license okay?

I'll answer from a slightly different angle - the last few posts were specifically about driving a car here.

But since the original poster specifically asked about needing a Mexican driver's license and having a Mexican plated car, what we found is that to either register a car or renew your registration, you need to have your Mexican driver's license.

So it seems like a Catch-22: you don't need a Mexican driver's license to drive here, but since you need one to register your car, you do end up needing one.

Greg

[lcscats]

Never shown a license to renew my registration. Paid the money in Chapala and put my sticker on car. I think you are being yanked by someone.

[bournemouth]

Never shown a license to renew my registration. Paid the money in Chapala and put my sticker on car. I think you are being yanked by someone.

Same for us.

[cedros]

Never shown a license to renew my registration. Paid the money in Chapala and put my sticker on car. I think you are being yanked by someone.

Never needed a Mexican Drivers license to register or renew Mexican plated car registration in Nayarit and Jalisco since 1987. Maybe some states require it.

[bournemouth]

Registering a car is a state by state thing. In Jalisco you do not need a Mexican license in order to do this.

[RVGRINGO]

Never shown a license to renew my registration. Paid the money in Chapala and put my sticker on car. I think you are being yanked by someone.

Absolutely! We have a Jalisco plated smart car (now for sale as we are departing) and we registered it in 2007 with US driving licenses and have renewed each year for the last 7 years with US licenses. Never had to show one either. One simply gives the clerk the license plate number, she pulls up the record, prints the new registration (tarjeta de circulacion) and you pay the fee & go home.

Why do folks make wrong assumptions based on their imaginations, then post them? Others then pass them on and the false information takes on a life of its own. Crazy! Check facts first.........

[mod-3]

Spencer has spoken and I know from personal experience he is correct. Closed before any more erroneous information misleads anyone. I am sure everyone's intentions were good!