I do not want one of those greased palms D.L.s
I personally want to do everything legally.
This is what you do, if you have a Dominican residency and a cedula.
1) Call your embassy in SD and ask them if they are willing to certify that your existing national drivers license is genuine and valid. If they are willing to do that, make sure they include the license number, and expiration date.
2) Take that document to the cancilleria on Independencia and get it legalized. Before you go through the door to the cancilleria go to BanReservas next door and pay 950 pesos for the license and 620 pesos (I believe it was) to legalize the document from the embassy. These are standard rates, no smearing, greasing or money under the table thing. Nothing to pay at the DGTT.
3) Cancilleria next door. Hand over the document from the embassy, plus the receipt from BanReservas (620 pesos) and explain, these people are familiar with the situation and respond accordingly. This takes one hour and fortyfive min to two hours.
4) Go home and make triple copies of everything. Residency, cedula, drivers license, both front and back, doc from the embassy, both receipts.
5) Bring everything to DGTT next morning. The people in the reception will guide you to the correct office to start with. The office you?re in will tell you where to go next.
Along the way there?s an eye test and a blood test to check blood type.
Last stop is taking picture and do finger print, wait 15 min and you have it. You?re done by mid day or early afternoon.
This is what it takes, assuming your embassy / consulate is willing to certify that you already have a valid foreign license, and that license is accepted in the DR. Two days is what it takes, no speeding up of the process required.
And BTW, from the DGTT website.
Nota (2): Las Licencias de Conducir de lo Estados Unidos de Am?rica no se Homologan por lo tanto para la obtenci?n de la licencia Dominicana deber?n optar por el proceso de emisi?n de una licencia Nueva.