Dominican Driver's Licenses

ju10prd

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....... expat postings on forums and what we are now being told when dealing with the Govt to .............. get drivers licenses,.......... that the daily reality of living here in the DR is not the same as it has been in the past.

There are no serious short cuts on driving licenses anymore it appears...........there is a process and you go through it...........what really surprised me was that during the time I was at the centre in Santo Domingo I saw no other gringos applying........ mindful of the very serious consequences of having an accident and of not having a Dominican license if you have been here continuously for more than 90 days driving. Perhaps there are a lot driving illegally then.
 

MikeFisher

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There are no serious short cuts on driving licenses anymore it appears...........there is a process and you go through it...........what really surprised me was that during the time I was at the centre in Santo Domingo I saw no other gringos applying........ mindful of the very serious consequences of having an accident and of not having a Dominican license if you have been here continuously for more than 90 days driving. Perhaps there are a lot driving illegally then.

looking on friends around myself, long time and mid term expats all around, a surprising high number did not care about the drivers license til around spring last year, then some kinda new thinking set in and one after the other went to get the permit. i am still suprised to find long term expats without any paperwork done, no cedula or residency, no drivers license but wife and children and own property. of course a illegal immigration status(like no residency) can get you deported, thats always been that way, it was just not forced. the fact that you have a dominican wife will help a lot, you can even become a DR citizen fairly quick then(some countries like for example germany will take your original citizenship away then), even not married, to have children declared by you as a parent here will help to maybe not get deported on a quick run, but otherwise why should it help to own property if you are illegally here?
are you sure it is 90 days of driving for everybody?
not all countries citizens's are allowed to stay 90 days on a visitor/tourist Visa, and once your visitor visa time is up means your immigrations status switches from cool to illegal, and so does validity of drivers licenses and all that related stuff.
my best buddy is now awaiting to get his residency finally in hands, after years of me crying in his ears to get his stuff done. almost 20 years here, married, daughter, fantastic job, very good monies, but he never bothered to do a thing for the papers, he even had for years his foreign passport expired which became a lil trouble thingy to be done to be finally able to apply for the residency under the Pardon Act for foreigners who are illegally here since a loooog time. he did not need to start the process for residency back home in europe, he could do everything from here.
i dont see where the rules would get any smoother in the near future, the opposite, i would await them to go more strict on finally enforcing their DR rules and Laws, there are always some left at the end who will have a nightmare awaking and then cry out loud for something lost.
i say, if you dont wanna get send back to your country of origin to look for a job and a roof over the head there, then you should have your papers here in the country in orden to be allowed to stay by the DR rules, what ever those rules tell.

Mike
 

ju10prd

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are you sure it is 90 days of driving for everybody?

Mike

That is my understanding...........you can only drive on a full foreign driving license here for the types of vehicle you are licensed to drive for 90 days following entry proved by a stamp in your passport. This includes two wheeled motor vehicles and quads.

I had a friend who had an accident with a motorbike in La Romana when returning to the capital from Punta Cana. On seeing that he was a foreigner driving on a foreign license but resident but did not have his passport with him, he was taken into custody by police for several hours until such time his abagado came with his passport with a stamp of entry within 90 days. On that basis his abagado got his release....otherwise he would have stayed for a longer period in prison for driving illegally and faced other driving violations. Following that experience he started the process of getting his local license immediately and since my trips off island are now less frequent I have done likewise. Incidentally had he not been a resident I believe he would have had to place a very large monetary bond to get out of custody whereas that is not the case for residents.

This is another reason for the need to get your residency or maintain it by renewal. You need a cedula for a driving license.

DR is also one of the very few countries worldwide where you cannot, it appears, use an international driving license. The country just does not exist in the extensive list of countries when applying for such a license and the AA in the UK could not find which of the types of international license would be required here and could not guarantee its legality!!
 
There are no serious short cuts on driving licenses anymore it appears...........there is a process and you go through it...........what really surprised me was that during the time I was at the centre in Santo Domingo I saw no other gringos applying........ mindful of the very serious consequences of having an accident and of not having a Dominican license if you have been here continuously for more than 90 days driving. Perhaps there are a lot driving illegally then.

I am in the process of getting my DR license and yes there are short cuts still. I don't have to take
a drivers test neither does my wife who does not have a valid license anywhere. We do have to take the written video test thing which apparently you do have to do yourself now. If our VIP helper guy is available tomorrow we will be finishing this process then and I will write out our whole experience.
 

MikeFisher

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a Resident needs in any case a DR drivers license, my understanding is that residents can not drive on a foreign license at all. weird rules, yes, gets confusing at times. or is it for them also the 90 days rule always, in case they traveled during the last 90 days to have a stamp in the passport of course?

Mike
 

windeguy

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This is another reason for the need to get your residency or maintain it by renewal. You need a cedula for a driving license.

DR is also one of the very few countries worldwide where you cannot, it appears, use an international driving license. The country just does not exist in the extensive list of countries when applying for such a license and the AA in the UK could not find which of the types of international license would be required here and could not guarantee its legality!!

Correct, an international driving license is of no value in the DR.
 
Do any of the police/Amet in the North Coast that stop people ask for a DR license? I have never had them ask but the last 2 times driving in Santiago I have been given a hard time for not having a DR license. Had to pay a tip once and the second time we had a paper saying our license was being processed but they still wanted a tip. The wife got out argued and they gave us a ticket which I chucked out. The wife refused to let me tip them lol.
 

windeguy

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Do any of the police/Amet in the North Coast that stop people ask for a DR license? I have never had them ask but the last 2 times driving in Santiago I have been given a hard time for not having a DR license. Had to pay a tip once and the second time we had a paper saying our license was being processed but they still wanted a tip. The wife got out argued and they gave us a ticket which I chucked out. The wife refused to let me tip them lol.

In a word, yes. They have been running road blocks recently between Sosua and Cabarete. Stopped twice in the past 2 weeks.
 

william webster

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Tips.... remember the season

more stops than usual this time of year

Harley, speak to your wife
the police visited my friend last year - just to say hello and ask if everything was alright
saying they were patrolling the area regularly

he thanked them and didn't tip them for the 'season' and their help



within a week, all his solar panels were gone

the tip to get them back was BIG

better safe than sorry.... you use that road too often to get 'smart' with those boys
be a good resident..... spread some Christmas cheer
 

ju10prd

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I am in the process of getting my DR license and yes there are short cuts still. I don't have to take
a drivers test neither does my wife who does not have a valid license anywhere. We do have to take the written video test thing which apparently you do have to do yourself now. If our VIP helper guy is available tomorrow we will be finishing this process then and I will write out our whole experience.

I will be interested to hear the results.........there are some short cuts but nothing substantial or serious as I understand it.

I believe you will have to go through the process of getting your police record, your eye test, blood test, see the 35 minute training video followed by the theory exam in which you can only fail on 3 questions or face a resit at extra fee. Listen to the instructor carefully after the training video because he gives you clues on which things and the questions in the theory exam. My understanding is that the theory video changes regularly so if you pay for theory training the questions you face will likely be different to those you are given in the test. If your Spanish is not so good make it known and you may be able to arrange some help.

My understanding is also that following a successful exam you will get your photo taken and be issued with a provisional license. This is now apparently a must so as the system is all computerized. You will also be given a date for the practical test with the provisional license and the short cut will be that your date will be after one month and not three..........and perhaps you may avoid the practical test or at least have an instructor who will give you the pass without much trouble.

I was also told I would not have to take the driving test and would get everything the same day...........
 

ju10prd

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We were told no blood test eye test etc,if I have to do that after paying the guy $200 each I will
be ****ed to say the least! We will see, we are having troubles meeting up with the guy bc we are both so busy.

I wanted an easy route and approached two lawyers that deal with expats and they both wanted large fees but said the system no longer allowed major short cuts so I decide to go to the center myself with girlfriend. I got accosted as soon as I arrived and offered a full license the same day without blood and eye tests for a 4000rd fee plus the actual fee 1350rd. Being rash I jumped in and was taken to a small room where I was shown the a theory video and practiced this for maybe 30 minutes. This was definitely useful knowledge but not the actual questions in my test. I then went through the procedure outlined above and realized quickly that there was no short cut but rather someone helping you along with the process. I got my practical test date speedily one month later with the promise of help passing the test leading to the full license issue.

My advice is to hold onto your cash and agree payment on delivery of what has been offered.

Final point, I was told that there are 'false' licenses in circulation. If you haven't completed the process as recorded on the computerized system your license will not be recognized in the event of follow up following a violation leading to much hassle.

Good luck
 

MikeFisher

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the blood test is a thingy of nothing, it is just to have the correct blood type of yours on the license card. the eye test, lolol, i need reading glasses since many years but i never had to worry about the eyetest. when i did it for the first time i was as usual in line with others. each had to read the 4 lines of 4 or 6 letters each line, dont remember exactly, i remembered from the 2 guys right in front of me what they read on the last 2 lines, when it was my turn i said the smaller letters are .... and all been fine. 4 years later, for the first renewal of the license, i paid in Higuey to a mensajero 200 or 300 pesos, he brought me the paper from My eyetest within a few minutes from upstairs.
thefinal practical test been in LOa Romana, on the parking area of the Baseball Stadium, it couldnt be easier. parking the chicharra of theirs(rented it for 300 pesos for the test, as its a shifter, while my own car i drove that day been a automatic and i wanted of course te license for automatic and shifters alike. parking that lil beat up Baby Datsun Pick up between 4 poles(there was space to park 2 of them between the poles easily) was the first half of the practice test. part 2 was driving with the "instructor" off theparking area, on the mainroad turn right, a few hundred meters later again turn right to enter the next gate of that parking area and drive over the empty parking area back to the starting position. took just a few minutes. important been that you buckle up before you start the car and that you do not answer your ringing cellphone while driving. nothing else mattered at that time.
at that time the provisional first license had to be held for at least 45 days and no more than one year.
it allows to drive a car with the holder of a DR license at your side on the passenger seat.

Mike
 
WW trying to calm down my wife when she is mad?!?! I tried but to no avail!! It worked they left us alone after she flipped on them and the Amet lady came over. It was funny actually we had visiting guests in the back seat and they thought they were going to get shot. Haha true DR experience!!
 

ju10prd

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For me the 'video game' theory test proved interesting...........not knowing the question until after the video clip........and the type of question changes so you had to be alert.........there is a pass button (1 pass only allowed) in addition to the 'si' or 'no' buttons but mine didn't work lol! And there is a time limit on the test.

I struggled with my eye test with reading glasses and without and was told to get my eyes retested!! But passed.
 

MikeFisher

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hahaha,
i like that one:
struggled with and without reading glasses, but passed, lol
so did they let you pass or does your drivers license state that you have to wear glasses?
to me it was important to not get that note about glasses printed on the license, because i solely need them for reading, they would be useless/bothering for driving.

Mike
 

ju10prd

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darn, we accidentally highjacked the residencia renewal topic and changed into the same important drivers license topic.

Mike

Exactly.............maybe a new thread after tomorrow and we can find out if there still are any 'short' cuts.....and cross reference the posts today