To drive in Mexico, do I need a Mexico driver’s license?

Currently, you do not need a Mexican driver’s license to drive in Mexico. If you’re coming to Mexico on a tourist visa, you have 180 days. On a tourist visa you can drive your foreign-plated car.  You have to have insurance, which is not that difficult, so it’s pretty stupid if you didn’t.

 

For those of us who have lived here long-term, we have been forced to get what they call a temporary visa, which used to be called an FM3....

Currently, you do not need a Mexican driver’s license to drive in Mexico. If you’re coming to Mexico on a tourist visa, you have 180 days. On a tourist visa you can drive your foreign-plated car.  You have to have insurance, which is not that difficult, so it’s pretty stupid if you didn’t.

 

For those of us who have lived here long-term, we have been forced to get what they call a temporary visa, which used to be called an FM3. Every year you went to get your FM3 renewed and as long as you had an FM3 you can continue to drive your foreign-plated car. Well, two and a half years ago, they changed the rules so that all of those people who have an FM3 had to move to a permanent resident card. It cost me about $600 or $700. With a permanent resident card, I was no longer allowed to drive my foreign-plated car. It was a time of great upheaval because of the difficulties in doing that. 

 

I no longer even have a US Driver’s license and ultimately, I bought a Mexican plated car.    

 

(License plate for Yucatan, Mexico, pictured.)

You don’t need a Mexican driver’s license to drive in Mexico unless you are a permanent resident or you are driving a Mexican car that is not rented. If you are a temporary resident (and you can be a temporary resident for 4 years), you can use your US driver’s license because you are either using your own US-plated car, or you are driving a rented car.

 

If you have a Mexico-plated car that is not a rented car then you need to have a...

You don’t need a Mexican driver’s license to drive in Mexico unless you are a permanent resident or you are driving a Mexican car that is not rented. If you are a temporary resident (and you can be a temporary resident for 4 years), you can use your US driver’s license because you are either using your own US-plated car, or you are driving a rented car.

 

If you have a Mexico-plated car that is not a rented car then you need to have a Mexican driver’s license. A lot of the temporary residents here keep their US-plated cars and they don’t get a Mexican driver’s license until they are sure that they are going to stay here for good. It is expensive to legalize an American car so they don’t do that unless they are staying here on a permanent basis.

 

As long as your visa is for a temporary resident, and you’re driving a non-Mexican car, you’re okay. But if you are a permanent resident or you’re driving a Mexican car that is not a rental car, then you need a Mexican driver’s license.  

 

(RV's belonging to "snowbirds" on the beach in the Gulf of Santa Clara, Mexico, pictured.)

In Mexico, most insurance companies don't care what kind of license you have as long as you have a driver’s license.  Your driver’s license doesn't have to be Mexican. It can be international; for example, Canadian, American, or Japanese.  It doesn't matter as long as you have a driver’s license. You also don't need a driver’s license to buy a car in Chapala and Ajijic.

 

When driving around Chapala and Ajijic, always...

In Mexico, most insurance companies don't care what kind of license you have as long as you have a driver’s license.  Your driver’s license doesn't have to be Mexican. It can be international; for example, Canadian, American, or Japanese.  It doesn't matter as long as you have a driver’s license. You also don't need a driver’s license to buy a car in Chapala and Ajijic.

 

When driving around Chapala and Ajijic, always carry the original with you, and not just the photocopy. I don't know why foreigners think they should take a photocopy of their driver’s license and laminate it.  To do so is illegal, and considered fraud.