Costa Rica Drivers License

If you are visiting Costa Rica, you may drive on the driver's license issued by your home country so long as your visa has not expired.

This is important!  Depending on the country you are from, your tourist visa may be as long as ninety days or as short as thirty days.  See Entry to Costa Rica.  Once it expires, you cannot drive legally in Costa Rica unless you have applied for and received your Costa Rica license.  (See below).  To see visa regulations, click here then go to Visa Regulations.

If you renew your tourist visa by leaving the country for 72 hours, your non-Costa Rica driver's license will be good for another period of time equal to your visa.  If you intend to remain in Costa Rica, it is an excellent idea to get your Costa Rican drivers license. 

IMPORTANT:  Insurance on any vehicle that you drive is dependent on a VALID license!  If you are past your 90 days OR if your Costa Rica license has expired, you have NO insurance!

While the process is simple enough, the time to do it may be a bit daunting.  Plan on from one to three hours.

For NEW license applications, you MUST go to San José. 

For renewals, you can go to the MOPT office in Liberia, Limon or San Ramon.

The MOPT office in San José is hard to find.  I would suggest parking somewhere and using a taxi.  Any taxi driver knows it.  For a new license, you will need your current unexpired drivers license, your passport with a current entry stamp, and a doctors examination certificate, and cash.  ** New info regarding drivers licenses!  Please see this. 

Note:  In front of the MOPT building, (as in front of many government offices in Costa Rica) you will find a group of  people who want to want to be your guide through this process.  Many speak some form of understandable English.  If you have come alone and speak little or no Spanish, and feel a bit daunted by all the movement and seeming disorganization, consider using one of these guys to sort of tell you what is going on and get you started.  A couple of bucks goes a long way, and you'll catch on pretty quick. 

You will need to take a physical.  Testing includes eyes, blood pressure and several other things.  There are a zillion doctor's offices surrounding the MOPT building so you just go into one to get the exam.  No waiting.  The cost last time I went was about 5,000 colones.

Then you take the items above and the results of your physical  to the MOPT building where you will present your current drivers license, your passport with a current entry stamp, and the doctors examination certificate.  Dollars may not be accepted for payment.  You will go through at least three separate lines and they can be long.  Expect an hour minimum, but in reality, expect 2-3 hours.  Get used to these lines.  If you live here, you will be in plenty of them.

When done, you will have your first Costa Rica license.  It will be for two years, but when you renew it, it will be for seven years.

Hint:  If you live here, do NOT let this go.  While a bit time consuming, this is a non-event.  Let your drivers license expire and this becomes a huge problem with exams (in Spanish) and so on.  This is definitely a time to be pro-active!

** Note to perpetual tourists!

Occasionally, people come to Costa Rica and never leave.  They are illegal, but don't think they will get caught.  At the beginning, they leave every three months, but after a while, they just don't leave any more.  One thing to remember... if you do NOT get your Costa Rica driver's license, AND  do NOT leave the country every 90 days, your license expires when your tourist visa expires, and that can get you into a bit of trouble.