So now you’ve gotten your residency! Another important step along the way is getting your Costa Rican driver’s license. There is some information from the English newspaper The Tico Times as well as information from COSEVI (the Costa Rican equivalent of the DMV). However the former is now outdated and the latter is lacking in several key details. The residency process also can be a bit deceptive when it comes to the rights that one possesses. It’s true that for migratory reasons once you start the residency process (by submitting the application to Migración) you no longer have to leave the country every 90 days. However, a very important detail they leave out is that your permission to drive in the country expires three months after the last time you entered the country.
The process of getting a license in Costa Rica is rather simple as long as you have a valid license from another country. On the other hand the process of getting a license the conventional way (written and driving tests) is complex, lengthy, and only doable in Spanish. (Recently there was a three month back-log just to take the theoretical exam).
Preparing to get the license
Firstly you will need to following documents:
- Passport
- Cédula
- Foreign, non-expired driver’s license
The first step is to get two photocopies–front and back–of the license and cédula. Also you will need two photocopies of the picture page of your passport and the page with your most recent entry stamp.
With those documents ready, you also will need to get a physical exam. Although you probably have health insurance through the Caja as a requirement for residency, they will not do this exam for you. This has to be done at a private clinic. You can even do this right outside the offices of COSEVI at several doctors offices that offer a “Dictamen médico” for your license if you want to put it off to the last minute, but most clinics anywhere in the country will offer the service for around $35. Don’t be surprised if they don’t actually examine you, the important part is that they give you a paper with the number of the exam. It is valid for six months, so you can get it well ahead of time.
Now with the photocopies and proof of medical exam in hand you have to go to the offices of COSEVI in La Uruca, San José or any of the regional branches. Unfortunately if you live far from San José, it is your only option for validating a foreign license is to go there (however down the line renewals can be done in the local branch offices). Update February 2017: One newspaper has reported that as of 2017 this can now be done in any of the offices of COSEVI throughout the country. As of February 2017 COSEVI’s website does not reflect that information, but it appears to be valid. Now for a very important detail: your permission to drive expires three months after entering the country; however, you cannot get the license until you’ve been in the country for at least three months and a day.
If you’ve been here long enough to have residency, you’re well away of how much sense the laws make at times. You have to wait until you no longer have permission to drive in the country to drive to San José to get a Costa Rican License.
Getting your Costa Rican License
You’ll want to get there early as they only will process the applications for individuals that arrive between 8-12 PM on Tuesdays and Wednesdays [updated for new schedule in 2017]. I managed to get there at 8:30 AM and finished at 11:58 AM. When you arrive to COSEVI you can tell the guard what you’re there for and they will give you directions to the part of the complex where you need to go to. It’s about the farthest section from the main entrance.
Once you get to the license services building, another guard will check to make sure you have all the right paperwork, and then they will send you to sit in an L shaped row of chairs against the far wall. As you sit there they will gradually call people up in small groups to the upper level. That is where the process starts.
Like any bureaucratic process–especially here–the process is needlessly redundant. First one lady will look at all your documents and staple together the photo copies into two packets (they’ll have you put your address and sign both of them). You will then sit back down and wait to go to the next office where they will again look over your documents and stamp them (and ask you to put your email and phone number). From there you…wait for it…wait in line again for a third person to look at the documents! This third person will ask a few personal details to put in the database. From there you will have to walk back to the entrance to the compound where there are two “Cajeros” where you have to pay for the license (as of April 2016 it costs 5,000 colones–1,000 of which is a service fee). You then need to bring back the receipt and wait in line again to have your picture taken. Finally after hours of queuing they then print your license on the spot and you’re finally good to go!
A few important notes. One is that they will give you a license of the same class as your foreign license. My understanding is that in order to receive a commercial license you have to prove that you’ve had that qualification in the country of origin for the license for at least three years. Another is that if your license was solicited when you were under 21 and thus have a red line on the license saying “under 21 until [date]” and you are now older than 21–even though the license is still valid–they will require that you solicit a new license and not validate that license.
Hi Tyler:::: You are right!!!! without any exaggeration.. I got my License a year ago and it took 4 hrs.
Reason: I just carry ONE last name ( paternal).
ITS A CHAOS….ITS A JUNGLE … with lots SOME PATIENCE!!!
You have to have your residency first correct?
Yes
Hi Tyler – Thank you for posting this information. We just received our residency and now look forward to getting our DL. However, we don’t speak Spanish. How much of a problem will it be for us going through the process without a Spanish speaking guide?
It’s not too complicated and I imagine they have basic English skills.
How long ahead of time, can your physical exam be done?
It’s valid for 6 months.
I was sick for a month in the hospital and during that period my NV license ran out. I speak no Spanish. What is my next plan of action? Go back to NV and renew the license there and come back to tradecut in for a CR license?
I am a residente.
You’re going to have to go to NV and get it renewed.
To John and Tyler, I also don’t have a US license. Is it possible to take the written and driving exam to get a CR license?
IF you are a legal resident yes you can go through the license process here (but the written test is only in Spanish, they don’t have an English version).
Thanks Tyler, I went today and they said I could return and take the written. I would like to study. first. I went on the website for COSEVI and can’t find the study guide for the written. Does anyone know where to find it?
Sorry, I only have experience with the validation process, not the actual testing process.
Hi Vanessa. Maybe you have already figured it out, but here is the link to the education process.
http://www.educacionvial.go.cr/Paginas/default.aspx
Thanks for the info Tyler.
So this whole process can be completed in a single day with the Costa Rican drivers license printed and in your hands? Or is it just the application process that takes a day? I know that in other countries it can take up to three months as they have to check up details etc and validate that it’s real. How do they do it so quick?
Another question I have is if I can take my children with me (2 year old and 4 month old), or do they strictly only allow you by yourself?
Thanks!
Zill
Yep all in one day. From the time I got to the building to license in hand was less than 4 hours. I’m not sure about children, I didn’t see any when I was there, but I didn’t see any rules.
Hi Tyler!
I received my residency 2 months ago. How long do I have time to get the DL? Is there a time limit within which I have to do the process?
Thanks!
You just have to have been in the country for 3 months then you can go get it. I know someone that got residency, but because of a few trips to Panamá and the US couldn’t get their license for a year. You just have to physically be in the country for three months (regardless of how long ago you got your residency) to get it. If you got your residency 2 months ago, but haven’t left the country you can go now.
Have you been able to verify that you can now apply for initial drivers license at ANY Cosevi office? Thx forvthe info
I have not been able to do it personally yet no.
Regarding can you apply for an initial license at any office, yes you can. On Monday, March 20, 2017 at the La Uruca office, my son was given the Cosevi brochure of where the offices are and their phone numbers. He was told that he could get a new license at any one of those offices. He would have to call to get directions (or just look on-line). Foreigners are given new licenses only on Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s 7:00am – 11:00am at any office. Here are the offices listed on the brochure: La Uruca 2522-0856/2522-0857; Alajuela 2441-5448; San Ramón 2445-5937; Puntarenas 2663-7856; Rio Claro 2789-7016; Limón 2797-1183; Guápiles 2710-4268; Pérez Zeledón 2771-5571; Liberia 2665-5203; Nicoya 2685-7256; San Carlos 2460-2450; Cartago 2553-3329. Also Heredia (which was not on the list) 2260-0251/2260-0867. (We went to both the La Uruca and Alajuela offices and you can get a new one there.)
Hey Tyler, just realized this is your post. Okay, just to make something very clear. If you have a driver’s license from the United States that is an under age license (16-20 yrs old), Cosevi WILL NOT give you a reciprocal license. I found this out the hard way today. My son is 19 yrs old and has a valid Texas Driver’s License for someone under 21. The Cosevi employee said that they realize that in the United States you can get a driver’s license at the age of 16, and that the restriction is only for legal drinking age purposes in the United States, they do not have a category (class) for that in Costa Rica. It is an “under age” driver’s license and they do not have anything like that here. He would have to wait until he is 21 and get a license without the “under age” drinking restriction or take the written and driving test here in Costa Rica to get a valid driver’s license here before the age of 21. What a bummer! This changed recently because my daughter got her Costa Rica driver’s license 3 years ago when she was 19 with a Texas “under age” driver’s license. So long story short, you have to have a valid license from the U.S. 21 years or older. And as other post have noted, the picture has be in the right direction (horizontal) or no indication that it is for under age drinking purposes (such as a red line, etc.) So you might want to put this requirement at the top of your blog so that it is read first along with the other info you have listed for Preparing to get your license (Age Restriction). Just a suggestion.
Hi Karen!
Thanks for the heads up. I had a similar issue when I got mine. It had the red line saying under 21 until even though I was 23 at the time (license just expired last month). I had to report my license as lost/stolen to PA because they wouldn’t just issue a horizontal one. They told me at the time it was just because of the red line being a date in the past. My understanding at the time was it was more an issue of being in the past since technically when one is 18 it’s not longer a junior license (at least in PA). Maybe try doing it at one of the regional offices just to make sure, but I will definitely add a note to the article either way.
Thanks Tyler. We went to La Uruca first on Monday, then the Alajuela office today. At least at the Alajuela Office we got a much nicer and clear reason. He can not get one because he has an under age drinking license from the states and Costa Rica does not have that category. You can only get a license of the same category that you have from your home country. At the La Uruca office, they claim he could not get one because he had only a permit, and I quote “the US gives permits for anything, he does not have a real license.” The Alajuela office gave a better explanation. They also recognized he did in fact have a valid driver’s license for the states. Costa Rica just doesn’t have the need for that type of category here. You can drink at 18. : )
Thanks Karen for the updated info on getting a driver’s license. My wife and I live in the Guanacaste region and just cancelled our hotel room near San Jose when we learned we can get our first driver’s license in Liberia!! Do we pay the license fee at the Cosevi office or the bank and provide a receipt? Thanks Tyler for a great blog.
Nice info.
Does anyone know if they check your license number on an online database? The reason I ask is because I have had some penalty points deducted that are not printed on my card but may show up on a search. Could this be a problem and does anyone know if I can take my baby with me? Thanks
Not positive, but shouldn’t be an issue. They only check the validity, unless you had enough points to have your license suspended it shouldn’t be a problem.
My concern regarding “under 21” – I have European license, but without this red line although I got my license when I was 20, still valid. Applies as well? Thanks!
I’m not a legal expert, just was sharing my experience so I’m not sure. If you could share yours it would probably be helpful to others.
Tyler, do you know if I need to bring a copy of my Caja payments to get my license? I was told this was required.
When I went through the process it was not required.
My wife’s Georgia drivers license expired a year ago. We don’t own a car, so she didn’t want to get a CR license when I got mine. Now we feel she should have a CR license, but her US license has expired. Can she still get a CR license, or does she have to take the tests again, which I believe are all in Spanish which she cannot do.?
Easiest thing to do will be to go back to GA and renew her license there. They will not validate an expired license.
Dear Norman, I am originally from Texas. There we can renew our driver’s license twice on line before having to actually go to the DMV office. I have done that once since I have been here in Costa Rica and had my sister-in-law just mail me my new license. Saved me the cost of a trip back to Texas. You should check to see if that can be done in GA. It may save you the cost of a trip back. COSEVI will not validate an expired drivers license.
Thanks for all the info. In Ga. to renew the license you have to show utilitiy bills along with your ID, to renew the license. We unfortunately only have a PO box as our legal address since moving here, so we cannot renew license by email. I have my CR license, and my wife doesn’t want to drive anymore, so we will not get her license here.
Question: i have my residency since 9 months but still have my european license- had no time yet to get the costa rican. I would like to start the application process now, does the “3 month rule” applies also in this case? I just entered the country again 2 months ago and will be out again in 1 month so i hope it doesn’t 🙂
Thanks!
After coming into Costa Rica, you can get your Costa Rican driver’s license only after you have been in the country for the full 90 days. Then the week after your 90th day, (within those first few days is best) you can get your Costa Rican driver’s license. Cosevi will not give it to you before the 90 days are up.
Unfortunately you have to be IN the country for 91 days. I have read from others that if you’re a few days off they sometimes look the other way, but no guarantee.
Hola, we already have our CR Drivers license but need to renew. What is the process and can we do it at Puntarenas as it seems the closest to us here in Orotina area. I understand you must go to BNCR/BCR and pay “entero” first for 10000 col, then get medical.
What other docs? I assume copy of cedula and current CR License.
Gracias
I’ve not gone through the renewal process so I’m not really sure, sorry.
We have done the renewal and all you need is your current Costa Rican driver’s license, the medical (around 20,000 colones usually) and then pay at the bank. I don’t think that is 10,000 colones, I think it was only around 8,000. But I may be wrong. You may have to show your cedula also. Hope this helps.
Hi Karen, do you know if a Costa Rica drivers license can be renewed if I don’t have the old license AND if it has expired around 7 years ago?
I am a Costa Rica resident and have maintained permanent status while living outside of Costa Rica for the past seven years. I am now back in Costa Rica travelling back to California every two months for work.
Thanks.
Update: I found my old CR driver’s license which expired in 2011.
The license must be current.
UPDATE: So we went to Puntarenas last week with out expired licenses and copies of all documents.
We passed the Dictamen Medico and walked over to Cosevi. Fortunately we were issued new driver’s licenses. They even updated the license using our cedulas.
Success!
Do you need the actual cédula or is the paperwork that all residency information has been submitted enough?
Actual cédula. I ended up having to do a border run to renew my permission to drive while I waited for my cédula.
Hello Tyler, this information was very useful. I arrived at CR a week ago and applied for my residency. While waiting for the Cedula I started to find information on driving licence. I lost my Indian driving licence in Ecuador. I cannot get a new one until I visit India. However, I can access my licence information online. Will it be ok if I print this information and submit along with my Cedula and passport? I also have scanned my old licence. Will a print of that be enough or do they ask for a original to be displayed?
I’m not an expert on this, but from my limited experience they seemed to be very strict with what they expect. I’m fairly certain they would not accept that.
Hello Tyler, My wife and I will be receiving our permanent residency cedillas next month. At this point in our lives, we come down to CR often but we never stay as long as 90 days at any one time. Maybe some Day. So, can we just rent cars and drive on our U.S. license or, because we have residency, do we need to get the Costa Rican license. If we need to get the Costa Rican license, how do we qualify to do that if we are not in the country 90 days?
Thank you very much.
As long as you carry your passport with you you should be fine to use your foreign license from what I understand.
Dear Gary,
You can only get your Costa Rican drivers license after you have cedula AND after you have been in the country for 90 days. COSEVI will not give you a reciprocal license until you have been in the country for 91 days or more. (Actually 91 to 97 days. If you wait any longer after the 90 days, they most likely will tell you to wait until you leave the country again and come back within a week of the 90 day return. Crazy, but that’s what will happen. It happened to my daughter. She waited 2 weeks after we had been back into Costa Rica and COSEVI would no give her a reciprocal license even though we are permanent residents.)
You can drive in Costa Rica and rent a car with your current drivers license from your country. As long as you have a valid driver’s license and your valid passport with an entry stamp within 90 days of your being in Costa Rica. You can drive on your foreign driver’s license for up to 90 days with a valid passport.
Also just to mention, if you have an under age drinking driver’s license from the states, you cannot get a reciprocal driver’s license in Costa Rica. COSEVI does not have that category because the drinking age is 18. Their policy is to give foreigners with temporary or permanent residency a RECIPROCAL license from their country as long as COSEVI has that category for Costa Ricans.
Wow! Thank you so very much. This is the best explanation that I have ever seen on this topic. This is different from their neighbor to the south, Panama. Once you have the permanent residency in Panama with the Cedula, you have to obtain their driver’s license to drive on their roads.
Does anyone know whether they actually confiscate your valid US license when they issue a Costa Rican drivers license?
They do not confiscate it or do anything other than keep a photocopy.
Regarding the following question: Does anyone know whether they actually confiscate your valid US license when they issue a Costa Rican drivers license?
Answer: NO, COSEVI does not take your drivers license from your other country. No matter where that country is. You keep your drivers license from your country.
OK. So we are applying for our residency visas, but my understand is that the process can take a year. We can’t get a driver’s license until we have our cedula. However, it sounds like we are only allowed to drive for 90 days on our Georgia licenses. How does that work?
You have to leave the country every 90 days until you get residency if you want to continue to drive.
I was afraid of that…
That is exactly right Janet. You can only drive on your Georgia drivers license for 90 days, then you need to leave the country. Even though you have filed for Temporary Residency, and have a file number, you can not get a valid Costa Rican Drivers License unless you have your cedula. Getting your cedula can take anywhere from 6 months to a year and a half. Ours took 13 months. In the mean time, you have to get a 90 day visa stamp for your “drivers license”. : )
Thanks, Karen!
You are correct. While you may have a visa filing receipt that allows you to stay in Costa Rica pending approval of your residency, you may only drive on a foreign drivers license with a tourist visa, which expires after 90 days. Therefore you must leave the country and re-enter to renew your visitors visa to be able to drive on your foreign license.
BTW, I applied for my Pensionado Visa over two years ago. Still waiting.
Thank you. This site is very helpful.
The waiting period for a DL is not more than 90 days, but rather more than 3 months. I am not trying to be picky here. Sometimes 3 months is 90 days, sometimes as many as 92 or short as 89. It depends on the 3 particular months involved.
The 3 month language is in Ley 9078, Article 91, paragraph b. It says:
“b) Los conductores acreditados con licencia de conducir en el extranjero, con
permanencia ininterrumpida en el país superior a tres meses, podrán conducir siempre
que obtengan la licencia de conducir costarricense, previo cumplimiento de los
siguientes requisitos: ….”
The same law says that the 3 month period must be uninterrupted, in other words, a continuous stay in CR as an official resident of more than 3 months.
April 2018 Update: They are open Tuesday and Wednesday from 7 am to 11 am only. Arrive early. I arrived at 6:40 and there were probably 60 people in front of me in line. After waiting for over 3 hours they checked my documents and told me that I needed my license translated to Spanish. This is a new rule as of 15 days ago, so the document of requirements I received from Cosevi was outdated and said I didn’t need it translated. So make sure you have a Spanish translation along with all the other documents before you go!
Great update. Thanks!
Thanks so much Kassandra for sharing this update! It will save me a lot of aggravation. Much appreciated.
I just have two questions. What is the legal age of driving in costa rica, and what kind of license do I need to drive a ATV? Thank you
18; if you are a foreigner just your home countries drivers license.
I only have a photo copy of my US drivers license… would it be possible to get a license with that??
No.
No that will not work. You’ll need to report it lost if you can’t find the original and get it replaced. This is usually an online process in Canada. But the new license goes to the address on the license. Or you can do a change of address to a friend or family member and get them to forward it to you.