Here's where to get your health certificate, Centro de Salud El Embalse

Here's where to get your health certificate, Centro de Salud El Embalse. Photo by Nancy Seeley.

It’s really not very difficult to get a Mexican driver’s license in Zihuatanejo if you have the right documentation. The word that best describes the process for those of us hailing from the U.S. and Canada is: puzzling. You don’t have to take a written test to prove you know the rules of the road. Not only that, you don’t have to take a practical test to show you know how to drive!

Certificate of Health

To start with, you need a Certificate of Health, and the only place authorized to provide one in Zihuatanejo is the Centro de Salud in Colonia Embalse, located at the corner of Calle La Palma and Avenida Paseo de la Boquita. That’s about four long blocks past Comercial on the same side of the street as you’re heading south out of town. Go between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. any day of the week (including Sunday!) and join the line which ends at a glass-fronted window straight inside the main entrance. This is a busy place, and virtually no one speaks English. So if you don’t speak Spanish, bring a Spanish speaking friend and be prepared to wait a while.Though the center does have a phone line (554-2088), it’s often out of service, so calling ahead of time to see if it’s not too crowded may not work.

It will cost you 50 pesos for the medical staff to type your blood, including your RH factor. If you already have valid proof of your blood type (a Red Cross blood donor card is good), bring that along, and you can skip the part where they prick you with a needle. The one-page Certificate of Health itself costs another 50 pesos and is generally issued after an employee takes your blood pressure and you answer a few basic questions resulting in the conclusion that you’re in good shape.

Next, assemble the paperwork you need to apply for your license. Foreigners must present the following four things:

1. A copy of the picture page in your passport

2. A copy of the picture page in your FM2 or FM3

3. A copy of a recent telephone or electric bill. Don’t worry if you’re a renter and the name on the bill isn’t yours. All they’re checking for is that the address on the bill matches what’s in your FM2 or FM3. You need to be at least 18 years old to apply.

4. Your certificate of health

Take these four items to the Transito office in the Police Station across from the athletic field near Bodega Aurrera. (More specifically, if you’re exiting Bodega, turn left, walk to the first intersection – it’s a major one with traffic lights – turn left again, and you can’t miss the complex 1-1/2 blocks further down across the street.) Since the station was reinforced a couple years ago, it looks like a white fortress with its high walls and gunner turrets. Once you get inside the compound, head for the furthest door on your left, conveniently marked Licencias. Inside you’ll find Petry Paredes Ramos and Inda Campos Vejar waiting to assist you between the hours of 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday through Friday or between 9 a.m. and noon on Saturday. If you speak Spanish and have any additional questions, the phone number here is 554-5360 ext. 102.

Years ago, both a vision test and a short exam to see if you recognized various traffic signs were given in the office, but those requirements seem to have fallen by the wayside. Petry or Inda will review your paperwork and take your picture with a digital camera. While you wait, they’ll produce your plasticized driver’s license. The whole process takes less than 20 minutes if everything’s in order and you don’t get stuck waiting for customers who got there ahead of you.

You have several choices regarding the type of license you can buy. Most people get the 5-year chofer license. It costs 511 pesos and entitles you to drive virtually anything short of a bus or long-haul trucker’s rig. A 3-year version costs 414 pesos. If you just want to drive a car – not a truck, not even a big Suburban – then you might want to save a few pesos and get an automovilista license, which costs 406 pesos for 5 years and 347 pesos for 3 years.

Neither of these two types authorizes you to operate a motorcycle. If you want a license for that purpose, you need the same paperwork and will have to fork over 232 pesos for a 5-year permit or 174 pesos for 3 years. Interestingly, you’re not required to get a Mexican driver’s license if you own a car sporting Mexican license plates. As long as you have a U.S. or Canadian license that is still valid, it works down here. Finally, even if have no desire to EVER sit behind the wheel of a car in Mexican traffic (count me as the charter member of this group), a driver’s license is a simple and relatively cheap form of photo identification. Personally, I hate to carry the original of my passport or FM3 with me unless I have to, and some places – banks, for example – don’t like copies. Your Mexican license could be just the ticket to prove you’re actually you.