Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, it is each state's responsibility to regulate driving in their respective jurisdiction, and therefore each state issues their own

driving licence A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...

. Drivers need to demonstrate residence in most states in order to acquire that state's licence, although some offer visitor licenses. All states recognise each other's licence.

Conditions

Mexican citizens and legal residents can only acquire a proper driving licence once they have turned 18, with the typical validity of a licence being 3 years. Minors that are 15 or older can get a driving permit with a validity ranging from 1–6 months (depending on the jurisdiction and type of permit acquired), to 1 year.

Licence Types

In Mexico, each state is responsible for establishing a letter-based classification system on the type of driver licence and the vehicles that the operator is permitted to drive, and the minimum driving age. For example, in Mexico City, the minimum age one can obtain a permit is 15 years, while a full licence without restrictions can be obtained at 18 years.

Minor Permit

For residents aged between 15 and 18 years old. Driving restrictions may apply, such as speed restrictions, a driving curfew, or special plates. It has a validity of 1 month, 6 months, 1 year or until the minor turns 18, depending on the state issuing the permit or the type of permit acquired. The holder can drive any vehicle intended for 'personal use', such as

motorbikes A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat. Motorcycle designs var ...

(any type), or cars whose weight does not exceed 3.5 tons.

Modernisation

Currently, most

state governments State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

are implementing modern licences with embedded

chips ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

. This is to avoid

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

(due to police officers having to scan the licence and input the driving offence into a special machine in order to justify the detention of someone), as well as facilitating the tracking of stolen vehicles, and providing greater security and protection from

forging Forging is a manufacturing process involving the shaping of metal using localized compression (physics), compressive forces. The blows are delivered with a hammer (often a power hammer) or a die (manufacturing), die. Forging is often classif ...

. Currently, the Federal District,

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

, and the Estado de Mexico have implemented a chip into their licences.

Testing

It is up to each individual state to determine the requirements for the acquisition of any of the aforementioned licences. For example, the

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

considers the driving licence as a method of regulating drivers instead of certifying them, and thus issues licences without any sort of

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

(drivers must sign a document declaring they can drive). On the other hand, the state of

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

issues a written test to every new driver.

References

External links

International Drivers License
{{North America topic, Driving licence in

Road transportation in Mexico Identity documents of Mexico