By Laura Gutierrez of Immigration Help Costa Rica

On my phone consultation with MOPT, it was confirmed that the validity of foreign driver’s licenses has finally been extended to March 2, 2021. The official notice has not yet been posted on the MOPT site as of this writing, but it is official. For those of you whose validity would have expired today (November 18, 2020), you are free to drive legally up to March 2, 2021.

As a reminder to those who may not know, foreign driver’s licenses in Costa Rica are recognized and are required to drive legally here in Costa Rica. Before COVID impacted policies, they only remained valid for the duration of your visa stamp received at the time of your last entry into Costa Rica. For most of you reading this, that meant 90 days.

The Public Works Transport Ministry (MOPT) confirmed that foreigners that came into the country as tourists after December 17, 2019 and through November 30th 2020 have received an extension to use their foreign driver’s license to operate a vehicle through March 2, 2021.

While this current extension is a band-aid solution to an out of sync policy for those who must wait more than a year to get their submitted applications for Costa Rica residency, it does provide temporary relief until March 2.

Likewise, the grace period for obtaining a Costa Rican driver’s license extended to Expats with temporary and permanent residency in Costa Rica since March 2020 will also expire on January 11th , 2021. After that date, holders of temporary or permanent residency will no longer be able to drive with a foreign license.

The general policy still needs to be changed to a more common-sense rule that will keep foreign driver’s licenses valid for the entire time it takes the Department of Immigration to approve residency applications, to avoid the same onerous situation on March 3, 2021.

Those who wish to obtain a Costa Rican driver’s license can visit: https://servicios.educacionvial.go.cr/Formularios/SolicitarCitaTramite .

As long as the extensions are valid transit cops cannot give you a ticket as long as you fall under the conditions listed above

We hope to have good news in that regard by March or sooner.

For now, que up Willy Nelson’s On the Road Again.