Tag Archives: driver’s license in Guanajuato

December 7, 2020 · 6:03 am

Identification Documents Updates 2020

So my husband’s process for getting the new license plates for 2020 in Guanajuato was a lot more complicated than mine was, but really, it was partially his fault.

If you remember, he opted not to change the addresses on his two driver’s licenses in January when I went to ge t mine for whatever reason. So when I tried to make an appointment for him to get his new license plates for the truck and his motorcycle, I couldn’t since the addresses on the driver’s licenses did not make the comprobante de domicilio (proof of residence).

Since we are in a pandemic, our little town has opted to make everything by appointment only. That appointment must be made online, which I can foresee being extremely difficult for older folks. It was complicated for me and I consider myself somewhat computer savvy. Anyway, the license issuing office was no exception. An online appointment must be made.

I submitted his scanned documents at the new site Licencias de Conducir (https://transporte.guanajuato.gob.mx/index.php/licencias_conducir) and they were rejected because the two transactions (getting a motorcycle and getting a truck license) had to be submitted separately.

I submitted them again, and they were rejected because they needed to have proof that they weren’t stolen, which they weren’t. It seems the category duplicado de licencia de conducir (duplicate license) was both for changes of addresses and stolen licenses. When licenses are stolen, then you have to submit a form Constancia de No Infracciones from Seguridad Pública Tránsito y Transportes office. Anyway, they weren’t stolen so that didn’t apply.

So I sent the documents again, this time including the comprobante de domicilio (proof of address) to show that the addresses were different AND it was rejected again, this time because the licenses were too blurry.

I took the licenses to another scanning place in town and had them rescanned. Then tried to resubmit the information, but the site was down. So after two weeks of effort, the documents were accepted and I made the appointments.

Well, I thought I had made 2, one after the other, but with the site being glitchy, it turns out I only managed one. Fortunately, the guy working the counter the day my husband went in was in a good mood and did both licenses, with the same photo. It helped that I had all the pertinent documents (comprobante and proof of payment) and copies, including copies of the licenses to be replaced, in a folder for my husband to just hand over. The proof of payments involved downloading and printing a document and taking it to OXXO to pay then attaching the OXXO receipt to the document. There’s also the option to pay online with a debit or credit card, but that never works out well for me. So off to the market to pay the bill.

Each reissued license was 206 pesos plus the OXXO 12 peso fee, but as he couldn’t proceed without them, so be it.

The next document change was the IFE card. I was able to set up an appointment for him online the same day and just 40 minutes after my son’s appointment to pick up his ID (which didn’t actually happen that day). He needed a comprobante and his old IFE to renew and there’s no fee for the IFE. He needs to call in a few weeks to see if the card is ready and then make another appointment to pick it up. Maybe by then my son’s card will be ready too. But you know, the holidays are coming, so this might not happen until next year.

While he waited for that to be finished, I made an appointment for him to get his new Guanajuato plates for the truck and his motorcycle online. I stressed the importance of taking the electricity bill rather than the water bill because the address must match exactly what is on his now reissued licenses. For whatever reason, the electric bill has Colonia El Jinete and the water bill has Colonia Curumbatio even though they are for the same residence. He went to the appointment with, Identificación Oficial Vigente con Fotografía (photo ID in the form of a driver’s license issued in Guanajuato), Comprobante de Domicilio (proof of residence, in this case, his sister’s electric bill), Placa Delantera (front license plate from the truck), Placas Traseras (back license plates from the truck and motorcycle) and two Tarjetas de Circulación (Permit to circulate cards) BUT he forgot his mask, so he had to run and buy another one before being admitted.

I waited at home and was pleased to receive two emails confirming the transactions had been completed successfully from Secretaría de Finanzas, Inversión y Administración (SFIA). Finally! I’m not sure if we need to repeat the procedure in January or not, but at least it’s done for now.

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Filed under Driving Hazards, Getting Legal

Tagged as covid-19, driver's license in Guanajuato, driving in Mexico, driving issues, how to renew your driver's license in guanajuato, identification documents in Mexico, online procedures for documentation in Mexico

December 6, 2019 · 7:28 am

License Address Change

Since CFE made that momentous change from #1A to #1, and the most recent bill had the number without the letter, my newly renewed motorcycle driver’s license had to be changed to match.

So we went back to the Oficina Reginal de Movilidad de Moroleon and talked to the only guy working that morning. He asked for a copy of the new CFE receipt and that was it. We went around the block for the copy and came back. By that time, the sole employee was nearly overrun with people and we had a bit of a wait.

Finally, he called me over and gave me the paper to go and pay for the new license. We headed to Farmacias Guadalajara and paid $196 pesos for a change of address transaction. Then we waited some more.

Eventually, it was my turn. Reinforcements had arrived and a lady was manning the license issuing computer. When I approached the desk, she wanted to see my IFE. I said I didn’t have an IFE. She said she wanted my migratory documentation then. OK. I pulled out my permanent residency card. She said she needed a copy of it.

I tried twice to explain that I was here for a license address change, but she wouldn’t even let me finish my sentences. Remembering that I had my folder with all my medical papers with me, I started going through those, certain I had a copy of my permanent residency card in there. A few seconds later I was waving the copy around in triumphant.

Apparently the lady behind the desk didn’t share in my triumph and all that paper shuffling offended her. She said that there was no reason for me to be angry with her, scolding me as if I were a misbehaving child. I looked at my husband in confusion as she continued on her tirade about how I needed to be in the country legally and blah blah. My husband said that I wasn’t irritated. I repeated that I wasn’t irritated only I didn’t understand why I needed to show this documentation when I was just getting the address changed. I renewed my license less than a month ago.

So she looked at my application. She called the other guy over. He patted her shoulder and said he forgot to tell her it was a change of address request. Then, she asked me if I was changing the address from #1A to #1. I said yes. She asked again, like she couldn’t believe it. Yes, that was the address change. I didn’t elaborate. I didn’t want to rile her up anymore.

After doing some typing and fiddling on the computer, she turned to my husband and asked if he was with me. He was. She gave him my previous license and told him to go and make a copy of it so she could put it in the file. So he did. I waited.

When he came back, she didn’t seem inclined to take the paper from my hand. So the other guy came from the other end of the office, took the copy and placed it with my pile of documents at her desk. Eventually, she came to the counter with my new license which I took, thanked her, and left. Whew!

Next stop, back to the Oficina Recaudadora for another attempt at registering my moto.

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Filed under Driving Hazards

Tagged as driver's license in Guanajuato, Driving hazards in Mexico, driving in Mexico

November 23, 2019 · 6:33 am

Not Quite On the Road Again

The next step in getting on the road again with my new to me moto was to get the title transferred to my name and a license plate. To do so, we went to the Oficina Recaudadora, which my husband calls Rentas for some reason.

Nothing is ever as easy as it may sound in Mexico and this was no exception. First off, I noticed before we even got to the office that my name was wrong on the back of the original documentation for the motorcycle. That really annoyed me since I’ve been married to my husband for nearly twenty years and you’d think he’d know my name by now.

Instead of asking me for my ID, he used a property certificate from La Yacata, for the old owner to copy from. As I’m still nominally the treasurer of La Yacata, the certificate has my name, but it’s in the Mexican style, maiden name de Flores (married name). So that’s what the guy copied.

My driver’s license has my official legal name here in Mexico, which lists my first name, my middle name and my married name because that’s how my US passport is. So my husband tried to squeeze my middle name in after my first name and discreetly cross off the extra last name. I TOLD him they wouldn’t take the document like that and they didn’t. The previous owner will need to ceder a los derechos (transfer ownership) again on the back of the form in order for it to be valid.

In addition to that issue, there was a problem with my newly renewed driver’s license. Since the address we used, which is my sister-in-law’s, hadn’t changed, I didn’t have them change the address on the renewal. Why would I? It’s the same house.

But when I turned over the comprobante de domicilio (proof of residency) in the form of the most recent electric bill, that address was different than my license. It seems that when CFE redid their billing system, they dropped the letter A after the house number 1 (1A) on the bill because there was only one meter at that address. My driver’s license has 1A because that’s how the old electric system bill listed it. Since the most recent bill and the driver’s license didn’t match, even though I explained that it’s the SAME HOUSE, I’ll need to get a new driver’s license before I try to register the moto in my name.