Tag Archives: driving in Mexico

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 get 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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November 30, 2020 · 7:37 am

New 2020 License Plates in Guanajuato

In October, I found out that the state of Guanajuato was issuing new license plates and that I needed to sign up post-haste to get mine. I had just picked up my moto license plate in January when there was the whole fiasco of the driver’s license having the letter “A” and all. Anyway, due to COVID, the procedure was going to be different. 

So I went to the special website (https://placas2020.guanajuato.gob.mx/) for more information. Amazingly enough, the new plates are free until December 31. Appointments were made beginning in September. Fortunately, my license plate ends with the number 4, so I could schedule an appointment for October. 

In order to complete the transaction:

  • The vehicle must be registered to the person who will pick up the new license plates.
  • The owner must have a photo ID (INE or driver’s license).
  • The owner must present a comprobante de domicilio (proof of address) no more than 4 months old. 
  • The owner must have a CURP (Clave Única de Registro de Población)
  • The vehicle must be current in its payments to the government without any outstanding fines. 
  • The vehicle must not have been reported stolen in the Registro Público Vehicular (REPUVE) system.
  • The current license plates (1 for motorcycles, 2 for cars and trucks) and the tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card) must be turned in.

If all of those are in order, then an appointment could be made online. 

To make an appointment, I had to set up an account with my email. Since my husband was going to need to go through this process too, I set him up one too. Unfortunately, I couldn’t use the same email for both, but since I have more than one email account, I finally got that done. 

Then I had to enter the CURP number and the system pulled up my name. I added in the address on my driver’s license (my sister-in-law’s address since we don’t have a street address in La Yacata). Then I had to add a phone number. Again, I couldn’t have the same number for both accounts, so I used my cell phone number and my son’s cell phone number. 

The next step was to take pictures of the comprobante de domicilio (proof of address) and photo ID. The comprobante was accepted just fine, but the IDs were “too blurry” or something and they were rejected. So I went and had all the IDs scanned at the ciber cafe, then uploaded them. With the newly scanned images, I could proceed to the next step. 

My husband’s procedure, however, was an at an impasse. Remember how I had to get the letter “A” off my license so the comprobante de domicilio and my license matched exactly? Well, when we did all the license and vehicle renewal in January, my husband decided to NOT change the addresses on his IDs. And now that decision had come back to haunt him. His IFE, truck driver’s license and motorcycle driver’s license have 3 different addresses, none of which we can get a comprobante de domicilio for. So until one of his identifications matched the comprobante, he couldn’t make his appointment. 

But back to me…I made the appointment at 8:10 in the morning and we arrived shortly before 8. A woman came out and called the names of the appointments for 8:00 to 8:15. My temperature was checked, I showed my tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card) and sat socially distanced with a mask on in the waiting area.

When it was my turn, I handed my ID and comprobante to the woman. She then asked for my residency card (which I always carry with me for such eventualities). I handed that over too. Next I signed a waiver allowing them to keep my information on file. I then had my fingerprints taken. Both thumbs were pressed into this little digital reader thing. I foresee this being a problem for my husband. His fingers are so calloused from work that those reader things can’t detect the lines on his fingers. 

Next, I had to digitally sign my name for the new tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card). Finally, I had to REMOVE my mask and glasses for a picture. I assume the picture is in the file somewhere because it’s not on the new license plate or the tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card). Well, me and helmet hair grimaced into the camera. My eyes are probably closed too. Que sera, sera. 

Then I was directed with my completed paperwork to Caja 4. The masked man behind the counter gave me a new license plate and tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card). The tarjeta de circulación (permission to circulate card) is more durable plastic than the previous versions, but’s that’s really the only difference. I was finished and could leave with the goods. 

And then there was the little matter of my husband’s documents….

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December 11, 2019 · 7:43 am

Road Worthy At Last

With my updated license in hand along with the original title with a new line ceeding the rights to the motorcycle in question to me with my correct legal name, we headed to the Oficina Recaudadora. We didn’t have to wait too long before we were in front of the same girl who said nothing could be done with our previous stack of documentation the last time.

There was some shuffling of papers while I gave her my updated license, the old license plate, the CFE bill, the old permission to circulate card, and the motorcycle title. Fortunately, this girl wasn’t offended when I waved papers triumphantly as I found them. She had me write “CANCELADO” over the incorrect endorsement on the back of the title and everything was hunkey dory.

She entered some information and let me know that the motorcycle owed $631 pesos from prior years that I would have to pay (la baja). Then there was the current value of the motorcycle which would determine how much I would have to pay to get a new permission to circulate card (la alta). She had to request that information from the powers that be, I’m assuming in Guanajuato, so while we waited for that response, she did the rest of the paperwork. 

I watched as she pulled up the address on the CFE bill on Google maps. She asked me to confirm the address. Yes, it was my sister-in-law’s house. Since the picture was taken in 2015, you can clearly see the two meters that caused the issue with the #1A and #1 problem. Currently, there is only one electric meter, the second one having been removed some time ago.

Anyway, she printed out the picture from Google maps to include in my file and told us to take a seat. We waited awhile. Finally, she called me back up and said she had the response about the value of the motorcycle. She asked whether I was going to pay with a debit card or cash. Since my debit card is from a US bank and gets flagged everytime I use it for a transaction besides an ATM withdrawal in Mexico, cash it would be.

She gave us a paper to take down the block to where the Italika motorcycles were sold. There’s a Banco Azteca desk there. So we went and paid $1,131 pesos for la baja and la alta and came back.  After another wait, the girl gave me my new license plate and new permission to circulate card. My moto is road worthy at last! Yippee!

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