RICO’s Q – Good news for non-residents (visitors) who can now drive in Costa Rica with their foreign driver’s license for their legal period of stay in the country.
Let me explain. North Americans (Canadians and Americans) and Europeans, among others for example now have up to six months of legal stay as a visitor (tourist) Those on a special permit (work visa) or are in the process of obtaining residency, can now drive for as long as their stay is valid, without having to do a periodic “visa run” to continue their driving privileges with their foreign license.
Another change is the elimination of the ¢20.000 colones (¢25,000 with all added costs) fine for the driver behind the wheel without having their driver’s license on them. This also applies to foreigners with a Costa Rican driver’s license.
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The change also affects owners of vehicles who, let’s say lends their vehicle to a driver who is not in physical possession of their license at the time stopped by a traffic official.
The reason behind this change is that a traffic official can now make a call to the central registry to verify that the driver has a valid license, that is it has not expired or been revoked for reasons such as accumulating points.
“It is a simple change to the law, but it means an important change for drivers. In some places it has been misinterpreted that this means that you do not have to have the requirements for the license or have it valid, that is not the case, it simply means that you do not have to carry it, as long as it is proven that it is up to date,” said legislator Carolina Delgado, promoter of the law.
Delgado added that this modification in no way forces the development of the digital license, but it does force the development of an updated and easily accessible registry to verify that drivers have a license.
“The digital license is a decision that can be taken, but not an obligation based on this law,” she added.
The bill obtained second and final approval on Monday, October 21, 2024, with the approval of a majority (44) legislators and is expected to be in force in the coming days following the signature of the President of Costa Rica and published in the official newsletter, La Gaceta.
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