Ola Uruguay Real Estate and Investments

Getting a driver’s license in Uruguay is a simple couple of steps if you already have a driver’s license from another country…but you do have to know the dance.

To begin with, the work you will be doing is called a “homologacion” which sounds like a terrible dental procedure but it is not so bad. You hardly get close to a health professional. The cost is 788 pesos or about $40, and depending on your luck, your new Uruguayan license could last for two, five, or 10 years.

First, you must go to an accredited health center for a medical exam. I went to SEM on Blvd. Artigas where a kind doctor had me fill in a form about my health, take an eye test with my glasses on, and then, well, nothing. The cost was about $25.

Then, I went to the immigration office on Missiones where I paid a small fee of about $6 for a certificate that documented my last entry into the country. Apparently, if you have the stamp in your passport, you could use that but I have been traveling in and out of the country on my cedula for a while and I needed the certificate to prove this, along with my passport.

Finally, I loaded up my new documents with my current driver’s license and headed to the Intendencia of Montevideo (City Hall). I made my way to the back and climbed one flight of stairs to the Transport Department. Here is where the fun starts.

On the particular day I went to get my driver’s license, it seemed that most Montevideanos thought they should go also. I encountered long line-ups and spent about three and a half hours on the process. A friend of mine went for the same thing on another day and emerged after a painless hour and a half. When I enquired about this, the civil servant only replied that there is no set pattern. “Sometimes it is busy and sometimes there is hardly anyone here.” When I tried to prod him further, he clarified by saying that when there were more people processing their driver’s license, it was a lot busier. Thanks.

So, at the entrance to the area, there will be a line up for the clerk on the right hand side, and on the left, a kindly woman who gives information and numbers. First, line up for the cashier who checks your documentation, decides on the cost of your transaction, and, in my case, sent me to the state physician who hummed and hawed before deciding on the length of time I would receive my new license. With luck, this will not happen to you.

Then, I was made wander through a maze of hallways and stairs to the cashier’s office where I took a number and waited again.

With my form successfully stamped and my wallet 788 pesos thinner, I descended again and lined up for a visit with the information lady to the left at the entrance to the original office. She gave me another number. This time, for a photo.

So, when my picture was taken, I thought the process would end there but I moved to another area to wait for pick up of my license. Total time? Three hours, but I enjoyed a picnic lunch in the waiting room, read a few chapters of my book, caught up on phonecalls, and did a fine lot of people watching. Not the worst way to spend and afternoon.