Facundo
08-23-07, 20:07
The laws / regulations for foreigners acquiring an argentinian driver's license have changed. Foreigners can now get a driver's license without the dreaded DNI. Last week I took a chance and I decided to tackle the process of getting my driver's license.
Here is the process:
Go to Avenida Colonel Roca 5200, Lugano, with your passport with the current visa stamp and a certificado de domicilio which you can get from your local police station for a fee of $10 pesos. Lugano is located about 35 minutes from the center of the city. A cab ride will cost about 32 pesos or you can take Subte A from Catedral to Virrey, which is the last stop, then take the tram that will take you to the front of the Registry of motor vechiles. The subte and tram will cost you $1.45 pesos.
Once you enter the Registry, walk past the crowds, go directly to the back of the building and go up to the second floor. There some very nice people will look at your passport and certificado de domicilio and walk you through the process.
The process is interesting. They will send you back downstairs to door number one and there they will take your photo, then on to door number two for a hearing test, door three is the eye exam, four is a psychological exam, five is a physical exam. Once you pass the various exams you must register for a six hour class. This is the only requirement, because you have to take a written exam which consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Although I could have taken the free class at the registry, I decided to pay $99 pesos and take the class on a Saturday afternoon at one of the aproved sites. Here is a list of the approved sites. I used the school at Cabildo 3300. Make sure they give you the certificate stating you took the class:
http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/obr_publicas/lic_conducir/academias.php?menu_id=15595
After this class I reviewed the questions on the buenos aires gov site. There are about 450 questions and it appears they pick the 30 questions from this data base. On this site they do not tell you which of the three possible answers is the correct one. Here is the site:
http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/obr_publicas/lic_conducir/preguntas_b.pdf
The actual test is computer based. Very easy if one studies for a few hours. They give you 45 minutes to respond to the 30 multiple choice questions. It took me 10 minutes to take the exam and I was told I answered all the questions correctly. To pass the test one needs to get no more than 9 questions wrong. Within five minutes of taking the test they handed me my argentinian driver's license. By the way the cost of the license is $12.50 pesos.
If you decide to get your license I would recommend you take the six hour class, study the questions on the gov site before you go to the registry, this way you can take the exam the same day you do the paperwork. The registry is open from 8:AM to 7:PM. Although the process seems cumbersome, I found the process to be relatively easy and the people at the registry to be very helpful. One more thing, don't do this unless you can read spanish. However, they did tell me before I sat down to take the exam, if I didn't understand some of the words I could ask for help.
Suerte
Here is the process:
Go to Avenida Colonel Roca 5200, Lugano, with your passport with the current visa stamp and a certificado de domicilio which you can get from your local police station for a fee of $10 pesos. Lugano is located about 35 minutes from the center of the city. A cab ride will cost about 32 pesos or you can take Subte A from Catedral to Virrey, which is the last stop, then take the tram that will take you to the front of the Registry of motor vechiles. The subte and tram will cost you $1.45 pesos.
Once you enter the Registry, walk past the crowds, go directly to the back of the building and go up to the second floor. There some very nice people will look at your passport and certificado de domicilio and walk you through the process.
The process is interesting. They will send you back downstairs to door number one and there they will take your photo, then on to door number two for a hearing test, door three is the eye exam, four is a psychological exam, five is a physical exam. Once you pass the various exams you must register for a six hour class. This is the only requirement, because you have to take a written exam which consists of 30 multiple choice questions. Although I could have taken the free class at the registry, I decided to pay $99 pesos and take the class on a Saturday afternoon at one of the aproved sites. Here is a list of the approved sites. I used the school at Cabildo 3300. Make sure they give you the certificate stating you took the class:
http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/obr_publicas/lic_conducir/academias.php?menu_id=15595
After this class I reviewed the questions on the buenos aires gov site. There are about 450 questions and it appears they pick the 30 questions from this data base. On this site they do not tell you which of the three possible answers is the correct one. Here is the site:
http://www.buenosaires.gov.ar/areas/obr_publicas/lic_conducir/preguntas_b.pdf
The actual test is computer based. Very easy if one studies for a few hours. They give you 45 minutes to respond to the 30 multiple choice questions. It took me 10 minutes to take the exam and I was told I answered all the questions correctly. To pass the test one needs to get no more than 9 questions wrong. Within five minutes of taking the test they handed me my argentinian driver's license. By the way the cost of the license is $12.50 pesos.
If you decide to get your license I would recommend you take the six hour class, study the questions on the gov site before you go to the registry, this way you can take the exam the same day you do the paperwork. The registry is open from 8:AM to 7:PM. Although the process seems cumbersome, I found the process to be relatively easy and the people at the registry to be very helpful. One more thing, don't do this unless you can read spanish. However, they did tell me before I sat down to take the exam, if I didn't understand some of the words I could ask for help.
Suerte