Automotive How to get your driver's license in CABA...

[Darksider415]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

 

[Larry]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

This is excellent. It sounds like it is easy to order your DMV records for the USA. It isn't this easy for other countries I would imagine. Very good advice. I have been living in Argentina for over a decade and never got my license here. Maybe I will try it now that I have a guide on how it will go.

But this being Argentina two people could do the same thing and have different outcome!

 

[Uncle Wong]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

Excellent summary! I was wondering about this. I am working on contacting a few immigration attorneys for getting my DNI. Rentista visa seems easy enough.

I assume @Darksider415 do you need to have a DNI to get a license there or can someone that doesn't have a DNI go through this process? I got my CDI already. Can I use this to start the process? I assume not from your instructions above.

No test questions on driving other than what is on that link? Test questions like speeds, etc. like the USA? What about the certified translation? Was that cheap? I got quoted some crazy prices for getting things certified there. Sounds like a scam. Do you have anyone good you can recommend?

 

[Betsy Ross]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

This is terrific! What a great explanation. I have never seen anything online that describes how to get it. It is a little embarrassing but since I don't drive in CABA at all even after living here 15 years I never got my Argentine license. I just drive in Argentina and rent rental cars so I haven't bothered to get my license here. I attempted it once many years ago but there was a lot more to it. It sounds like based on your experience it has gotten easier. Thank you for posting this!

@Darksider415 do you know if having an Argentine license will void any travel insurance that I have on my credit card by not using a USA license? I vaguely recall that my credit card company told me that if I moved to another country and not using my USA driver's license that I wouldn't be covered for the liability and rental car insurance. They said it's only on trips outside the USA not if I'm living there. I depend on this when renting a car as they cover everything. Would you know anything about that?

I have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card which I use to rent cars in Argentina. I have only rented a few times here to drive to other places but I don't drive here other than that. That insurance saves me a fortune vs. buying it. Do you know anything about that??

 

[Darksider415]

Excellent summary! I was wondering about this. I am working on contacting a few immigration attorneys for getting my DNI. Rentista visa seems easy enough.

I assume @Darksider415 do you need to have a DNI to get a license there or can someone that doesn't have a DNI go through this process? I got my CDI already. Can I use this to start the process? I assume not from your instructions above.

No test questions on driving other than what is on that link? Test questions like speeds, etc. like the USA? What about the certified translation? Was that cheap? I got quoted some crazy prices for getting things certified there. Sounds like a scam. Do you have anyone good you can recommend?

The question pool is somewhere around 300 questions, but they're all published online and the simulator I linked pulls from the same pool they use in CABA and Provincia.

As for the documentation, you need, at a minimum, a precaria and most likely a full DNI.

As for the translation, it ended up being around 190k pesos for my license + MVR

 

[earlyretirement]

The question pool is somewhere around 300 questions, but they're all published online and the simulator I linked pulls from the same pool they use in CABA and Provincia.

As for the documentation, you need, at a minimum, a precaria and most likely a full DNI.

As for the translation, it ended up being around 190k pesos for my license + MVR

Thanks @Darksider415 for this in-depth post on getting your driver's license in Argentina. This is the best post I've seen on this and it's very helpful!

That is what these forums are all about, the sharing of valuable information that will be beneficial to people. Kudos on sharing the knowledge. Thanks for taking the time to post it. Excellent.

 

[import export]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

Bravo. Just reading all of those steps made me realize how patient you are @Darksider415. Argentina is probably THE worst country for difficulty and unnecessary hurdles and bureaucracy. I have a friend that is going through his precaria for his residency and it's been over a year now.

Nothing works in this country. Excuse after excuse after excuse. I am not sure this can be fixed. Firing a lot of the employees was a start but unless they hire new employees that know what they are doing we will have more of the same.

Everything is a battle in Argentina. Thank you for sharing how to get this. I understand why you didn't get your license @Betsy Ross. I doubt having a car is ever worth it in Buenos Aires. I know people that own cars there and never drive much. Parking has become an expensive mess.

Did you buy a car @Darksider415? I don't understand why anyone would own a car in BA unless they lived outside in the northern suburbs.

 

[Vero]

Wow the process is cumbersome for expats. How long did all of this take you @Darksider415?? This sounds like a months long process. A good example of how complicated Argentina can be.

 

[Avocado]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

It is no wonder you are successful in Argentina. I think I read your wife is from Brazil. Have you gone through this process in Brazil? I am curious how the process compares to getting it there compared to Argentina?

Wow the process is cumbersome for expats. How long did all of this take you @Darksider415?? This sounds like a months long process. A good example of how complicated Argentina can be.

I wonder how easy or difficult this would be in the USA. Something tells me it would not be so easy in the USA getting a license there after moving here.

 

[Darksider415]

Bravo. Just reading all of those steps made me realize how patient you are @Darksider415. Argentina is probably THE worst country for difficulty and unnecessary hurdles and bureaucracy. I have a friend that is going through his precaria for his residency and it's been over a year now.

Nothing works in this country. Excuse after excuse after excuse. I am not sure this can be fixed. Firing a lot of the employees was a start but unless they hire new employees that know what they are doing we will have more of the same.

Everything is a battle in Argentina. Thank you for sharing how to get this. I understand why you didn't get your license @Betsy Ross. I doubt having a car is ever worth it in Buenos Aires. I know people that own cars there and never drive much. Parking has become an expensive mess.

Did you buy a car @Darksider415? I don't understand why anyone would own a car in BA unless they lived outside in the northern suburbs.

I haven't bought a car yet, but it's on the list for this year. As for the bureaucracy and hurdles, it wasn't that bad. The "Get an ACA membership and do it there" part helped cut through a lot of the layers. Most of it is just knowing how to take what Argentina asks for and translating it into the closest thing your country issues.

Wow the process is cumbersome for expats. How long did all of this take you @Darksider415?? This sounds like a months long process. A good example of how complicated Argentina can be.

It really wasn't. For difficulty, I'd say it was about on-par with getting a Real ID in Tennessee. It took about a month start-to-finish, and I could've cut a week off had I just gone down to the ACA Sede Central instead of trying to schedule the exam by Whatsapp, and I waited about a week from having my translations in-hand to actually kicking off the Argentinian side of the process.

I started at Step 1 on January 7 and walked out of the ACA office on Libertador with my license today, so... Not that bad. That includes notarizations, apostilles, shipping from the US to Argentina, translations, everything.

Once you have your paperwork in order, you do all the tests and get the physical license in-hand all on the same day. Literally two hours start to finish in the ACA office.

 

[Darksider415]

It is no wonder you are successful in Argentina. I think I read your wife is from Brazil. Have you gone through this process in Brazil? I am curious how the process compares to getting it there compared to Argentina?

I haven't, but she did her initial license in Brazil and said it was a nightmare. I know several folks who have gone from the US to Brazil though, and they've all said having a US license allowed them to skip everything but the psicofísico.

I wonder how easy or difficult this would be in the USA. Something tells me it would not be so easy in the USA getting a license there after moving here.

I addressed this in my reply to @Vero and @import export but it's roughly on-par with getting a Real ID in the US. It's not a difficult process, you just have to read the procedure, understand what the closest equivalents to the Argentine documents are and then provide those, translated into the national language. It's kinda like how I handled Migraciones... I figured out what would be needed beforehand, ensured I had it all in-hand before I went there and was very nice and friendly with the people helping me. Being nice and being prepared goes a long way to making things happen in this country.

 

[Avocado]

I haven't, but she did her initial license in Brazil and said it was a nightmare. I know several folks who have gone from the US to Brazil though, and they've all said having a US license allowed them to skip everything but the psicofísico.



I addressed this in my reply to @Vero and @import export but it's roughly on-par with getting a Real ID in the US. It's not a difficult process, you just have to read the procedure, understand what the closest equivalents to the Argentine documents are and then provide those, translated into the national language. It's kinda like how I handled Migraciones... I figured out what would be needed beforehand, ensured I had it all in-hand before I went there and was very nice and friendly with the people helping me. Being nice and being prepared goes a long way to making things happen in this country.

Thank you. I have a high opinion of you based on your experience getting you DNI yourself and also this. I hope Argentina get many good expat people like you.

 

[Jeffrey1990]

Honestly, this whole process sounds way more complicated than it needs to be. I got my license in Argentina without jumping through half these hoops.
A few things to clarify:

1. The "principiante" restrictions aren't a big deal.They don’t mean you’re stuck driving like a learner for two years. The only real limitations are:
   • For the first six months, you can’t drive on roads where the speed limit is over 70 km/h (so mostly highways).
   • You’re supposed to put a green “principiante” sign in your car. Which I never did I just left it in the glovebox, when I was stopped at a checkpoint which almost never happens, they didn't even look at that,
   • For two years, you have to maintain a 0.0 alcohol limit (which honestly should be standard practice anyway).
   • That’s it. If you’re mostly driving in the city, you won’t even notice these restrictions. And in practice, I was never asked about the “principiante” status when stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Tandill.
2. Getting an MVR apostilled and translated is overkill. You don’t need it. It’s way more time and money than it’s worth just to avoid the principiante classification, which isn’t really a restriction in daily life.
3. You don’t have to go through ACA. You can just go to your local sede comunal and take the required tests there, skipping all the ACA fees and extra steps. The process is straightforward:
   • Step 1: Get a turno for the educación vial course. They’ll ask for your DNI, then give you a date/time.
   • Step 2: Sit through the two-hour Zoom course and pay at least some attention.
   • Step 3: Pay the Boleta CENAT (about 6,000 pesos). You need this before you can schedule your exam.
   • Step 4: Schedule an appointment at a sede comunal.
   • Step 5: Take the psicofísico (basic medical and psych test).
   • Step 6: Take the written test (same questions as the online practice exams).
   • Step 7: Take the driving test (which is super basic).
   • Step 8: Get your license.

So yeah, if you’re trying to get a license in Argentina, skip the apostille and translation nonsense, don’t stress about the principiante status unless you plan on doing A LOT of highway driving in your first six months, and just go the direct route through a sede comunal. Less hassle, less cost, and you still walk away with a 10-year license.

 

[Darksider415]

Honestly, this whole process sounds way more complicated than it needs to be. I got my license in Argentina without jumping through half these hoops.
A few things to clarify:

1. The "principiante" restrictions aren't a big deal.They don’t mean you’re stuck driving like a learner for two years. The only real limitations are:
   • For the first six months, you can’t drive on roads where the speed limit is over 70 km/h (so mostly highways).
   • You’re supposed to put a green “principiante” sign in your car. Which I never did I just left it in the glovebox, when I was stopped at a checkpoint which almost never happens, they didn't even look at that,
   • For two years, you have to maintain a 0.0 alcohol limit (which honestly should be standard practice anyway).
   • That’s it. If you’re mostly driving in the city, you won’t even notice these restrictions. And in practice, I was never asked about the “principiante” status when stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Tandill.
2. Getting an MVR apostilled and translated is overkill. You don’t need it. It’s way more time and money than it’s worth just to avoid the principiante classification, which isn’t really a restriction in daily life.
3. You don’t have to go through ACA. You can just go to your local sede comunaland take the required tests there, skipping all the ACA fees and extra steps. The process is straightforward:
   • Step 1: Get a turno for the educación vial course. They’ll ask for your DNI, then give you a date/time.
   • Step 2: Sit through the two-hour Zoom course and pay at least some attention.
   • Step 3: Pay the Boleta CENAT (about 6,000 pesos). You need this before you can schedule your exam.
   • Step 4: Schedule an appointment at a sede comunal.
   • Step 5: Take the psicofísico (basic medical and psych test).
   • Step 6: Take the written test (same questions as the online practice exams).
   • Step 7: Take the driving test (which is super basic).
   • Step 8: Get your license.

So yeah, if you’re trying to get a license in Argentina, skip the apostille and translation nonsense, don’t stress about the principiante status unless you plan on doing A LOT of highway driving in your first six months, and just go the direct route through a sede comunal. Less hassle, less cost, and you still walk away with a 10-year license.

Yeah, you can skip a few steps if you're patient enough to wait for an appointment with a sede comunal and you don't need to use the highways or rent a car.

I'm not patient and I only got the license for longer highway trips, because driving in Capital is pretty much the least convenient way of actually getting around. It was absolutely worth getting the apostille+translations of everything to skip the principiante period and going through ACA for me. As always, your mileage may vary.

 

[Pink Panther]

Yeah, you can skip a few steps if you're patient enough to wait for an appointment with a sede comunal and you don't need to use the highways or rent a car.

I'm not patient and I only got the license for longer highway trips, because driving in Capital is pretty much the least convenient way of actually getting around. It was absolutely worth getting the apostille+translations of everything to skip the principiante period and going through ACA for me. As always, your mileage may vary.

Honestly, this whole process sounds way more complicated than it needs to be. I got my license in Argentina without jumping through half these hoops.
A few things to clarify:

1. The "principiante" restrictions aren't a big deal.They don’t mean you’re stuck driving like a learner for two years. The only real limitations are:
   • For the first six months, you can’t drive on roads where the speed limit is over 70 km/h (so mostly highways).
   • You’re supposed to put a green “principiante” sign in your car. Which I never did I just left it in the glovebox, when I was stopped at a checkpoint which almost never happens, they didn't even look at that,
   • For two years, you have to maintain a 0.0 alcohol limit (which honestly should be standard practice anyway).
   • That’s it. If you’re mostly driving in the city, you won’t even notice these restrictions. And in practice, I was never asked about the “principiante” status when stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Tandill.
2. Getting an MVR apostilled and translated is overkill. You don’t need it. It’s way more time and money than it’s worth just to avoid the principiante classification, which isn’t really a restriction in daily life.
3. You don’t have to go through ACA. You can just go to your local sede comunaland take the required tests there, skipping all the ACA fees and extra steps. The process is straightforward:
   • Step 1: Get a turno for the educación vial course. They’ll ask for your DNI, then give you a date/time.
   • Step 2: Sit through the two-hour Zoom course and pay at least some attention.
   • Step 3: Pay the Boleta CENAT (about 6,000 pesos). You need this before you can schedule your exam.
   • Step 4: Schedule an appointment at a sede comunal.
   • Step 5: Take the psicofísico (basic medical and psych test).
   • Step 6: Take the written test (same questions as the online practice exams).
   • Step 7: Take the driving test (which is super basic).
   • Step 8: Get your license.

So yeah, if you’re trying to get a license in Argentina, skip the apostille and translation nonsense, don’t stress about the principiante status unless you plan on doing A LOT of highway driving in your first six months, and just go the direct route through a sede comunal. Less hassle, less cost, and you still walk away with a 10-year license.

Correct. The only restriction on principaiantes for 2 years is 0 level limit on blood alcohol. Also not to drive on highways for 6 months but no one enforces that. It sounds like you do things by the book @Darksider415 and a great write up but most people skip this part of Apostille hassles and expenses.

Also you don't have to go to ACA, you can take the written test and the driving test the same day at any Comuna office.

 

[Blockchain]

Honestly, this whole process sounds way more complicated than it needs to be. I got my license in Argentina without jumping through half these hoops.
A few things to clarify:

1. The "principiante" restrictions aren't a big deal.They don’t mean you’re stuck driving like a learner for two years. The only real limitations are:
   • For the first six months, you can’t drive on roads where the speed limit is over 70 km/h (so mostly highways).
   • You’re supposed to put a green “principiante” sign in your car. Which I never did I just left it in the glovebox, when I was stopped at a checkpoint which almost never happens, they didn't even look at that,
   • For two years, you have to maintain a 0.0 alcohol limit (which honestly should be standard practice anyway).
   • That’s it. If you’re mostly driving in the city, you won’t even notice these restrictions. And in practice, I was never asked about the “principiante” status when stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Tandill.
2. Getting an MVR apostilled and translated is overkill. You don’t need it. It’s way more time and money than it’s worth just to avoid the principiante classification, which isn’t really a restriction in daily life.
3. You don’t have to go through ACA. You can just go to your local sede comunaland take the required tests there, skipping all the ACA fees and extra steps. The process is straightforward:
   • Step 1: Get a turno for the educación vial course. They’ll ask for your DNI, then give you a date/time.
   • Step 2: Sit through the two-hour Zoom course and pay at least some attention.
   • Step 3: Pay the Boleta CENAT (about 6,000 pesos). You need this before you can schedule your exam.
   • Step 4: Schedule an appointment at a sede comunal.
   • Step 5: Take the psicofísico (basic medical and psych test).
   • Step 6: Take the written test (same questions as the online practice exams).
   • Step 7: Take the driving test (which is super basic).
   • Step 8: Get your license.

So yeah, if you’re trying to get a license in Argentina, skip the apostille and translation nonsense, don’t stress about the principiante status unless you plan on doing A LOT of highway driving in your first six months, and just go the direct route through a sede comunal. Less hassle, less cost, and you still walk away with a 10-year license.

Cool to know. How long ago did you go through this process @Jeffrey1990? Was it recently?

 

[Jeffrey1990]

Cool to know. How long ago did you go through this process @Jeffrey1990? Was it recently?

December 2023

 

[James Bond]

So, I've jumped through the hoops to get my license in Capital, and I have a pretty simple step-by-step for how to make it happen with a minimum of hassle. This is written from a US perspective, so your mileage may vary if you're starting from another country.

Step 1: Gather your documents. If you don't want to start over as a principiante, you'll want your Motor Vehicle Record from the US. This will serve in place of the "Certificado de Legalidad" in order to bypass the two years of restrictions for principiantes.

Step 1a: Verify your MVR has the date you were originally licensed as well as when your most recent one was issued. If it doesn't have the date of original licensure AND your current license isn't more than 2 years old, you have to start over as a principiante.

Step 2: Get your MVR apostilled. Each state has its own process for this. I have a Tennessee license, so it went about like this:
- Go on the State of Tennessee website and pay $5 for a copy of the Motor Vehicle Record
- Get the MVR notarized by an online notary in TN
- Get the notary signature certified by the county clerk in their county of practice
- Get the notarized certificate apostilled
- Ship it to Argentina

Step 3: Go down to your local librería and have a color copy of your existing license made. If your state also has a driver's handbook in Spanish, also print the page that has a chart of the types of vehicles permitted for each license type.

Step 4: Take the license and your apostilled, certified, notarized MVR down to the translator of your choice and get a certified translation.

Step 5: Breathe. Pour yourself a drink and relax for a few minutes. Then start preparing by going here and taking the practice exam until you consistently get it right. You can Google for the questions/answers for CABA. Read them, study them, then retake the practice exam. https://www.testdeconducir.com.ar/categoria/b

Step 6: Get yourself an Automóvil Club Argentino membership. This will cost you around 40k-ish pesos right now.

Step 7: Email their Escuela de Conducción and ask for a turno for the educación vial course. They'll ask you for your DNI, etc, then give you a date/time.

Step 8: Sit through the two hour Zoom call and pay some attention to the call.

Step 9: Pay the Boleta CENAT. You'll find instructions on the CABA website for this. It's about 6k pesos.

Step 10: After the mandatory two hour Zoom call and paying the CENAT, go to the ACA Sede Central, 3rd floor and schedule your appointment for the actual exam. They'll send you a link, you use the link to pay for the license itself. Roughly 26k pesos now.

Step 11: On the day of your appointment, go to the ACA Sede Central, 1st floor with all of the docs you gathered in steps 1-4, duly translated into Spanish and hand them to the nice folks behind the counter. You will probably have to point out the part on the translation where it has the date of original issue for your license.

Step 12: Wait. All of your docs have to get scanned and sent to Roca for verification and to decide if you get to bypass the principiante step.

Step 13: Go through the examen psicofísico. It's not hard, and the psychology exam is literally drawing pictures from a card onto a piece of paper.

Step 14: After the psicofísico, you'll take the theory test. It'll be the same questions you saw in the exam simulations you started in Step 5. You have to get at least 85% to pass. I got 97.5% for what it's worth.

Step 15: When the theory test is done, walk six blocks to the corner of Castex y Casares to take the driving portion. The examiner in my case was very chill, we chatted a bit, then drove the circuit. It's about 10 blocks, takes about 5-10 minutes. Easy.

Step 16: Go back to the ACA Sede Central, 1st Floor and wait for them to add up your scores. If you did all the above properly, you should have a shiny new 10 year license. They'll tell you to sit down after it's all approved and then call you back up to hand you the physical license right there.

Step 17: Go home and relax. You did it.

Great write up! For those from the UK just be aware that many Sede offices they won't take a UK driver's license. I know several fellow Brits and same thing. I don't know what the difference is with UK vs. USA. I spent about $400 USD all told between aposttille, translation and DHL fees getting documents here. All for nothing!

I ended up with a principiante. I did get pulled over while driving to Mendoza. I paid the equivalent of about $50 USD to the police officer to avoid issues. Some things about Argentina I like! The officer suggested it not me.

 

[IrishLad]

Great write up! For those from the UK just be aware that many Sede offices they won't take a UK driver's license. I know several fellow Brits and same thing. I don't know what the difference is with UK vs. USA. I spent about $400 USD all told between aposttille, translation and DHL fees getting documents here. All for nothing!

I ended up with a principiante. I did get pulled over while driving to Mendoza. I paid the equivalent of about $50 USD to the police officer to avoid issues. Some things about Argentina I like! The officer suggested it not me.

Those bastards did the same to my friends applying. Not sure what the difference is. Did you get any pushback @Darksider415 at all?

 

[Larry]

Honestly, this whole process sounds way more complicated than it needs to be. I got my license in Argentina without jumping through half these hoops.
A few things to clarify:

1. The "principiante" restrictions aren't a big deal.They don’t mean you’re stuck driving like a learner for two years. The only real limitations are:
   • For the first six months, you can’t drive on roads where the speed limit is over 70 km/h (so mostly highways).
   • You’re supposed to put a green “principiante” sign in your car. Which I never did I just left it in the glovebox, when I was stopped at a checkpoint which almost never happens, they didn't even look at that,
   • For two years, you have to maintain a 0.0 alcohol limit (which honestly should be standard practice anyway).
   • That’s it. If you’re mostly driving in the city, you won’t even notice these restrictions. And in practice, I was never asked about the “principiante” status when stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Tandill.
2. Getting an MVR apostilled and translated is overkill. You don’t need it. It’s way more time and money than it’s worth just to avoid the principiante classification, which isn’t really a restriction in daily life.
3. You don’t have to go through ACA. You can just go to your local sede comunaland take the required tests there, skipping all the ACA fees and extra steps. The process is straightforward:
   • Step 1: Get a turno for the educación vial course. They’ll ask for your DNI, then give you a date/time.
   • Step 2: Sit through the two-hour Zoom course and pay at least some attention.
   • Step 3: Pay the Boleta CENAT (about 6,000 pesos). You need this before you can schedule your exam.
   • Step 4: Schedule an appointment at a sede comunal.
   • Step 5: Take the psicofísico (basic medical and psych test).
   • Step 6: Take the written test (same questions as the online practice exams).
   • Step 7: Take the driving test (which is super basic).
   • Step 8: Get your license.

So yeah, if you’re trying to get a license in Argentina, skip the apostille and translation nonsense, don’t stress about the principiante status unless you plan on doing A LOT of highway driving in your first six months, and just go the direct route through a sede comunal. Less hassle, less cost, and you still walk away with a 10-year license.

Very smart to avoid the hassle. I don't think that any police officer will stop you and if they do you just pay them some $$.

Great write up! For those from the UK just be aware that many Sede offices they won't take a UK driver's license. I know several fellow Brits and same thing. I don't know what the difference is with UK vs. USA. I spent about $400 USD all told between aposttille, translation and DHL fees getting documents here. All for nothing!

I ended up with a principiante. I did get pulled over while driving to Mendoza. I paid the equivalent of about $50 USD to the police officer to avoid issues. Some things about Argentina I like! The officer suggested it not me.

This is the way. I heard that they often times make it difficult. Any police if you get stopped will ask for some fee to avoid problems.