What is the process for getting a 16 year old a drivers license in Panama? You won’t believe what it takes!
A few months ago our oldest turned 16 and he wanted to get his drivers license. We had heard from a friend that this was possible, so we looked online to figure out the steps. As you can see, there are many steps in the process.
The website says you need to get the birth certificate and apostille from the country of birth, extra insurance, an drug test, blood type, health check, a letter from the parents taking responsibility if there is an accident, and more.
We got our son enrolled in a local drivers school. The process for receiving the school’s certificate was 9 hours of online classes and 14 hours of driving. He would drive the school’s car down the road to Janson, practice parking in an empty lot, and drive halfway to Rio Sereno and back in the two hours each driving class lasted. The online classes were three hours each in the evening, and he said they basically went over the test and answers.
He was able to take sample tests online. The test questions are the same on the test in the office, but they have a photo with them. He also said if you want it in English, you have to tell the person in the office. The translation is bad, so you just have to know the answers.
We knew we had to get the birth certificate and apostille from the US. We thought this would be pretty easy, and we asked my parents to help us get it done. This part of the process actually took about 6 weeks, thanks to various holidays around the end of the year.
After receiving his birth certificate and apostille, they had to be translated to Spanish by a local, certified translator.
Copies of each of his ID cards had to be made so that we could get his blood type taken and have an anti-doping test at a local lab. He also had to have a health and mental check done by a doctor.
The next big step was to get a fianza from the insurance company. To do this, we had to meet the company’s requirements for our insurance policy and submit a request. This took about two weeks.
He did a lot of practice driving around the neighborhood and sometimes on backroads around town.
He also did a lot of practice parking. We had heard that the test consisted of going into a parking space forward, backward, and parallel parking. He borrowed our neighbor’s small Jimny to practice and for the test. The size of the parking space was small – 2.5 meters by 5 meters.
Because he wanted to get his motorcycle license, he also practiced riding it around. We spent a few weeks waiting for a part for it as well. We thought the motorcycle license was a figure 8, so that is what he practiced.
We finally thought we were ready and had everything together, so we went online and made an appointment for Monday, January 27.
I laid out all the papers and it looked like they were all there – drivers school diploma, lab results with negative drug tests and blood type, health certificate, birth certificate and apostille, translation of the birth certificate and apostille, copies of his passport and resident visa, copies of all of mine and Ben’s identification cards, and a copy of the fianza from the insurance.
We got to Sertracen with our papers for our 10:00 appointment and waited in line. When we talked to the lady, she said we were missing the original fianza and a mental check. She said we had missed our appointment and to come back another day.
We left and quickly acquired the missing papers and returned to Sertracen. I begged for him to be able to test that day and she finally gave in and we headed to take the motorcycle test first. Due to the size of his motorcycle, he did not pass this, but he easily passed the car part. After hours, Ben even tried to do the motorcycle part and we learned it wouldn’t be possible with his bike. We thought we would leave that day with his car license and return for the motorcycle at a later date, but we learned that if he wanted to add it on later, we would have to resubmit all of the paperwork – and they were keeping some of the originals! Instead, we decided to go back on Wednesday and rent a moped.
This is where they conduct the driving part of the test for all vehicles. Each vehicle is only allowed to enter into this area one time per day. If you are doing the auto test, you must first parallel park without touching any cones or the rope. You must keep your head facing straight and use your mirrors only. There is a yellow line on the ground that the vehicle must be inside of. After you parallel park, you back into another spot and then get out and go forward into it. You can never touch a cone or run over a curb. We saw a guy fail because he hit the curb driving into the test!
If you pass, you take your paper inside and take the other tests – the computer, visual, and hearing tests. If you fail, you have to schedule an appointment for another day! You only get one shot at the driving part.
On Wednesday, it was $30 to rent the moped for the test and it worked! He was able to pass that and the written test inside. He also had a hearing and vision test. On Wednesday, it took about 4 hours inside the office to complete everything and leave with the license. Here’s a tip – don’t schedule an appointment an hour or two before lunch because the workers take a one hour lunch break where nothing happens!
After getting his license, he happily drove us home from David! The next day, he took his motorcycle out for a spin too. We don’t know any other minors who have gotten their license, so he’s really happy to have it!
I think we're all so glad to be done with that process. I looked up renewal (which he has to do in a year) and it looks like all of the same paperwork. Might better get started on it now! Ha!
