Before you start

A valid home-country licence while you settle in
CURP
A comprobante de domicilio in Yucatán, recent and in your name
A medical certificate — required here and not in every state

Step-by-step

1
Drive on the foreign licence, but buy Mexican insurance first
Your home licence authorises you to drive in Mexico from day one. What actually protects you after an incident is Mexican third-party liability cover, compulsory on federal highways — which is what you use to reach Progreso, Valladolid or Campeche. Sort the policy before the licence.
In personWho: YouImmediateAn IDP from your home motoring body is around USD 20
2
Get the medical certificate
Yucatán requires a certificado médico as part of the application, obtainable from an authorised clinic. It is inexpensive and quick, but it is a separate errand that people routinely arrive at the module without, and it will send you away.
In personWho: First-time applicantsSame day at an authorised clinic
3
Sit the theory exam on the Yucatán traffic regulations
The written exam covers the state's own Reglamento de Tránsito — not a national code. Local signage conventions and right-of-way rules on the state highways differ from what you may know, so revise the state document rather than a generic Mexican study guide.
In personWho: First-time applicantsSame visit
4
Take the practical driving test
First-time applicants also drive. It is a straightforward assessment of control and compliance with signage rather than an ordeal, but it is a real test, unlike Mexico City's exam-free permanent licence. Allow for the possibility of a second attempt.
In personWho: First-time applicantsSame visit if you pass
5
Choose the validity period and pay
Yucatán issues two, three and five-year licences. A two-year car licence runs somewhere around MXN 800–900 and a five-year one around MXN 2,100–2,300, with chauffeur and motorcycle classes priced separately; the full published range across all classes and durations is roughly MXN 400 to MXN 2,600. If you pass everything, the card is normally printed and handed over the same day. Weigh the five-year card against the two-year one, because the exams are the cost, not the fee.
In personWho: You≈MXN 800–900 for a two-year car licence, ≈MXN 2,100–2,300 for five years
6
Check whether the state's fee relief applies to you
Decreto 143/2025, published in the state gazette on 31 December 2025 and in force for the whole of 2026, grants a 50% discount to workers, pensioners and retirees whose income is under four and a half times the general minimum wage, and a full exemption for students on government scholarships, homemakers with no income of their own, and unemployed residents who need a licence to take a job. Both benefits apply only to the two-year licence, proof of income must be under 30 days old, and neither is advertised at the counter.
In personWho: Eligible residentsClaimed at application

Documents you’ll need

Foreign licence, passport and resident card
CURP
Recent comprobante de domicilio in Yucatán
Medical certificate from an authorised clinic
Proof of payment

Things most newcomers don’t know

Yucatán's fee-relief decree is real money and nobody at the counter will offer it to you.

Decreto 143/2025, published on 31 December 2025 and running for the whole of 2026, halves the licence fee for workers, pensioners and retirees earning under four and a half minimum wages, and waives it entirely for scholarship students, homemakers without their own income and unemployed residents who need a licence for a job offer. It applies only to the two-year licence, and the income evidence must be under 30 days old. Because it is claimed rather than granted automatically, most eligible people pay full price simply for not having asked.

Source: Gobierno de Yucatán, Decreto 143/2025

The theory exam is on Yucatán's own traffic code, not a national one.

Mexico has no single national traffic regulation for state licences; each state writes its own Reglamento de Tránsito and examines on it. Studying a generic Mexican highway-code app, or revising the Mexico City rules a friend sent you, tests you on the wrong document. The state publishes its regulation and it is the only correct study material.

Source: SSP Yucatán

There is no permanent licence here, and no vehicle verification either.

Mexico City's no-expiry Tipo A licence is a Mexico City policy and gets reported as though it were national — Yucatán issues two, three and five-year cards that expire. On the other side of the ledger, Yucatán runs no compulsory periodic emissions verification for private cars, so unlike Jalisco or the capital there is no plate-digit calendar to track and no fine for missing it.

Source: SSP Yucatán / Gobierno de Yucatán

The real driving risk in Yucatán is the road out of town, not the road in it.

Mérida's streets are calm by Mexican standards, but the state highways to Progreso, Valladolid and the cenote villages carry fast traffic, unlit stretches, topes that appear without warning at village edges, and livestock. Insurance and headlight discipline matter far more here than the licence process does, and most serious incidents involving new residents happen on a straight road at dusk.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving at the module without the medical certificate.
Revising a generic Mexican highway code instead of the Yucatán Reglamento de Tránsito.
Paying full price without asking whether the state's discount or exemption applies to you.
Buying the two-year licence for convenience and repeating the exams sooner than necessary.
Driving the Progreso and Valladolid highways at dusk without proper Mexican liability cover.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.