Please Help!!!!!!!!!! (in Mexico)

You got a job ahead of you guy.

First, you have to have an FMT-2 or 3, forget which one that gives you permission to work in the country. But there's a Catch-22 which we'll get to in a moment.

Then, you have to go to work on obtaining your Licencia Federal de Conducir.

Look around my site for the relevant information.

Mexico requires 40 hours of training in a government certified training facility. Once that is completed, you apply for the (for purposes of brevity, I'll use) CDL.

You make an appointment to take the written test, the road test, the medical which consists of physical, drug alcohol screen and psychological evaluation. These are all done in a government facility.

You'll present you FMT-2, birth certificate, letters of clearance from your local police department, and in the case of a foreigner, you probably should present the character references you obtained from your friends and neighbors in Mexico when you applied for your immigrant visa.

The process can take as long as 3 months as most of the 31 states in Mexico have only one, and at the most, 2 testing facilities in each state.

If you're lucky enough to earn your CDL, you're not home yet. Most mainline companies in Mexico require 3 to 5 years verifiable experience before they'll take a chance on you. Churning or turnover, is not the problem in Mexico as it is here. Many of the mainline companies have drivers who have been there their entire careers.

Many of the mainline companies run team in Mexico. That might be an option. But again, under Mexican labor and immigration laws, you or the company who plans to hire you, has to prove you are not displacing a Mexican citizen with similar skills.

You might also check the Mexican bus lines. Those that run interstate also run team operations. The 2nd seat is referred to as an "assistant driver".

And you final place to look for work would be around the ports of Manzanilla pulling containers.

I've had an ongoing conversation about this with a Scottish friend living in Mexico city and trying to obtain a Mexican commercial license. He's been at it for a year and still doesn't have it.

 

Purpose of brevity LOL that's funny. Tell the truth, Mexican laws (when they actually have them) are just copied from the US CFR's

 

Who knew? I thought all you had to do in Mexico was hop in a truck and head north...

Why don't we have this here in the U.S.A.??

 

We do have this here in the US. And despite that, American companies don't seem to have a problem with bringing in Kiwis, Aussies and Eastern bloc drivers to fill our seats.

This requirement is part of obtaining an "H" visa, without regard to industry

 

That is the truth hoss!

Mexico has a whole host of laws covering commercial vehicle operation, but unlike the US, they don't feel the need to micro manage each and every one of them.

A Mexican drivers knows the rules, the laws, and what is expected of him and the penalty for violating them.

Incidents or accidents that in the US are a civil matter or a misdemeanor punishable by a fine and points, in Mexico, are a criminal matter which can cause a driver to be jailed and lose his license for 10 years to life.

It's a little thing called personal responsibility.

And if you'll read the rules I posted for obtaining the Mexican CDL, you might realize that the US is just now trying to catch up with Mexico.

An example.

Certified Medical Examiners. You lose your choice.

Graduated CDL's

Merging DOT Medical cards with your CDL. That's long been the case in Mexico.

Mexican CDL are for two years and have to be renewed with all the criteria listed except for the 40 hours of training. If FMCSA merges our medical cards with our CDL's, we'll be looking at 2 year licenses also.

Already, Texas has reduced the renewal period from 6 years to 5 to coincide with the haz mat and TWIC requirements

 

Yeah, we all know how well mexicans follow the rules in that third world country.

Unless of course the family has a little bribe money, then its a whole different matter.

You truly live in the land of la la.

Yeah, and some towns in mexico are lucky enough to have homes with running water. Not most, but some.

 

Here's a place to start
Centro Integral de Servicios


This link will take you to training and issuance centers in the D.F.

License Issuance and Training

And this link will give you an idea of authorized centers for the medical and psychological testing required for a Licencia Federal

Authorized Medical facilities for Licencia Federal

This link will give you an idea of the cost of the various components of licensing in Mexico

Finally, here is another link with a wealth of information

SCT Website

Amazing isn't it, in a country that is not supposed to have databases

 

just what we neededed lol .......