BajaNomad

Do any of you drive your Mexican plated car deep into the US?

tmtuttle - 1-17-2022 at 11:34 AM

I'll try and keep this short. My wife and I have property in Baja, share a home with family on mainland Mexico, and spend Jun-Sep in the western US. We both recently got our permanent residency. The problem is, I can no longer drive our US plated cars on the mainland since we're both PRs. I'm thinking about buying a car in Baja and using it to travel to mainland and the States, but I can just imagine that every cop that sees our BCS, MX tags is going to stop us because they don't know the rules.

So, my question, are my concerns unfounded or should I just expect to get pulled over a lot while traveling around UT, AZ, CO, ID, MT, etc in my truck with MX tags? Any paperwork I can carry with me to convince an unknowing cop that the vehicle is legal for short periods in the US?

[Edited on 1-17-2022 by tmtuttle]

Howard - 1-17-2022 at 11:39 AM

It's my understanding that in your scenario Baja plates will still not comply with the laws. You would need a nationalized plated car to comply with Mexican law.

I have wondered the same thing about crossing the border and what law enforcement NOB would react.

tmtuttle - 1-17-2022 at 11:44 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Howard  
It's my understanding that in your scenario Baja plates will still not comply with the laws. You would need a nationalized plated car to comply with Mexican law.


Really!? So, even if I bought a vehicle from a Mexico car dealer in La Paz or CSL, I still couldn't take it to the mainland?

mtgoat666 - 1-17-2022 at 11:45 AM

Quote: Originally posted by tmtuttle  
I'll try and keep this short. My wife and I have property in Baja, share a home with family on mainland Mexico, and spend Jun-Sep in the western US. We both recently got our permanent residency. The problem is, I can no longer drive our US plated cars on the mainland since we're both PRs. I'm thinking about buying a car in Baja and using it to travel to mainland and the States, but I can just imagine that every cop that sees our BCS, MX tags is going to stop us because they don't know the rules.

So, my question, are my concerns unfounded or should I just expect to get pulled over a lot while traveling around UT, AZ, CO, ID, MT, etc in my truck with MX tags? Any paperwork I can carry with me to convince an unknowing cop that the vehicle is legal for short periods in the US?

[Edited on 1-17-2022 by tmtuttle]


I see cars all over socal with foreign/mexican plates. I have also seen foreign/mexican plates throughout the USA. Same as I see USA plates all over mexico.
Laws of the nations allow cars to drive in other countries, just follow the rules.

Howard - 1-17-2022 at 11:53 AM

Quote: Originally posted by tmtuttle  
Quote: Originally posted by Howard  
It's my understanding that in your scenario Baja plates will still not comply with the laws. You would need a nationalized plated car to comply with Mexican law.


Really!? So, even if I bought a vehicle from a Mexico car dealer in La Paz or CSL, I still couldn't take it to the mainland?


Yes, it is my understanding that Baja plates are not valid in mainland. I would love to hear someone's feedback if this is not true. I am talking about below Sonora. I assume that one can get nationalized plates when buying a car from a dealer in Baja.

I am talking about if one holds a Residente Permenente.

[Edited on 1-17-2022 by Howard]

tmtuttle - 1-17-2022 at 12:02 PM

[/rquote]Yes, it is my understanding that Baja plates are not valid in mainland.[/rquote]

Baja plates are not valid in the mainland at all or Baja plates are not valid for permanent residents?

Because, we're actually in the mainland right now and our neighbor's cars all have BCS plates.

David K - 1-17-2022 at 12:15 PM

Living in San Diego County, we see plenty of Baja California license plates.

surabi - 1-17-2022 at 12:17 PM

Baja only plates are not valid on the mainland, regardless of your immigration status or even if you are a Mexican national.

Of course, if your vehicle is nationalized, you would still have Baja state plates, just as from any other Mexican state where the vehicle is registered, but it's a different type of plate.

It isn't just a matter of getting pulled over on the mainland- you won't even be able to get on the ferry to Mazatlan or Topolobampo with Baja-only plates.

[Edited on 1-17-2022 by surabi]

[Edited on 1-17-2022 by surabi]

Slight hijack

Howard - 1-17-2022 at 12:46 PM

Hopefully this not too much of a hijack.

Anyone have any experience of taking a US plated and current registered car (RV), getting nationalized plates and then eventually trying to get it back registered in the states?

In my la, la perfect world, would be to nationalize my RV, take it to the mainland and then eventually bring it back to the states and then try and sell someday which would need an American title.

Question, if and when you nationalized a car here do they take your certificate of title and issue a Mexican certificate of title?

Gracias de antemano (or is it por antemano?)

Ateo - 1-17-2022 at 01:39 PM

One thing you may want to expect is getting stopped at border patrol checkpoints in the United States if you have Mexican plates.

Howard - 1-17-2022 at 02:07 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Ateo  
One thing you may want to expect is getting stopped at border patrol checkpoints in the United States if you have Mexican plates.


Makes sense.

chippy - 1-17-2022 at 02:38 PM

I have driven my Colima plated vehicles to all those states and wy,nm,nv and ca. I have alot of years doing it with multiple vehicles and have never been stopped for the Mex plates. Same goes with the border and immigration stops.

Just make sure you have liability ins. for the U.S.

[Edited on 1-17-2022 by chippy]

John Harper - 1-17-2022 at 02:55 PM

What do you do about a driver license when you become a PR? If you must have a Mex registered car, do you need a Mexican license to drive it in Mexico? What about the USA?

Seems I saw something about Mex licenses needed for Mex cars in US?

I see lots of questions about registration issues, but not about a DL.

John

BajaBlanca - 1-17-2022 at 03:40 PM

We are now Mexican citizens and both our cars are nationalized Mexican plated. We use them in the US without any issues at the border, or in the city, ever.

Now, I just asked Les (who is the expert with an uncannily great memory) and he says that back in the day when we were driving baja plated vehicles. we had to pay a TAX to be able to drive the car onto the ferry and all around the mainland.

chippy - 1-17-2022 at 03:47 PM

Quote: Originally posted by John Harper  
What do you do about a driver license when you become a PR? If you must have a Mex registered car, do you need a Mexican license to drive it in Mexico? What about the USA?

Seems I saw something about Mex licenses needed for Mex cars in US?

I see lots of questions about registration issues, but not about a DL.

John


I´m a Mex citizen so I don´t know about PR.

chippy - 1-17-2022 at 03:51 PM

I just talked to a good friend who lives between BCN and Nayarit. He brought a Baja state plated vehicle (Ford f 250) across on the ferry 6 mos. ago with no problems.

luna negra - 1-17-2022 at 04:08 PM

I think the only issue you'll have is if you have a US residence with that state's driver license while driving a car with Mx plates. Similar to how it is in Mx. In Texas, I see a lot of Coauhila and Nuevo Leon vehicles here long term. As long as your immigration status is legit, I don't see any issues but like you said, it will attract attention.

bajagregg - 1-17-2022 at 04:48 PM

I have driven a BCS plated car all over the western US as well as on the La Paz ferry with zero problems.

John Harper - 1-17-2022 at 05:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by bajagregg  
I have driven a BCS plated car all over the western US as well as on the La Paz ferry with zero problems.


What Driver License do you have? US, or Mexico? You are a Permanent Resident, not a citizen, like Chippy?

John

tmtuttle - 1-17-2022 at 05:22 PM

Thanks. All good information.

I'll definitely get a MX driver's license if I get a MX plated vehicle - that makes sense. And I won't stress about driving throughout the West in my MX plated vehicle.

I think I stumbled onto something on the interwebs - there are two plates for BCS, one with an orange stripe and one with a blue stripe.

From what I could suss out from the article, the plates with orange stripes were imported into Baja from the States and thus can only be driven in the Free Zones. The plates are called fronterizas (from the border).

The BCS plates with a blue stripe can be driven anywhere in Mexico. I'm actually at our family home in Vallarta now and there's a house down the street and they have cars with blue BCS plates.

So, as far I see it, I could buy a car in Baja, put the BCS plates on it and then drive it to all the areas I listed in my original post.

Problem solved?

[Edited on 1-18-2022 by tmtuttle]

[Edited on 1-18-2022 by tmtuttle]

John Harper - 1-17-2022 at 06:01 PM

Let us know how the Mex DL goes. Do they offer bilingual applications? What do you need to get a Mex DL? Written test? Driving test?

I believe non-citizens up here in the USA can get a DL in most states.

John

Cancamo - 1-17-2022 at 06:10 PM

Drivers License Requirements BCS;

1. Blood Test (blood type shown on the DL)
2. 700/800 pesos, maybe more now, it's been a while
3. Proof of physical address, a CURP is best



Fill out the form, pay the fees, submit the blood type, no exam, no driving test, nothing.


AKgringo - 1-17-2022 at 07:51 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Cancamo  
Drivers License Requirements
Fill out the form, pay the fees, submit the blood type, no exam, no driving test, nothing.


It must be sort of a "Darwinian" test, evidenced by all the white crosses along the highways.

pacsur - 1-18-2022 at 05:50 AM

When I imported my Tacoma I paid an extra $50usd to have National plates, it can be driven anywhere on mainland, my Jeep has frontera plates, I would need to bond it if I took it to mainland, since then I have driven all around US western states and even onto military bases without an issue.
As far as vehicle registration in San Jose del Cabo my experience was if you went to the transito for registrations they only accept a limited amount of people each day and people line up early to get a number for the day since covid, and they only let you do one vehicle at a time since they want to do the mechanical inspection also, sometimes you can just pay the fee without a revision, but sometimes they get too greedy, it is a major pain and time consuming.
For the last few years I have been using a guy that deals with people’s vehicle paperwork, he also handles all the vehicle transactions for a few of the auto dealerships here, he drives daily to a nearby smaller transito and usually handles everything in 24 hours, the best part is for renewals I just screenshot my tarjeta de circulation and my license and the next day he delivers my new paperwork, he generally charges double what the fees normally would be, his fee is generally around $60-$70 usd per vehicle total, and the mechanical revisions are taking care of also, it’s well worth the money to me for all the time saved standing in lines for days since I have multiple vehicles, I was also able to plate 2 dirt bikes without any issues, they don’t really need to be plated here but it’s just for piece of mind if we ever got stopped going thru town to go ride, we carry the plates in our backpacks.
I was told they were taking appointments at the transito for a drivers license, but the appointments are 3-4 months out. I had a friend tell me to look online and found a government site that let me start the license renewal process, took 15 min, I was able to enter all my info, pay, and make an appointment for 3 days later at the Pedrin building that also handles all the city’s permits, but you have to go the the transito first a few km away to have them give you a clearance that shows you have no outstanding infractions tied to your license, it must be done within 24 hours of your license appointment, then at the Pedrin building you sign in and somebody will process your information and take your photo and you leave with your new license.


[Edited on 1-18-2022 by pacsur]

John Harper - 1-18-2022 at 06:29 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Cancamo  
Drivers License Requirements BCS;

1. Blood Test (blood type shown on the DL)
2. 700/800 pesos, maybe more now, it's been a while
3. Proof of physical address, a CURP is best



Fill out the form, pay the fees, submit the blood type, no exam, no driving test, nothing.



No photo, or some proof of ID? Can you post up a picture of a MX license, as much as you feel safe?

John


Cancamo - 1-18-2022 at 10:04 AM

Photo ID? Yep, forgot that, government issued, I presented my IFE the last renewal. INAPAM, Residencia, or Passport should work.

Post a photo of my license, phat chance.

John Harper - 1-18-2022 at 10:18 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Cancamo  
Photo ID? Yep, forgot that, government issued, I presented my IFE the last renewal. INAPAM, Residencia, or Passport should work.

Post a photo of my license, phat chance.


Thanks for the information.

John