- In Puerto Vallarta...And You've Lost Your License Plate -

So, you’re in Puerto Vallarta and you lose...or someone decides that they have a greater need of your license plate than you do. Well, you’ve come to the right place! It happened to me in December of 2014. I’m going to tell you just what you need to do. First make sure you have enough fuel to get around. Also, knowing ahead of time where to get copies will be helpful as this is not a service provided for you. Last, give yourself about two to three hours. More if you’d like to stop at Starbucks for coffee.

Here we go…

1^st) Go to the ‘Fiscalía Central del Estado. It is pictured to the left. From Puerto Vallarta you travel north past the airport on Francisco Medina and turn right on Avenida Palma Real, which is the street that the ‘Corona’ plant is located. You will travel 100 yards (meters if you prefer) to the building on your right.

The physical address is: Avendida Palma Real 118. They will give you the form that you will need to fill out. Then you make five copies. Go back to them, give them a copy and they will stamp your original. Three more stops and you’re done!

2^nd) Continue heading north like you’re going to Nayarit. Go past (or through) the Starbucks, which sits in the middle of the highway. The ‘Policía Federal de Caminos’ will be shortly on your right. First you’ll past the ‘Pemex’, yeh, which one you say? And then you’ll come to the pictures shown below. As before, go into the Police office, hand them a copy and they again will stamp yours. Done here!

 

 

You are so close…don’t stop now...

 

 3^rd) Now turn yourself back around and head toward the PV Marina. Close to the Marina you need to get into the ‘lateral’. You know the far right lanes. You’re going to want to turn left at Politénicio Nacional. You have no idea where that is. No worries, again you’ve come to the right place. Here’s your intersection below…

“Oh yeah”, you say, “I’ve seen this a couple times for sure”. You have the pier where the cruise ships dock up on your right, of course ‘Liverpool’ ahead on your left, and one of two bull fighting rings directly to your left. This is your intersection! Turn left onto Politénicio Nacional.

You’ll travel about a mile (1.5 km) and come to the intersection that you see to your right. See the signage on the bottom ‘UMA-Maleon’. Yes, turn right here. UMA is the building that you see to your left. Go up the steps and then immediately turn left and take the stairs (or elevator) to the fourth floor. Again, go left out of the elevator and you’ll run into ‘Instalaciones de UMA’. Same objective, go in, hand them a copy and they will stamp yours. 

The physical address is: Calle Mezquital 604. 

4^th) You’re going to love the last stop. You get two stamps here both on the first floor. I’m sooooo excited for you. Can you feel it? You’re thinking, “This guy really needs something else in his life”. And you’re right, but….If you’re still reading then this must be helpful. OK funny guy let’s get this done. 

 

Continue in the direction (which is south) that you were traveling on Calle Mezquital. This time you’ll travel about 2/3 of a mile (1 km) and come to Prisciliano Sanchez. You see the ‘Pemex’ and the ‘Oxxo’? Pretty standard landmarks in Mexico I know.

Anyway, turn left here and go about 1/3 mile (500 m) and turn right onto Avenida Grandes Lagos. You’re looking for the physical address of Avenida Grandes Lagos 236, which is the UNIRSE State Government building. It will be on your left. Go past it turning at the first street which is ‘Villas Rios’. 

 

The picture to the left shows what you’ll view as you approach. In this picture the building sits ahead on the left just beyond the trees on the left side of the picture itself. You can see a picture of the building below. The parking lot is off of Villas Rios. After parking enter the building from the steps on the back side and take an immediate right in which you’ll find ‘Transito del Estado’. Another stamp then go diagonally across the room just past ‘Caja 14’. The desk is ‘Oficina Recaudadora’. It is here that you’ll receive your last stamp, of course giving them a copy as well. 

Picture is from Tricia Lyman's blog

One last suggestion…Directly behind your last stop you’ll see a desk that makes copies for 1 ½ pesos. I recommend making an extra copy. 

I’ll let you know later if I ever have to actually use this paper work. Oh, one more thing. I’m told that if you’re missing a license plate, then you need to have one at least on the front and not the back as in the States. I’m still pondering if I should remove the front one and place it in the front window. Some reading this are saying, “I would have already done that”! And one last thought…I was told at the very first stop that I probably don’t even need to complete all of the above. The reason…because my vehicle is licensed in the U.S. and not Mexico. My hope…that if I do get pulled over at least I will have accomplished the requirements of Mexico. Time surely will tell. Well, maybe! And one last, last thought…none of this may apply tomorrow. Things can change fast, but they do apply today, Christmas of 2014.

Good night and Merry Christmas!