Vehicle Permits for Driving in Sonora, Mexico
The state of Sonora, Mexico is a marvelous place to explore from behind the wheel of a vehicle, but there are still parts of the state where a special vehicle permit is required to enter.
Fortunately, the Mexican government has smoothed the process for obtaining a temporary vehicle permit by introducing online pre-registration and purchasing. And we are hopeful that sometime soon even more of the state will be open for permit-free driving.
Sonora continues to become more tourist-friendly and accessible to drivers who cross the Arizona-Sonora border from the United States. This follows a trend that started in the 1990’s when the first Free Trade Zone was established in the northwestern part of the state, allowing tourists to drive their cars to Rocky Point without having to get a temporary Mexican vehicle importation permit.
A few years ago, the Free Trade Zone was extended eastward to Mexico highway 15 and south to Empalme. And since then, the federal Mexican government and the government of the State of Sonora have had continuous construction and re-construction of Sonora’s state and federal highways, making it even more vehicle-friendly for independent tourists who want to explore Sonora by car or motorhome.
Still, there are areas of the state that have great places to enjoy while driving but are restrictive to foreign vehicles because they are not part of the Sonora Free Trade Zone. They include the Southern Sonora cities of Ciudad Obregon, Navojoa, Alamos and Huatabampo, beautiful Sonoran beaches at Huatabampito, the city of Ures and the beautiful, historic Route of the Rio Sonora.
The good news is that those areas are not completely restricted to foreign motorists. Travelers can purchase a Banjercito federal temporary foreign vehicle importation permit that is valid in all of Mexico for six months but also requires a security deposit. Banjercito also administers the Only Sonora vehicle permit program, which is restricted to travel in Sonora and costs about the same to purchase, although no deposit is required. The Banjercito programs include permits for autos, motorhomes and boats.
The process to obtain a permit is still paper-intensive, requiring original documents and copies of the driver’s citizenship or residency status and vehicle ownership information. But where vehicle importers used to have to initiate and finish the process at a Banjercito bank located in a border customs station, they can now enter the information online at the Banjercito website and have the permit mailed to them or pick it up at a border customs station or at the Mexican Consulate in Phoenix.
These changes have helped not only to expedite the process, but to provide some piece of mind that documentation provided for vehicle permits is acceptable and complete.
And we still have our fingers crossed, hoping that the State of Sonora, Mexico will open its entire territory to visitors in foreign vehicles without requiring a permit.
