How to get a learner’s permit in Puerto Rico

The learner’s permit — many people call it "permiso de aprendizaje" — is the document that lets you practise driving while you prepare for the full Certificado de Licencia de Conducir. It is not a half-license: it is a category with rules of its own. You apply on form DTOP-DIS-255, take the exam, and with the certificate in hand you may practise under the conditions Act 22-2000 sets. It lasts two years, is not renewable, and once you have waited the period that applies to your age, you request the road test to move up to the conductor category. Watch one confusing form: DTOP-DIS-312 also says "aprendizaje" in its title, but it is the provisional permit for foreign nationals without official migratory status, which has its own learner category. For most people the right form is the 255.

This is the process for someone who does not yet hold a driver’s license and wants to start. The rules change with your age. If you are over 16 but under 18, your parent has to complete the Certificado de Patria Potestad before a notary and show current photo identification; if a legal guardian is authorizing you, they must also produce the document certifying that guardianship. That certificate is not a formality: whoever signs it accepts written responsibility for any fines imposed on you and any damage you cause. If you are under 18, you also need a school or institutional certification evidencing that you are studying or completed the 4th year of high school — home schooling counts, with a parental sworn statement — and for legal presence you may only use the birth certificate. None of the official sources we read sets a minimum age in those words: all of them are written from 16 upward. If you are under 16, ask CESCO before preparing anything.

• If you are over 16 but under 18: your parent completes the Certificado de Patria Potestad before a notary and shows current photo identification.Verified against the official source
• If a legal guardian is authorizing you, they must also produce a document certifying legal guardianship, and likewise complete the Certificado de Patria Potestad before a notary.Verified against the official source
• If you are under 18: a certification from a school or institution evidencing that you are studying or completed the 4th year of high school. Home schooling is accepted with a parental sworn statement.Verified against the official source
• Medical certification on form DTOP-DIS-260, completed by a physician licensed to practise in Puerto Rico, issued no more than twelve (12) months before you submit the application.Verified against the official source
• Driving accompanied by a driver aged twenty-one (21) or older, authorized to drive that type of vehicle, seated beside you in the front passenger seat. Motorcycles require no companion.Verified against the official source
• Driving only between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm during the six (6) months from the date the license was issued.Verified against the official source
• On a motorcycle, practising only in designated practice areas: you may not ride on highways or on state or municipal roads in Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• For the road test, waiting six (6) months if you are between 16 and 18, or thirty (30) days if you are over 18, counted from the issue date of the learner’s permit.Verified against the official source

• Form DTOP-DIS-255, “Solicitud Certificado de Licencia para Conducir Vehículos de Motor — Categoría de Aprendizaje”, completed.
• Form DTOP-DIS-260 with the medical certification, completed in full: certificates with blank spaces or alterations are not accepted.
• Evidence of your Social Security number: the original card, or a W-2, an SSA-1099, a pay stub showing your name and number, or a stamped copy of the state or federal return for the current or previous year.
• For legal presence and date of birth: an original Puerto Rico birth certificate in the current version (2010 onward, the blue one), a valid US passport, a permanent resident card, or a certificate of naturalization or citizenship. If you are under 18, only the birth certificate may be used.
• A photo identification document.
• A document issued no more than two (2) months ago evidencing your permanent residential address: a water, electricity, phone, mobile or bank statement.
• If that bill is not in your name: form DTOP-DIS-156 “Certificación de Residencia Principal”, signed by the person it belongs to, plus a copy of their valid identification. If you cannot reach that person, form DTOP-DIS-263 “Afirmación so pena de perjurio Certificando la Residencia Principal” before a notary.
• The stamps and voucher: $11 in an Internal Revenue stamp (code 5120), $1 in a stamp (code 5120, Act 296-2002 on Anatomical Donations) and $2 in a voucher (code 0842, Act 24-2017 Trauma Center charge).
• If you are under 18: the notarized Certificado de Patria Potestad and current photo identification for whoever signs it.

1. 1

   Step 1: Download DTOP-DIS-255 and confirm what applies at your age

   The form carries the full requirement list printed on it, and two of them depend on your age: the Certificado de Patria Potestad if you are between 16 and 18, and the school certification if you are under 18. If you have already turned 18, neither applies and the process is considerably shorter. Make sure you downloaded the 255 and not the 312, which is for foreign nationals without official migratory status.

2. 2

   Step 2: If you are under 18, sort out the notary and the school first

   The Certificado de Patria Potestad is part of the DTOP-DIS-255 itself and is signed before a notary, so your parent or legal guardian has to go with you to the notary and then to the CESCO with current photo identification. Whoever signs accepts responsibility for your fines and any damage you cause, so it is not something handled over the phone. Request the school certification at the same time: those two are what lose the most appointments.

3. 3

   Step 3: Get the DTOP-DIS-260 medical certification

   It is signed by a physician licensed to practise in Puerto Rico and may not be more than twelve months old when you submit the application. It has to be complete: certificates with blank spaces or alterations are not accepted. One detail worth knowing: CESCO’s own page has a stray line at the foot of the block saying six months rather than twelve. The form and the main requirement both say twelve, but if you can get it within six months you avoid the argument at the counter.

4. 4

   Step 4: Study the Driver’s Manual and buy the stamps

   The exam covers Act 22-2000, and DTOP publishes the Driver’s Manual free — that is where the material comes from, so there is no need to buy courses or practice exams from non-government sites. The same manual carries the restrictions you will have to follow afterwards. The $14 in stamps and voucher are bought at a Hacienda collection office, and several CESCOs have one in the same building. If you fail, each retake is another $11, so studying is cheap.

5. 5

   Step 5: Book the appointment and take the exam

   CESCO links its appointment system from its own homepage. Confirm that the center near you handles this service before booking, because not every CESCO offers every service. Bring the complete folder: if a document is missing, the exam does not happen that day and you lose the appointment.

6. 6

   Step 6: Practise under the restrictions and count the deadlines

   With the certificate in hand you always drive accompanied by someone 21 or older authorized to drive that vehicle, seated in the front passenger seat, and only between 6:00 am and 10:00 pm for the first six months. The permit lasts two years and is not renewable. To request the road test you wait six months if you are between 16 and 18, or thirty days if you are over 18. If it expires, you have thirty extra days to request the road test; after that you need a new learner’s permit.

At a CESCO. The exam and the document handover are in person, even though the appointment is arranged online through the system CESCO links from its own homepage. Not every CESCO offers every service, so confirm before setting off. The stamps and voucher are bought at a Hacienda collection office, and several CESCOs have one in the same building. CESCO Digital is useful for your records and other transactions, but this first application is not completed there.

• Downloading DTOP-DIS-312 instead of DTOP-DIS-255: the 312 is the provisional permit for foreign nationals without official migratory status.
• Turning up with an address document more than two months old, or in someone else’s name without a signed DTOP-DIS-156.
• Being under 18 and bringing a passport for legal presence, when minors may only use the birth certificate.
• Leaving the Certificado de Patria Potestad until the day of the appointment, forgetting it is signed before a notary.
• Believing the cost is $6: that is the duplicate. The learner’s permit is $14, and each exam retake another $11.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Directoría de Servicios al Conductor (CESCO)

  CESCO

  www.cesco.pr.gov

• DTOP-DIS-255 — application, learner category (Rev. 17feb2025)

  CESCO

  docs.pr.gov

• DTOP-DIS-260 — medical certification (Rev. 18feb2025)

  CESCO

  docs.pr.gov

• Driver’s Manual — Act No. 22 of 2000

  DTOP

  docs.pr.gov

• DTOP-DIS-312 — provisional permit for foreign nationals

  CESCO

  docs.pr.gov

• CESCO appointment system

  CESCO

  cesco.turnospr.com

• CESCO Digital

  CESCO

  web.cescodigital.pr.gov