Steps to abtain a driver's license

Steps to abtain a driver's license

JAKARTA (JP): Theoretically, applying for a driver's license
in Indonesia, for locals and foreigners alike, should not be a
complicated process. Not as complicated a process as most people
actually go through.

There are several reasons for the chronic problems within the
licensing process, including the fact that applicants who hate
following proper procedures prefer to use the services of brokers
or corrupt officers to help process their licenses.

The following article and the accompanying chart focus on the
procedures involved in applying for a new, renewed or substitute
(for a stolen or lost) license as well as how to obtain an
international license and business-used license. The latter is
for those who drive for a living, such as drivers of taxis, buses
and trucks.

Driver's licenses are known under the local abbreviation of
the Surat Ijin Mengemudi (SIM). There are six types of licenses:
type C (for motorcycles), A (four-wheel light vehicles, such as
sedans, jeeps and vans), B-I (buses and trucks), B-II (container
trucks, trailers, etc), Akh (three-wheel vehicles, such as bajaj)
and Umum (for business purposes).

The Umum type consists of three categories: A Umum (for taxi
drivers), B-I Umum (public bus drivers) and B-II Umum (drivers at
trailer transportation companies).

Applying for B-I, B-II and all Umum licenses involves
upgrading the type of the license. For that purpose, one should
already hold a license of a lower type for at least one year
prior to the date of application.

For instance, to apply for an A Umum or B-I license, one
should have owned a SIM A for at least one year. To get a B-I
Umum, the applicant should have owned an A Umum or B-I license
for at least one year, and so on.

Applicants intending to obtain Umum licenses of similar types,
such as from A to A Umum, or B-I to B-I Umum, do not have to take
a classroom test and driving test again, unless they apply for a
different type, such as from A to B-I, or from A Umum to B-I.

Trailers used for driving tests for B-II applicants are only
available once or twice a month.

The required minimum age for a SIM C is 16, A: 17, B-I: 20 and
the remaining types, the minimum age is 21.

Foreigners are allowed to apply only for a SIM C and A, with a
validation period of one year, compared to five years for locals.

Tariffs for any type of licenses and for any applicants,
including foreigners, are similar.

You will end up paying twice to nine times the official fee if
you deal with scalpers or corrupt officers.

The illegitimate tariffs are around Rp 125,000 for a SIM C, Rp
150,000 for a SIM B and between Rp 200,000 and Rp 400,000 for the
other types.

In return, applicants might experience shorter waiting times
and, most of all, obtain any type of license easily, as long as
they can afford to pay the fee. In many cases, no tests are
required.

However, it is suggested that applicants process their
licenses by themselves, because scalpers often cheat customers by
taking all the money and documents.

An applicant must bring with them the following in order to
obtain a license.

For SIM C and SIM A:

* KTP or residential identity card (for Indonesians), or KIM-S

and passport (for foreigners) -- their originals and

photocopies.

* Pencil -- 2B type (for classroom test),

Those required to renew their licenses or extend any type of
license should also bring their original SIMs and their
photocopies. Applicants whose lost their licenses or whose
licenses were stolen must obtain a police report and submit this
when applying for a new license.

Procedures

The procedures are as follows (see chart).

(1) Go to a medical check-up booth for a health record.
Medical records from other physicians are not acceptable.

(2) Go to any bank booth to pay Rp 52,500 for administration
fees. In return, you'll receive a receipt consisting of three
copies: the front copy is used to obtain the license at the final
stage, the second for registration and the third for your
personal records.

(3) Go to any insurance booth to pay Rp 10,000 for life
insurance premiums.

(4) Show the bank and insurance receipts plus your original ID
card or KIM-S and passport to officers at the registration booth
to get a registration form.

(5) After completing the form, submit it along with your ID
card, its copy, the medical record plus the second copy (blue) of
the bank receipt to the registration booth. Foreigners have their
own booth. Only applicants with completed forms will receive a
coupon bearing the applicant's number from the officers.

(6) Take a classroom test that has 50 optional answers about
traffic rules and signs. If you are applying for two licenses at
the same time, such as for motorcycles and cars, you have to take
two test forms at the same time.

(7) Take a driving practice test. (Those who want to renew or
process stolen/missing licenses will not have to take the
classroom test or driving test, unless their licenses expired
more than a year ago).

(8) Wait for the announcement of your test results. One should
follow the test procedures again from the beginning if they fail
the test.

(9) If you pass, your coupon will be marked by the officers
for which you're allowed to take your pictures at the
identification room. Your fingerprints will also be taken. In
this stage, you're also asked to double check the details of your
identity as shown on the computer screen.

(10) Wait for the completion of your license in the waiting
lounge; your license is being processed and printed by the
computerized machines.

International

International licenses, which could be used in any country
throughout the world, are issued by the Indonesian Motor
Association (IMI) at its headquarters in the Senayan Sports
Complex in Jakarta.

Only Indonesian citizens are allowed to apply.

Prerequisites required are a KTP, passport, Indonesian
driver's license and two passport-size photos.

"Male applicants should wear ties in the photos," said Suharto
of IMI.

The fee is Rp 100,000 and the process takes about a week.

However, the cost jumps to between Rp 350,000 and Rp 400,000
via the help of brokers.

"We don't take all the money for ourselves. A large portion
goes to IMI's people," said a broker. (bsr)