The Licensing Office in Trinidad and Tobago: How To Deal With A Lost Driver's Permit in San Fernando

I spent a lot of time in the Licensing Office here in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago last week. While travelling, I lost my Trinidad and Tobago driver's permit, so I got another one.

But getting another one is a dance. Here's the dance you have to do in San Fernando (heaven forbid you live in San Fernando and got your license in Port of Spain!).

There are a few ways to do this, but you need to get 3 things. You need a police report, which is relatively painless. You go to the police station, and file a report. You get a piece of paper with the particulars; it probably gets put into a log book somewhere. You also need to swear an affidavit saying that, yeah verily, you lost your license on whatever date, whatever time, at whatever place.

But the kicker is that the Affidavit is on the piece of paper you have to get from the licensing office. And if you do not have a valid permit from another country (and not been in Trinidad for longer than 30 days), you can't drive legally. So the licensing office, about 2-3 miles away from the Police Station (Mon Repos is about 2 miles, Harris Promenade is about 3), and about 3 miles from where you can swear an affidavit (next to the Police Station on Harris Promenade), is really off the beaten path. Taxis are hard to get there, and hard to get to there with. In other words, you probably need a friend.

With some experimentation over the years, I've found the best thing to do is to go, grab a form at the Licensing Office, go to Harris Promenade, do the Police Report, swear the Affidavit, and go back to the licensing office. Having your driver's permit information helps - make a photocopy of it, leave the photocopy in a safe place. If you're 'travelling' (using taxis), don't expect to get done in one day, but be pleasantly surprised if you do. By the way, the Licensing office closes at 3 p.m.

Things that help you with getting through the Licensing Office quickly: First, know your permit number. Second, know when it was issued. Third, know when it was renewed. Lastly, stay on top of things.

When you get to the licensing office with your two pieces of paper (licensing paperwork/affidavit and police report), make sure you filled out the paperwork right. Don't touch the Police Report. Don't follow the signs at the counter. Instead, join the gaggle at the counter toward the center and ask someone who is doing the lost permits - they'll point you at the right person, and anyone in line will inform you where the line is. It won't be obvious, so go with the flow.

Smile. Be nice.

In about an hour, if you've done everything right, you'll get your permit.

Are there ways to improve the process? Of course there are. As it is now, it's almost expected to lose a day of work when you go to the Licensing Office. Why? Because they make it difficult. It would be sensible to have a Police Officer there to do the report. It would also be sensible to have some Commissioner's of Affidavits nearby.

It might even help if they computerize the records. I've found that the problem has nothing to do with people who work at the licensing office; they can and usually are very efficient. The problem is an antiquated process, which if they computerized, would still be an antiquated process. They need to update the process. But if you're stuck there doing the 'lost permit dance', remember that the person helping you is at least 10 times more frustrated than you are with the way things work or do not work.