To Obtain One Bolivian Drivers License You Must...

1. Take at least 15 trips to transito (this is not exagerated!)
2. Take 2 trips to Interpol to obtain one background check costing 40Bs.
3. Take 2 trips to the police station to obtain one request for a background check and one background check (for which you have to purchase a special form) in total costing 35Bs.
4. Take the theoretical exam on a Thursday night (in Spanish) covering signs, road rules (are there any in Bolivia??), and car mechanics.
5. Have at least 10 copies of your Bolivian ID card, 5 copies of your passport, one copy of your birth certificate, one copy of your American drivers license, one copy of the theoretical exam, one copy of the list of the theoretical exam saying you passed.....
6. Have 2 pictures 3x3cm on a blue background costing 15 Bs for the files and one digital picture for the actual license.
7. Stand in line for 2 hours to have an eye exam which costs 50 Bs.
8. Stand in 7 other lines at other desks.
9. Pay 160 Bs. for the actual license.

However, I am very proud to say that after a year of driving without a Bolivian license, I am now a legal driver in Boliva! (Although, for the record, they probably wouldn't give me many problems so long as I had my American license to show - many of my ex-pat lady friends drive without licenses).