The Southern Sudan Drivers License Application Process

This is a public service posting--not so much to inform friends and family about the drivers license application scavenger hunt which I have just navigated, as much as to inform other kawajas new to Southern Sudan who may stumble across this post when searching google for guidance on the process. As far as I can tell, this is the only publicly available written record of how to apply for a driver’s license in Southern Sudan. Though still without paid employment, I am happy that through this posting I am able to contribute something valuable to society.

Applying for a GOSS Drivers License in Juba

Step 1: Collecting necessary documents
Persons wishing to apply for a GOSS driver’s license should make copies of their passport, GOSS travel permit, and any valid driver’s license(s). Presenting the actual documents is unacceptable. Applicants should also bring 2 passport photos. Also, if you'd prefer not to have your blood drawn in Juba, you should also bring a doctor's note or Red Cross card identifying your blood type.

Step 2: Obtaining the form
Applicants must first locate the Traffic Police post near the mosque in Juba town. This building may have an address but it is unknown to the author. Even if it did, there are no street signs in Juba and so knowing a street and number would be completely useless. Everyone knows where the mosque is; the traffic police post is located just to the northeast of the mosque.
Once you enter the traffic police compound, proceed to the metal shack located to the left (west) of the main building. [see map at end] You're looking for the door that is nearest the very-low-hanging utility line (anyone over 5'8", please duck). Once inside, the man seated at the desk will ask you for copies of your documents (step 1) and one of the passport photos. He will then transcribe and translate into Arabic your personal information onto this form.
COST: 20 Sudanese pounds (SDG)
NOTE: If you have an interest in keeping a copy of your details written in Arabic, make a photocopy of this form before completing step 5; your license will be issued in English and this form will not be returned to you.
NOTE 2: Even if the man at the desk raises his eyebrows, insinuating that women need not apply for drivers licenses, female applicants should not be intimidated; if you have the money, a license will be issued to you.

Step 3: First meeting with the Deputy Director
Applicants should next proceed, application form in hand, to the front of the main traffic police building. Upon entering, you'll join the queue formed on the right outside the door marked "D/Director". Once entering the office, the man behind the rather imposing desk will scrutinize your papers, perhaps making a brief note or two on them, and then write you a note instructing you to the Juba Teaching Hospital to find the Medical Commissioner. Even if you have your blood type, the medical commissioner is the only one who can put that information on your application; there's no point in asking the deputy director.
Cost: Free

Step 4: First meeting with the Medical Commissioner
Applicants should then make their way to the main street leading to the airport, near St. Joseph Catholic Church; you'll have to drive (or rather, have a driver drive you, since you aren't technically supposed to be driving yet in Southern Sudan). The Medical Commissioner isn't actually in the Teaching Hospital, but rather in an office across the street and slightly north of the Hospital's main entrance; there is a sign that is easy to miss, and so asking around is a good idea. You should enter a screened-in porch lined with benches (the waiting room). When he is around, the commissioner sits in the middle office (again, unmarked). If you don't see him, ask one of the ladies in the office nearer the road-- they'll likely tell you to wait in his office (not the waiting room) until he arrives. [see map below] Upon presenting the medical commissioner with your application form, he will then write you a "prescription" to the Juba Teaching Hospital for an eye exam and (presumably) a blood type test. The author also presented a doctor's note with her blood type which the commissioner (thankfully) accepted as sufficient.

Step 5: Eye Exam
Applicants should take the medical commissioner’s note across the street to the Juba Teaching Hospital (enter at the gate near the "Breast Feeding Awareness Week" banner). The Eye Clinic is located directly behind (south, not west) of the Dental Clinic. Upon entering, the receptionist will direct you through the double doors to an inner room. The man at the first desk on the left will direct you to the man at the desk at the back of the room. While waiting for this man, study the eye chart on the wall very carefully, particularly the line marked 6/6 (measured in meters, rather than feet, this is 20/20 vision). After handing him the prescription, he will ask you to sit on a stool in a closet across the room from the eye chart, cover one eye (and then the other) and identify the orientation (up, down, left, and right) of the E's. He will then take your payment, mark your performance on your prescription, and direct you to the receptionists' desk to have the prescription stamped.
COST: 10 SDG
NOTE: It's likely that the closet in the stool is farther than 6 meters from the eye chart, so even those with excellent eyesight should study the chart carefully before beginning the test. If you want to be all honest about it and not cheat (of if you just didn't think about giving yourself a leg-up), the eye examiner might give you a couple chances to identify the correct orientation.

Steps 6-8: Paying the Medical Commissioner (but not personally), Second Meeting with the Commissioner, and Getting the Commissioner's Stamp
Applicants should return to the complex housing the medical commissioner and join the queue for the office on the south side of the complex nearest the road (NOTE: this should not be confused with the office accessed through the waiting room where the ladies sit). The man behind the desk will take your money and issue you a receipt. You should then return to the commissioner and present him with this receipt, your license application form, the prescription with your eye exam results, and the doctor's note with your blood type. The commissioner will transcribe the results onto your form. You will then proceed next door to the room with the ladies. Present your application form and receipt to the lady sitting at the desk on the far left, and she will in turn stamp your application.
COST: 30 SDG
NOTE: Applicants may bypass the droves of people waiting in the screened-in waiting room to see the commissioner, and proceed directly to his desk. The bulk of those waiting are having their birth certificates/ages verified to that they can register to vote. Applicants should, however, wait in line in Step 6 to pay for the commissioner's stamp.

Step 9: Second Meeting with the Deputy Director
Having completed fulfilled all health-related testing, applicants should return to the traffic police and again wait to speak with the deputy director. After presenting him with the application form, he will look over all of the attached papers (copy of passport, existing driver’s license, etc). At this point it seems he has two options: either to honor an existing license as proof that you are capable of driving or require that the applicant undergo an interview and driving test. The author’s State of Virginia license seemed to pass muster, and so I am unable to inform readers the exact process that occurs if your licenses are similarly honored. If you are lucky like me, read on.

Step 10: Paying for a Learners Permit and Ministry Fees
After finishing with the deputy director, applicants are then directed to the Accounts office to pay for a learner’s permit and fees to the ministry of finance. Though there is only one “accountant,” there are three separate lines. The one intended for driver’s license applicants is the least accessible—but most Sudanese—of the three. To find it, exit the main traffic police building, and bear right as if you were returning to the shack where you first received your form. You’ll pass a bunch of motorcycles on your right, and see a small broken-out window near the inner corner of the building, beyond a few broken traffic signs. This is where you should form a line, if one isn’t already started. Once you crawl over the broken concrete and traffic signs, you should lean down and pass your application through the bars of the broken window to the accountant. Once it is your turn, he’ll write out two receipts; one for 30 SDG for the learners permit, and another for 60 SDG for the finance ministry—there are two separate line items on this second receipt, but it is unclear what they are for. You should hand your money through the window.
COST: 90 SDG

Step 11: Paying for your license
After crawling back over the broken concrete and road signs, you should continue on to the back side of the traffic police building. There you will find another series of windows (these, unbroken) through which you will conduct the final transactions. After handing the attendant your application form, two receipts from the accountant, and the all-important 2nd passport-sized photo, he will then ask for your information in English (keep in mind this information has already been translated from English to Arabic on the application form; that form, though, will not be used to make the license). After handing over 100 SDG for the license, depending upon the hour, you will likely be instructed to return the following day to retrieve your license. Reasonable accommodation may be (and was) made for special circumstances, without having to pay for expedited service.
COST: 100 SDG

Step 12: Retrieving your new license
At the hour indicated, the applicant should return to this back-of-building service window to retrieve his/her license. You will need to present the final receipt (for 100 SDG), at which point the attendant will indicate delivery by slightly tearing the receipt. He’ll hand over this marred receipt and your shiny new license.
NOTE: If you find, as did the author, that they have incorrectly transcribed information such as your blood type, phone number, etc., the author recommends that you not mention it. Let’s be honest, you’re unlikely to need/agree to a blood transfusion in Sudan, anyway. And in the case of the phone number, in true Sudanese style, you’ll likely lose or break your SIM card within the next three months, requiring a new number anyway.

Total cost: 250 SDG (about $100 USD)

Total time elapsed: For the author, 78 hours (NOTE: do not start the process on a Friday morning; you’ll undoubted be delayed until Monday for the right people to be in the office.

Disclaimer: Like everything in Southern Sudan, this process is liable to change at any time. According to our licenses, we were the 741st and 743rd people to successfully navigate this process, so it's probably due to change sooner rather than later.

Map of Traffic Police Complex

Map of Medical Commissioner's Office Complex