The Rocky Road to Drivers’ License Renewals

Eight months ago, on May 22, 2025 I received the initial notification from the Ministry of Transportation that my drivers’ license would expire on November 18^th and it was time to initiate the renewal process.  I finally received it in the mail this morning, 246 days later.  Truly unbelievable and extremely inefficient as well.

As a good citizen, as soon as I received the notification, I began the process of getting the various medical certifications completed.  At my advanced age of 86 that includes both an eye exam and a physical exam, both of which are required in order to receive the next two-year renewal, another age-related limitation.

Within a week I had both examinations completed, both approved and authorized by the various medical professionals authorized to do so.   The forms themselves then had to be sent through the Israel Post in the return envelope provided.

It is simply amazing to me and most other thinking people as well, that in this age of electronics the Ministry of Transportation still requires applicants to submit these forms by mail with no electronic options available whatsoever.  I don’t know what the situation is elsewhere in the country but in Jerusalem all corner post boxes have been removed with the remaining ones existing only at the local post office.  However, in our neighborhood in Jerusalem most of the local post offices have now been closed.  The facilities in Rechavia, on Emek Refaim and Chopin are history, having been closed in the last five years with the one remaining open facility at the understaffed outlet on Tchernichovsky Street.

Of course, while the post boxes there used to be curbside the street itself has been under reconstruction for the last two years.  As such, the post boxes were moved inside the building, so in order to mail a letter one needs to go there when the postal facility is open.  In a strange twist of Israeli logic, the government which demands that you submit documents by mail makes it extremely difficult to find a mail box in which to post the item.   All of this is further exacerbated by the fact that for those of us who are mobility challenged there was no place to stop on that street even if we were to go there when the branch post office was open.  Bummer!

In error, I neglected to sign one of the forms which the Ministry of Transportation then returned to me, by mail of course (which we get delivered once or twice a month if we are lucky) forcing me to repeat the process of resending the forms once again.

As the expiration date of my the license approached, and having heard nothing from the authorities I took the initiative and made an appointment at the Talpiot Branch of the driver licensing authority, making my way there on the morning of November 25^th.  Of course, I took copies of the various medical forms with me and when my number was called met with one of the clerks.  I related the fact that I had not heard anything about the renewal and wondered if there was a problem?

She looked up my file and told me that in order to get my license renewed I need a formal letter from a doctor stating that I was fit to drive.  I responded by asking (a) when was the Ministry going to advise me of this and (b) why do I need a letter from a doctor when the medical forms for this purpose had been completed and submitted?  She did not know the answer but said that without such a letter I could not get the license renewed.

The smartest thing that I did that morning was to ask her to give me a “petek” (i.e. a note) that clearly stated what was needed from the doctor, which she did.  That would ultimately be the one thing that saved me in this ordeal.

I asked how long the office would be open that day and she said until 1230 at which point I smiled and said “working half days eh?”  Just could not resist that.  I then trundled off to Emek Refiam in the German Colony to find a doctor at Meuhedet who would give me such a letter.   I waited until 1100 until the doctor of the day showed up, he examined me, ask me to turn my head left and right, up and down, looked at my medical history and give me the much-heralded letter.  It said, basically, that he had examined me and that I was fit to drive.

At that point I went back to the drivers’ licensing office and met with yet another clerk who looked the record and the letter and said: “Sorry, but what you really need is a letter from a neurologist certifying your fit to drive.”  Seriously?  I related to her that earlier that day one of her colleagues had given me the famous “petek” which I showed her and on the basis of which I secure a doctor’s letter.  She looked at me without remorse and said there was nothing she could do.

It was then time to speak with the person in charge of drivers’ licensing issues at that office which I did.  She looked at all the papers and told me to go to Station 12 and see Shosh for assistance.  Frankly, Shosh was the nicest person I dealt with that morning at that facility.   Shosh also looked at the record and confirmed what the clerk had told me 30 minutes earlier that I needed a letter from a neurologist.

Thank the good Lord for that “petek” which I produced, showed it to Shosh and related the entire saga to her.  Her initial reaction was also that there was nothing she could do, I had to see a neurologist.  At that point I laid it on thick saying that I had done everything I was asked to do “in writing” and should not be held responsible for their inefficiency. She paused, thought for a moment and presumably agreed in her head that I was correct at which point she printed out a temporary license valid until May 18, 2026, told me to pay the NIS 107 fee and the license would be sent shortly.

Of course, that’s not the end of the story.   On November 30^th of last year, almost two months ago, the Ministry of Transportation sent the new license valid until November, 2027 but, of course, they sent it through the Israel Post.  It arrived this morning, 54 days after it was mailed and 246 days since I received the first notification that it was time to renew.

You can walk into any bank in this country, ask to open and account and within seconds the clerk will ask you why you want to open an account there when you already have accounts at two other banks.  If you get a parking ticket anywhere in Israel and choose to go to court to fight it, the court clerk will tell the judge that you are a repeat offender having received a parking ticket as well in 1991.   I can get into my car, put my destination in Waze and will be told, with an amazing degree of accuracy, the best way to get there and when I will arrive.  But to get a drivers’ license renewed?  246 Days!!!

It never bothers me to deal with the bureaucracy here when we don’t have the technology to cut through the red tape.   However, when we have the technology and choose not to use it, and more specifically when it is the government that is at fault, that is simply inexcusable.  None of us should have to deal with this curable insanity.