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Driving in St Kitts and Nevis

Driving in St Kitts and Nevis, The Circus, Basseterre, St Kitts
Driving in St Kitts and Nevis, – Basseterre, St Kitts

Driving in St Kitts and Nevis – Driving & Vehicle Information

Obtaining a Driver’s License

To drive in St. Kitts, you must obtain a St. Kitts driver’s license. To do this, you must present your current driver’s license from your home country. A license can be obtained at the Fire Station on Frigate Bay Road, which is open 24 hours/day. The charge for a license is: three months = EC$62.50 (US$24); one year = EC$125.00 (US$48). You must remember to renew the license every year.  Your home country license should always be carried in conjunction with your St. Kitts license.

Note: Obtaining a St. Kitts license is important as random traffic stops occur often. If you are caught driving without a license, you may be fined or taken into police custody.

Traffic Laws

Vehicle & Road Traffic Act Many of the traffic and vehicle laws in St. Kitts may differ from your home country.  This document contains the full Vehicle and Road Traffic Act of St. Christopher and Nevis (15.06).

Summary of Offenses Under the Vehicle and Road Traffic Act – Contains penalties for various vehicle and road traffic offenses.
Examples of minimum penalties (View the PDF and Full Traffic act for further details):

EC $150 Penalty – driving unlicensed or unregistered vehicle, driving without or expired license, repairing a vehicle in street

EC $100 Penalty – driving at night with missing headlamp or rear lighting, failure to comply with traffic sign direction, failing to comply with lawful direction of member of Police, overcrowding a vehicle, failure to pull-over for emergency vehicle, parking in no parking zone, failure to stop at intersection, failure to display license sticker on window

Important Things to Remember when Driving in St. Kitts

  • Driving is on the LEFT hand side of the road.
  • The maximum legal speed limit is 40 MPH; 20 MPH in towns.
  • When passing another vehicle, it is customary to beep your horn. If driving in areas with curvy roads, you may want to honk as you go into a turn to warn other drivers.
  • Be aware that motorists may use hand signals instead of turn signals. Buses with license plates “H” or “HA” rarely signal, so be careful when you travel behind them.
  • Make sure your vehicle has working headlights and taillights and that your license plates are made up of a black background with white letters and numbers on the front and back of the vehicle. Also, make sure they are not broken and all the letters and numbers may be seen. The police conduct random checks and will fine for any infractions.
  • The police also check for expired registration, license, and insurance. Keep these up-to-date and in your car or on you at all times. Car registration/license/road tax (the sticker on your windshield) shows the month and year your car registration/license/road tax expires. Your driver’s license expires one year after the original purchase and on the anniversary thereafter. Your car insurance also expires one year after the original insurance date. You may not get reminders. The police conduct random checks and will fine for any infractions.

Purchasing Vehicles from RUSVM Students

Although St. Kitts is a small island, having transportation is still important. No one ships the car they own in St. Kitts back home, nor does anyone ship cars from the US – it would cost you 85% duty on the deemed value of the car plus EC$5,000 environmental tax. At the end of each semester there are many cars for sale. These cars are from the previous 7th semester students who were not able to sell them before they left and will be on campus for sale.

The realistic cost for a used car in St. Kitts is in the US $4,500-US$7,000 range.

Buying a Vehicle from a Dealership

A listing of car dealerships (with new and used cars) is listed below. You can go to car rental agencies (eg, Avis, Thrifty, G&L, Hertz, Delisle Walwyn and Huggins) where cars may be available for sale.

Leasing a Vehicle

Leasing of vehicles is not a standard business practice in St. Kitts; transactions of this nature should be closely investigated and entered into only if from one of the reputable automobile dealerships. To be on the safe side, do not lease if in doubt.

Vehicle Inspection and Registration

If you choose to purchase a car from a dealership, the company will be able to help you with the registration and inspection process.

If you choose to purchase a car from an individual, the following steps should be taken:

  • Have the seller give you a Declaration of Transfer stating that you are now the owner of the vehicle. These forms may be obtained from the Off Campus Housing Office. Be sure the year/make/model of car, engine and chassis number, seller’s name and address, your name and address, and the license plate number is on this form. This form must be presented by the seller and purchaser at the Traffic Department. If the student from whom your purchased the vehicle is off island, the Off Campus Housing Office may assist in the completion of the transfer.
  • Each car needs to be inspected annually. To determine when your car should be inspected, look on the colored sticker on the car windshield for the expiration month. The last digit of your license plate number will determine your inspection month (1 = January; 0 = October).
  • If you need to have your car inspected, please refer to the Off Campus Housing Office for assistance in coordinating the transfer of the unregistered vehicle to the inspection center.
  • You will need to insure your car at one of the many insurance companies in St. Kitts. Please note that premiums are based on: chassis and engine number, engine size, and driver’s age. It will be beneficial if you brought along a letter of fitness from your previous car insurance agency, stating current percent of no claim discount for the local company to assign a reduced rate to your new policy.
  • After insuring your car, you will take your Declaration of Transfer and proof of insurance to Inland Revenue to transfer the car registration into your name. Inland Revenue is located on the second floor of the building between the Post Office and Parcel Post on the Bay Road. Enter at the double doors between these two locations. Please note that Inland Revenue does not accept checks from Ross University students, so you must pay in cash.
  • Note: It is part of our mission to ensure we provide the smoothest transition for you upon your arrival. Your orientation leader will be responsible for making sure you are given the opportunity to purchase, insure, and transfer the registration of a vehicle if you so desire. We will assist you during orientation in all possible ways.

St Kitts and Nevis Automobile Parts/Repair Centers, Automobile Dealerships

Listed below are automobile parts/repair centers, automobile dealerships, and car rental agencies in St. Kitts. There are also many local independent mechanics. Always get a committed estimate before getting any work done and insist on a phone call to advise you if the work is going to exceed the agreed amount.

Vehicle Services:

Myron Liburd Auto Repairs
Ponds Industrial Site (Bay Road)
869-465-2604/869-664-1505
General auto repairs, body work

Huggins Auto Service &Rental
Bay Road,
869-465-8080
Vehicle Inspection, General auto repairs,
Wrecker Services

Sylvester Thomas Auto Repairs
Bird Rock 869-466-8823/869-665-5883
General auto repairs

Gordon Manufacturing Enterprises
Ponds Industrial Site,
869-465-8595
Radiator& muffler specialists

Island Auto Parts
Bird Rock,
869-465-4416

St Kitts & Nevis New/Used Car Dealership:

Caines Auto Services, Honda Dealership
Pond Industrial Site
869-465-2366

TDC Automotive, Suzuki Dealership
Ponds Industrial Site (Bay Road),
869-465-2505

S. L. Horsford Automotive Division, Nissan Dealership
Wellington Road
869-465-4971

St Kitts and Nevis Automobile / Vehicle Insurance:

SNIC – St. Kitts-Nevis Insurance Co.
Central St.869-465-2845

National Caribbean Insurance Co.
Church St.
869-465-5345

S. L.Horsford and Co., Ltd.
West Independence Square
869-465-2616 

Delisle Walwyn & Co., Ltd.
Liverpool Row
869-465-2631

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