Driving and Licence Exchange
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Ecuador on this topic. That is the answer, not a gap - everything below is the rule you get, unchanged.
81 exceptions recorded across 33 countries · none match Ecuador to Bolivia · Driving and licence exchange
A foreigner resident in Bolivia can get a Bolivian licence, and the identity card is the gate: the licence lasts exactly as long as the card. Exchanging a foreign licence rather than sitting the test is a different matter - the identification service's general page says it is for people with permanent or indefinite residence, which leaves temporary residents to take the full route of medical certificate, driving school and police clearance. Argentina and Chile have their own arrangements, and those pages ask only for a current identity card.
At a glance
- Licence validity for a resident foreigner
- The same as the foreigner's identity card
- Minimum age
- 18 for private and motorcycle, 21 for professional categories
- Cost, most categories
- Bs 225as of 2026-09-27
- Cost, motorcycle category
- Bs 80as of 2026-09-27
- Medical certificate
- Bs 50as of 2026-09-27
- Exchange of a foreign licence
- Stated to require permanent or indefinite residence
- Upgrading categories
- Open to legally resident foreigners over 18, for the validity of their identity card
- Countries with a bilateral arrangement
- Argentina and Chile
Requirements
- A current foreigner's identity card - nothing else substitutes for it
- For a first licence: 18 for private and motorcycle categories, 21 for professional ones
- A medical and psychological assessment certificate from an accredited health centre
- A certificate of driving-skill approval from an authorised driving school endorsed by the Ministry of Education
- Police clearance certificates from the anti-narcotics and anti-crime forces and from traffic police
- No observation or restriction recorded against you at the identification service
- For exchange rather than test: a document proving permanent or indefinite residence, plus the original foreign licence and a medical certificate
How the process runs
- Step 1
Get the foreigner's identity card first
SEGIP
Nothing in the licence process starts without it, and the licence will expire when it does.
- Step 2
Medical and psychological assessment
Accredited health centre
At a health centre accredited by the identification service. The certificate is registered in the service's system at the end of the day, so the office visit has to wait until the day after.
- Step 3
Driving school
Authorised driving school
A certificate of driving-skill approval from an authorised private training centre, itself authorised by the Ministry of Education.
- Step 4
Police clearance
Policía Boliviana
Certificates from the anti-narcotics and anti-crime special forces and from traffic police, through the digital records platform.
- Step 5
Pay and collect
SEGIP
Payment at an authorised bank or by digital QR, then the licence at a SEGIP office.
In detail
The card is the clock
A Bolivian licence issued to a foreigner expires with the identity card, and the card expires with the residence permit. Someone on a one-year permit gets a one-year licence and renews all three together. It is the tidiest version of this rule we have seen in the region, and the least forgiving.
Two pages on the same site do not agree
The identification service's general exchange route asks for permanent or indefinite residence. Its dedicated pages for Argentine and Chilean licences ask for a current foreigner's identity card and say nothing about the level of permit behind it. A temporary resident from either country has a better case for an exchange than the general page implies, and should take the bilateral page to the counter.
Country-level policy
On 30 March 2026 Bolivia created a government-wide deregulation programme called Tranca Cero. It builds a single national catalogue of procedures and provides that, once that catalogue is fully in place, no requirement outside it may be demanded. The migration directorate has put a notice at the top of its own procedures page saying its published requirements are the ones currently in force and that the changes coming out of the programme will be added when the implementing rules appear. Everything on Bolivia's pages should be read against that.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Ecuador
We have no rule recorded that treats your citizenship differently here, so the general rule above is the one that applies to you. That is an answer, not a gap.
What the law says
«Documento que demuestre la permanencia definitiva o indefinida otorgada por la Dirección Nacional de Migración. Original y fotocopia.»Our translation - not official
A document proving the permanent or indefinite stay granted by the National Directorate of Migration. Original and photocopy.
The publisher's own slip: the body is the Dirección General de Migración, not "Nacional". More substantively, this closes exchange to temporary residents, and the two bilateral pages on the same site do not repeat the condition.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Nota: Las licencias para extranjeros residentes en Bolivia tendrán el mismo tiempo de vigencia que su Cédula de Identidad de Extranjero.»Our translation - not official
Note: Licences for foreigners resident in Bolivia shall have the same period of validity as their Foreigner's Identity Card.
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Los extranjeros mayores de 18 años, residentes legalmente en Bolivia, únicamente, podrán postular al ascenso gradual de una Licencia para Conducir, por el plazo de vigencia de su Cédula de Identidad de Extranjero.»Our translation - not official
Foreigners over 18 years of age, legally resident in Bolivia, and only they, may apply for the gradual upgrade of a Licence to Drive, for the period of validity of their Foreigner's Identity Card.
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Edad mínima 18 años cumplidos para categorías P y M.»Our translation - not official
Minimum age 18 completed years for categories P and M.
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Edad mínima 21 años para categorías A y T.»Our translation - not official
Minimum age 21 years for categories A and T.
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«| P | Bs. 225 |»Our translation - not official
P: Bs 225
The fees are published as a two-column table; the quotation is one row of it as captured. The same table gives Bs 80 for categories M and T.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«| M | Bs. 80 |»Our translation - not official
M: Bs 80
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
«Certificado de Evaluación Médica emitido por Centro de salud acreditado. (Autorizado). Costo: Bs. 50»Our translation - not official
Medical Assessment Certificate issued by an accredited health centre. (Authorised). Cost: Bs 50
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias para Conducir, which is the instrument behind all of this, was not read. Everything recorded here is the identification service stating its own requirements.
The service notes that the amount payable and the validity granted on an exchange both depend on whether an agreement exists with the applicant's country, without publishing the list of those agreements.
An international driving permit is issued in Bolivia only to Bolivians holding a Bolivian licence, through the Automóvil Club Boliviano. It is not a route for a foreigner.
- administersLicencia para conducir - requisitos
Servicio General de Identificación Personal (SEGIP)
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source
- administersHomologación Licencia para Conducir - Argentina
Servicio General de Identificación Personal (SEGIP)
About this source
Issues the foreigner's identity card and driving licences, and runs the bilateral licence exchanges with Argentina and Chile.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the Reglamento Técnico Operativo de Licencias, which it applies without reproducing. It is also internally inconsistent about whether an exchange requires permanent residence - its general page says yes, its Argentina and Chile pages ask only for a current card - so neither of its answers can be cited as settled.
We re-read it every 60 days. More about this source