Exchanging a Foreign Driving Licence
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Colombia 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 Colombia to Ecuador · Driving and licence exchange
The transit agency will convert a foreign licence, professional or not, into an Ecuadorian one. What makes the file heavy is the authentication: besides the licence itself, the agency wants a separate certificate confirming the licence is valid, issued either by your country's diplomatic mission in Ecuador or by the issuing transit authority and apostilled. It also wants a blood-type card from the Ecuadorian Red Cross and a certificate of your migration movements. The exchange costs USD 142 under the 2024 tariff, is done in person, and produces a licence valid for five years - or for the length of your stay, if that is shorter.
At a glance
- Cost
- USD 142, plus the bank's commissionas of 2024-01-01
The agency's page attributes the figure to the 2024 tariff table, Resolución Nro. 025-DIR-2023-ANT, which we have not read.
- Licence validity
- 5 years
- Shorter stays
- The licence is cut to the period authorised by the migration authorities
- How it is done
- In person, after generating a payment order online
- Language
- The holder must be able to read and write Spanish
- Age
- 18 or over
Requirements
- Original identity document
- Original blood type certificate or card issued by the Ecuadorian Red Cross
- Original, valid professional or non-professional driving licence from your country of origin
- An original certificate confirming the foreign licence is valid - from your country's diplomatic mission in Ecuador in Spanish, or from the issuing transit authority, apostilled or consularised and with a notarised translation where it is not in Spanish
- Original proof of payment
- A certificate of migration movements
- The ability to read and write Spanish
In detail
Two documents about one licence
The part that catches people out is that the licence itself is not enough. The agency asks separately for a certificate attesting that the licence is valid, and it has to come from either your country's diplomatic mission in Ecuador - in Spanish - or from the transit authority that issued the licence, apostilled, with a notarised translation if it is not in Spanish. Getting that certificate is usually the long pole, and it should be started before leaving.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Colombia
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
«1. Original del documento de identificación. 2. Original del certificado o carné de tipo sanguíneo emitido por la Cruz Roja Ecuatoriana 3. Original de la licencia de conductor profesional o no profesional del país de origen vigente. 4. Original del certificado de la licencia de conducir extrajera vigente, emitido por una de las siguientes instituciones: Misiones Diplomáticas de los países de origen en el Ecuador o Misiones Diplomáticas que no se encuentren en Ecuador, ambas en español / Entidades de Tránsito del país de origen, el mismo que en caso de no estar en español deberá ser apostillado o consularizado, y la traducción del mismo deberá ser autenticada por un Notario, Cónsul o Juez de lo Civil en el Ecuador / Entidades de Tránsito del país de origen, debidamente apostillada en el caso de ser emitida en español. 5. Comprobante de pago original. 6. Certificado de movimiento migratorio.»Our translation - not official
1. Original identity document. 2. Original blood type certificate or card issued by the Ecuadorian Red Cross. 3. Original professional or non-professional driving licence from the country of origin, valid. 4. Original certificate of the valid foreign driving licence, issued by one of the following institutions: Diplomatic Missions of the countries of origin in Ecuador or Diplomatic Missions not located in Ecuador, both in Spanish / Transit authorities of the country of origin, which, if not in Spanish, must be apostilled or consularised, and its translation must be authenticated by a Notary, Consul or Civil Judge in Ecuador / Transit authorities of the country of origin, duly apostilled where issued in Spanish. 5. Original proof of payment. 6. Certificate of migration movements.
This is the agency stating the rule it applies, not the instrument. The underlying rules are Resolución 118-DIR-2015-ANT and its amendments, which we have not read.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The national transit agency, which administers driving licence exchange and publishes the procedure.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the rules themselves. The page restates four board resolutions without reproducing any of them, and omits conditions the agency states elsewhere, including the residence-length condition widely reported for exchange. Its fee is attributed to a tariff table the page does not carry. This is why the driving licence topic is marked single-secondary.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«La licencia de conducir tiene un tiempo de vigencia de 5 años. Para el caso de personas extranjeras cuya visa y/o tiempo de permanencia autorizado por las autoridades migratorias sea menor a 5 años, la licencia de conducir será emitida por el periodo determinado.»Our translation - not official
The driving licence has a validity of 5 years. In the case of foreign persons whose visa and/or period of stay authorised by the migration authorities is less than 5 years, the driving licence shall be issued for the period determined.
About this source
The national transit agency, which administers driving licence exchange and publishes the procedure.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the rules themselves. The page restates four board resolutions without reproducing any of them, and omits conditions the agency states elsewhere, including the residence-length condition widely reported for exchange. Its fee is attributed to a tariff table the page does not carry. This is why the driving licence topic is marked single-secondary.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
«Persona mayor a 18 años de edad, que desee autorización de canje de licencia de conducir extranjera por ecuatoriana.»Our translation - not official
A person over 18 years of age who wishes to be authorised to exchange a foreign driving licence for an Ecuadorian one.
A procedure page, not an instrument. It describes who the service is for; the underlying licensing regulation, Resolución 118-DIR-2015-ANT, has not been read.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The national transit agency, which administers driving licence exchange and publishes the procedure.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the rules themselves. The page restates four board resolutions without reproducing any of them, and omits conditions the agency states elsewhere, including the residence-length condition widely reported for exchange. Its fee is attributed to a tariff table the page does not carry. This is why the driving licence topic is marked single-secondary.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The agency's page does not state a minimum length of stay or visa type for the exchange, although the agency has said elsewhere that it applies to visas longer than 180 days. We do not state a threshold, because the page that sets the requirements does not carry one.
The exchange is presencial: the payment order is generated on the agency's website but the documents are handed in at a provincial office.
Nothing on the page says how long a foreign licence may be used in Ecuador before the exchange is needed, nor whether an international driving permit is recognised.
- administersCanje de licencia de conducir extranjera por ecuatoriana
Agencia Nacional de Tránsito (catálogo de trámites, gob.ec)
About this source
The national transit agency, which administers driving licence exchange and publishes the procedure.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Cannot be cited for the rules themselves. The page restates four board resolutions without reproducing any of them, and omits conditions the agency states elsewhere, including the residence-length condition widely reported for exchange. Its fee is attributed to a tariff table the page does not carry. This is why the driving licence topic is marked single-secondary.
We re-read it every 120 days. More about this source