Driving Licences for Foreign Residents
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Peru 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 Peru to Paraguay · Driving and licence exchange
Driving licences in Paraguay are municipal, not national, so the answer depends on the municipality you live in - Asunción's rules are the ones set out here. A foreigner applies with a passport, a migration admission card, a certificate of life and residence, a blood group certificate and by passing the psychophysical, theory and practical tests; the applicant brings their own vehicle for the practical. A licence from your own country is asked for if you have one, and the municipality says the theory and practical tests are what you take if you do not. The only formal recognition arrangement we found is with Spain, under an agreement approved as Ley N° 3285/07, administered by the intermunicipal body OPACI rather than by any ministry.
At a glance
- Issuing authority
- The municipality, not a national agency
- Minimum age
- 18
- Migration document required
- The admission card issued by the migration directorate
- Tests
- Psychophysical, theory and practical
- Vehicle for the practical test
- Brought by the applicant
- Formal exchange arrangement
- Spain, under an agreement in force since 28 October 2007
Administered in Paraguay by OPACI, which publishes the entry-into-force date on its page for the agreement; a second arrangement with Chile is advertised on the same site and was not read
- Fee
- Set by the municipal tax ordinance in force
The municipality publishes no figure on the requirements sheet
Requirements
- Residence in the municipality where you apply - Asunción's procedure is for residents of Asunción
- A valid passport, in a notarised copy
- A migration admission card issued by the migration directorate
- A current certificate of life and residence
- A blood group certificate from a laboratory or the health ministry
- Being at least eighteen years old
- Passing the psychophysical, theory and practical examinations
- Your own vehicle, brought to the practical test
- Your home-country licence, presented if you hold one
In detail
Municipal, which changes the question
Chile, Peru and Uruguay all run driver licensing through a national or regional transport authority. Paraguay leaves it to municipalities under the national traffic law, which means the requirement sheet that governs you is your municipality's. The sheet quoted here is Asunción's. Someone in Ciudad del Este or Encarnación should expect the same shape of procedure and should check the local list rather than assume it.
The residency card comes first
A foreigner's list differs from a Paraguayan's in two ways: the passport replaces the national identity card, and the migration admission card is added. There is no version of the procedure for a visitor. Whatever you drove on while a tourist, the municipal licence is available only once the migration directorate has admitted you.
Whether your own licence saves you the test
The sheet says to present your home licence if you have one, and adds in brackets that if you do not you will have to pass the theory and practical examinations. It also lists passing those examinations among the requirements without qualification. Those two statements do not sit comfortably together, and the sheet does not say which prevails. The one exchange arrangement we found with any certainty is the agreement with Spain, which recognises licences reciprocally for people legally resident in either country.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Peru
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
«Carnet de admisión, expedido por la Dirección General de Migración»Our translation - not official
Admission card, issued by the Dirección General de Migración
Item 5 on the foreigners' list. The municipality still uses the pre-2022 name of the directorate, which is now the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. Without a residency card there is no municipal licence, so the licence follows the residency rather than the other way round.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The capital's municipality, which issues driving licences. Publishes requirement sheets carrying an internal reference.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Licensing in Paraguay is municipal, and this is the single largest scope limit on the publisher: nothing here governs any other municipality. Cannot be cited for national traffic law, nor for the fee, which the sheet defers to the municipal tax ordinance.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«Licencia de Conducir del país de origen, presentar si tiene (**)(si no tiene deberá aprobar el examen teórico y práctico)»Our translation - not official
Driving licence from the country of origin, present it if you have one (if you do not, you must pass the theory and practical examinations)
The parenthesis implies that holding a home licence changes what is asked, but the sheet also lists passing the psychophysical, theory and practical examinations among the same set of requirements. We are quoting the tension rather than resolving it: the sheet does not say outright that a home licence removes the tests.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The capital's municipality, which issues driving licences. Publishes requirement sheets carrying an internal reference.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Licensing in Paraguay is municipal, and this is the single largest scope limit on the publisher: nothing here governs any other municipality. Cannot be cited for national traffic law, nor for the fee, which the sheet defers to the municipal tax ordinance.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«Dirigido a ciudadanos residentes en el municipio de Asunción que deseen conducir: Jeep, Coches, Camionetas o Furgonetas de uso personal que no exceda los 2000 kilos.»Our translation - not official
For citizens resident in the municipality of Asunción who wish to drive jeeps, cars, pick-ups or vans for personal use not exceeding 2,000 kilos.
The particular category is capped at 2,000 kilos. The sheet lists Ley N° 5.016/14 Nacional de Tránsito y Seguridad Vial among the instruments it applies, alongside municipal ordinances.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The capital's municipality, which issues driving licences. Publishes requirement sheets carrying an internal reference.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Licensing in Paraguay is municipal, and this is the single largest scope limit on the publisher: nothing here governs any other municipality. Cannot be cited for national traffic law, nor for the fee, which the sheet defers to the municipal tax ordinance.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«reconocen recíprocamente los permisos y licencias de conducción nacionales expedidos por las autoridades competentes de los Estados, a quienes tuvieran su residencia legal en los mismos»Our translation - not official
mutually recognise the national driving permits and licences issued by the competent authorities of the States, to those who have their legal residence in them
The competent authority for the exchange in Paraguay is OPACI, the intermunicipal cooperation body, and in Spain the Dirección General de Tráfico. Legal residence is a condition on both sides.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
An association of municipalities designated as the competent authority by the Paraguay-Spain driving licence agreement under Ley 3285/07, and the body that hosts the agreement text.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not a state organ. It has no authority over national law, over residency, or over municipal licensing generally, and must not be cited beyond the specific exchange agreements it administers. Primary for the treaty text it hosts and for nothing wider.
We re-read it every 365 days. More about this source
«Haber cumplido 18 años de edad.»Our translation - not official
To have reached 18 years of age.
The same minimum applies to Paraguayans, foreigners and diplomats on the three lists the sheet publishes.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
The capital's municipality, which issues driving licences. Publishes requirement sheets carrying an internal reference.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Licensing in Paraguay is municipal, and this is the single largest scope limit on the publisher: nothing here governs any other municipality. Cannot be cited for national traffic law, nor for the fee, which the sheet defers to the municipal tax ordinance.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The requirements sheet carries the reference R.I N° 154/2021 and lists Ley N° 5.016/14 among the instruments it applies. We did not read the traffic law itself.
OPACI also advertises an exchange arrangement with Chile. We did not open that page and make no claim about its terms.
The fee is set by the municipal tax ordinance in force rather than published on the requirements sheet, so no figure appears here.
Paraguayans changing municipality need a cancellation certificate from OPACI; the foreigners' list does not mention one, which is consistent with a first Paraguayan licence rather than a transfer.
- administersLicencia de Conducir Categoría Particular - Habilitación
Municipalidad de Asunción
About this source
The capital's municipality, which issues driving licences. Publishes requirement sheets carrying an internal reference.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Licensing in Paraguay is municipal, and this is the single largest scope limit on the publisher: nothing here governs any other municipality. Cannot be cited for national traffic law, nor for the fee, which the sheet defers to the municipal tax ordinance.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
- administersCanjes Licencias con España - Acuerdo aprobado por Ley N° 3285/07
Organización Paraguaya de Cooperación Intermunicipal (OPACI)
About this source
An association of municipalities designated as the competent authority by the Paraguay-Spain driving licence agreement under Ley 3285/07, and the body that hosts the agreement text.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not a state organ. It has no authority over national law, over residency, or over municipal licensing generally, and must not be cited beyond the specific exchange agreements it administers. Primary for the treaty text it hosts and for nothing wider.
We re-read it every 365 days. More about this source