Exchanging a Foreign Driving Licence
Answer
The general rule applies to you
No exception is recorded for citizens of Suriname 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 Suriname to Peru · Driving and licence exchange
Peru exchanges a foreign licence for a Peruvian one rather than recognising it indefinitely, and the exchange is not a formality: a medical and psychological assessment and a written rules test are both part of it. Three nationalities are excused the written test - Spain, Korea and Chile, on reciprocal recognition agreements. Your foreign licence must still be valid on the day you apply, which catches people who let it lapse while abroad.
At a glance
- Knowledge test waived for
- Spain, Korea and Chile
- Medical and psychological assessment
- Required for everyone
- Foreign licence validity
- Must be valid at the time of the exchange
- Fee - electronic licence
- S/ 7.60as of 2024-04-22
From the transport ministry's own price list for the exchange, paid under code 1605.
- Fee - physical licence
- S/ 15.60as of 2024-04-22
From the transport ministry's own price list for the exchange, paid under code 1606.
- Where
- The transport ministry in Lima, or the regional government where you live
- Approval
- Automatic once the file is complete
Requirements
- A foreign licence that is still valid at the moment of the application
- A health certificate for driving licences, approved and registered in the national drivers system
- A passed knowledge test registered in the national drivers system, except for nationals of Spain, Korea and Chile
- A certificate from the authority that issued the licence, or from that country's consulate or embassy in Peru, confirming its authenticity and the class of vehicles it covers
- Payment at the Banco de la Nación before filing
In detail
Exchange, not recognition
Argentina's arrangements can be remarkably light - Chileans and Argentines drive in each other's countries with no procedure at all - and the recognition lapses after a year of continuous stay. Colombia will exchange, but only for people born in an agreement country, which excludes anyone who naturalised into one. Uruguay leaves the whole question to the department where you live. Peru is the most uniform: one national procedure, a medical assessment for everybody, and a written test that only three nationalities escape.
What applies to you
Nothing changes for a citizen of Suriname
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
«Este requisito no es necesario para los ciudadanos de España, Corea y Chile, países con los cuales el Perú mantiene acuerdos internacionales vigentes sobre el reconocimiento recíproco y canje de licencias de conducir.»Our translation - not official
This requirement is not necessary for citizens of Spain, Korea and Chile, countries with which Peru maintains international agreements in force on the reciprocal recognition and exchange of driving licences.
The waiver is of the knowledge test only. The medical and psychological assessment and the authenticity certificate still apply to everyone, including these three nationalities.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Transport ministry. Publishes the procedure for recognising a foreign driving licence.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not the mapping of foreign licence classes to Peruvian ones, which sits in an unread supreme decree. Silent on how long a foreign licence may be used before exchange - no ministry source stating it was found. The same page serves a picker for regional governments whose requirements were not compared.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«Ten en cuenta que tu licencia de conducir expedida en otro país debe estar vigente al momento de realizar este trámite.»Our translation - not official
Note that your driving licence issued in another country must be valid at the moment of carrying out this procedure.
An expired foreign licence cannot be exchanged, so the exchange is a deadline as well as an option - and it runs on your home country's renewal cycle, not on any Peruvian clock.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Transport ministry. Publishes the procedure for recognising a foreign driving licence.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not the mapping of foreign licence classes to Peruvian ones, which sits in an unread supreme decree. Silent on how long a foreign licence may be used before exchange - no ministry source stating it was found. The same page serves a picker for regional governments whose requirements were not compared.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«Certificado emitido por la autoridad competente que expidió la licencia, materia de canje, o la oficina consular o embajada de dicho país en el Perú, que acredite su autenticidad con la indicación de la clase de vehículos que autoriza a conducir.»Our translation - not official
A certificate issued by the competent authority that issued the licence being exchanged, or by that country's consular office or embassy in Peru, certifying its authenticity and stating the class of vehicles it authorises you to drive.
The embassy alternative is what makes this workable from inside Peru; otherwise the certificate would have to be obtained from the issuing authority at home.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Transport ministry. Publishes the procedure for recognising a foreign driving licence.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not the mapping of foreign licence classes to Peruvian ones, which sits in an unread supreme decree. Silent on how long a foreign licence may be used before exchange - no ministry source stating it was found. The same page serves a picker for regional governments whose requirements were not compared.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
«Licencia de conducir electrónica: S/ 7.60 .
- Licencia de conducir física: S/ 15.60 .»Our translation - not official
Electronic driving licence: S/ 7.60. Physical driving licence: S/ 15.60.
Paid at the Banco de la Nación under code 1605 for the electronic licence and 1606 for the physical one.
Read it at the sourceAbout this source
Transport ministry. Publishes the procedure for recognising a foreign driving licence.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not the mapping of foreign licence classes to Peruvian ones, which sits in an unread supreme decree. Silent on how long a foreign licence may be used before exchange - no ministry source stating it was found. The same page serves a picker for regional governments whose requirements were not compared.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source
Practical notes
The class and category issued are the equivalent under the national licensing regulation approved by Decreto Supremo 007-2016-MTC, which we have not read, so the mapping from your foreign class to a Peruvian one is not stated here.
Applications outside Lima go to the regional government, and the page lists a specific set of regions offering the procedure; we have not checked whether the requirements differ between them.
Nothing on the page says how long you may drive on the foreign licence before exchanging it, and we did not find that period published elsewhere by the transport ministry.
- administersSolicitar el canje de licencia de conducir otorgada en otro país
Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (Perú)
About this source
Transport ministry. Publishes the procedure for recognising a foreign driving licence.
Standing: Applies the rule
Cannot be cited for: Not the mapping of foreign licence classes to Peruvian ones, which sits in an unread supreme decree. Silent on how long a foreign licence may be used before exchange - no ministry source stating it was found. The same page serves a picker for regional governments whose requirements were not compared.
We re-read it every 180 days. More about this source