International Driving Permit in Colombia

🗓 Facts checked against Colombia's road-traffic law and official sources. Research last updated: 29 July 2026. You may copy this information only if you provide a link back to this page.

⚠ This page is general information about driving rules, not legal advice. Rules change, and each authority applies its own — confirm your case with the relevant authority before you drive.

ℹ We are a private company. We are not a government body, a licensing or issuing authority, or a treaty organisation, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any of them. The International Driver's Document we sell is a translation of your national driving licence: it is not a driving licence, and it is not a government-issued document.

• Driving in Colombia: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Colombia?
• What side of the road does Colombia drive on?
• How long can you drive in Colombia with a foreign licence?
• Is Colombia a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Colombia with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Colombia? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Colombia tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Colombia
• Sources

Driving in Colombia: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Colombia?

Colombia is a party to neither road-traffic convention — it is absent from the UN depositary status lists for both the 1949 Geneva Convention and the 1968 Vienna Convention (Vienna: 91 parties). No IDP therefore has treaty force in Colombia. Recognition instead flows from domestic law: Article 25 of the National Traffic Code admits a current licence issued in any other country when used by a tourist or person in transit, for the duration of the authorised stay. An IDP is never a substitute for the original licence and is not required by Colombian law; carrying one (or a Spanish translation) is useful only as a practical reading aid for police and rental desks, especially for non-Latin-script licences.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: carry your national licence together with the document named in the row for your country of issue, in the table below — for most origin licences that document is not an IDP, so read your own answer rather than assuming one.
• Car renters: Carry the original current licence, passport with the entry stamp or migration permit proving lawful stay, rental agreement, vehicle registration and SOAT compulsory insurance. Proof of the authorised stay matters as much as the licence, because Article 25 recognition is tied to it.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Official source.

What side of the road does Colombia drive on?

Colombia drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Cars in Colombia are left-hand drive.

How long can you drive in Colombia with a foreign licence?

For the duration of the stay authorised by the Colombian state. For tourists that ceiling is set by immigration law, not traffic law: 90 days, extendable by a further 90, and non-extendable once 180 days (continuous or discontinuous) are reached within any 365-day period. The licence itself must be current throughout. (Law 769 of 2002, Article 25; Resolución 5477 de 2022 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Article 34 (Visa V Turismo))

Planning to move to Colombia? Different rules apply once you become a resident — see the residents section below.

Is Colombia a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?

Colombia is party to neither the 1949 Geneva Convention nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. An official convention IDP cannot be issued in Colombia, and convention rules do not bind it — licence acceptance is governed purely by local law and bilateral arrangements.

Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place

Whether a foreign country accepts your driving licence hangs on a tangle of variables: three different road-traffic conventions signed decades apart (1926, 1949, 1968) — the oldest predates the United Nations itself, and only the latter two were concluded under it — countries at different stages of joining each (signed vs. accepted vs. ratified), licences printed in alphabets local police can't read, vehicle-category systems that don't line up between countries, document generations that may not meet a convention's format even when the country is a member, bilateral deals between individual states, and local laws that are looser in one place and stricter in the next. The same licence can be fine at one border and rejected at the next — even at the next rental desk. The International Driving Permit exists to cut through most of it: a standardized, multilingual presentation of your existing licence, with harmonized category symbols, that most officials can read at a glance. It doesn't replace your national licence or grant new rights — you carry both — and it doesn't guarantee acceptance: a handful of destinations still require a local permit alongside or instead of it, but for most it meaningfully improves your odds.

Can you drive in Colombia with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Colombia as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Colombia recognises a current licence issued in any other country when the holder is a tourist or person in transit, for the length of the authorised stay — recognition rests on its own National Traffic Code, not on treaty membership, since Colombia belongs to neither road-traffic convention. An IDP is therefore never legally required and never replaces the original licence, though it is a useful translation aid for non-Latin-script licences. Tourist stays are capped at 180 days per 365-day period by immigration law. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: July 2026.

Legend: "1949" — Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (IDP valid up to 1 year); "1968" — Vienna Convention (IDP valid up to 3 years).

What the Status column means on this page:

• National licence OK — the destination lets a visitor drive on the national licence itself. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis, and any period or condition that qualifies it.
• National licence OK — IDP advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, but carrying one is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.
• Not established — the record does not settle whether you may drive here on this licence; confirm with the destination's licensing authority before you rely on it. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what could not be confirmed.
• National licence OK — IDD/translation advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, and no official convention IDP can be issued for it; carry an IDD or a certified translation instead. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] Law 769 of 2002, Article 25

[a] Licence categories do not follow the convention A–E scheme — rental staff may ask for an IDP to map them.

[b] IDD = International Driver's Document, a standardized translation of your national driving licence. You can apply here: https://idaoffice.org/apply-now/.

Where to get an International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit must be obtained before you travel, and only certain countries may issue one to you — you cannot buy an official IDP from an unrelated country. Under the 1968 Vienna Convention it may be issued only by the Contracting Party where you normally reside and which issued or recognizes your licence — by that Party's competent authority or by an association it has duly empowered. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention it is issued by the competent authority of a Contracting State, or by an association that authority has duly empowered. Which body that is varies by country: a government agency in some, an authorized motoring club in others.

• Travelling from Colombia? Colombia's IDPs are issued by Touring y Automovil Club de Colombia (ACC) — applications are accepted online. Official site. Colombia is party to neither road-traffic convention, so the permit is issued outside the UN convention framework and is not an official convention IDP — check that your destination accepts it.
• Travelling from another country? Ask that country's driving-licence authority which body it authorizes to issue IDPs — a government agency in some countries, an authorized motoring club in others.

Separately, IDA offers a digital International Driver's Document — a translation of your national licence that you carry alongside it. It is not an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 or 1968 conventions by the body your country authorizes for that purpose, and it is not a certified, sworn or otherwise official translation: no authority certifies it, and where a country requires an official or certified translation by law, our document does not satisfy that requirement. It is a private translation meant to make your national licence readable at rental desks and roadside checks.

Moving to Colombia? Rules for new residents

Article 25 is a visitor rule keyed to tourist/transit status, not an open-ended residence entitlement — once the authorised stay ends, so does the recognition. Trap: the Ministry of Transport holds that Article 25 applies only to foreigners. A Colombian national (including a dual national) who enters on a Colombian ID or passport is not a tourist or person in transit, cannot rely on Article 25 at all, and must hold a current Colombian licence no matter how valid the foreign one is. Foreign residents must obtain a Colombian licence under the ordinary Article 19 requirements. Official source.

Driving rules in Colombia tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat-belt and child-restraint rules apply. Confirm the rental car carries the required road-safety kit and valid SOAT compulsory insurance — driving without the legally ordered insurance is infringement D.2 and brings immobilisation.
• Drink-driving: Sanctions begin at 20 mg ethanol per 100 ml whole blood (0.02 g/dl) — 'grado cero de alcoholemia'. First offence at 20-39 mg/100 ml: licence suspended 1 year, fine of 90 SMDLV, 20 hours of alcohol-prevention community actions and 1 working day of vehicle immobilisation. Second offence 135 SMDLV, third 180 SMDLV and a 3-year suspension; penalties escalate sharply at higher degrees, reaching cancellation of the licence.
• Speed limits: 50 km/h urban, 30 km/h school and residential zones, 90 km/h national/departmental roads, up to 120 km/h on qualifying dual carriageways without pedestrian crossings. Posted limits govern.
• Carry the original current licence, passport with the entry stamp or migration permit proving lawful stay, rental agreement, vehicle registration and SOAT compulsory insurance. Proof of the authorised stay matters as much as the licence, because Article 25 recognition is tied to it.
• Traffic keeps right. Maxima: 50 km/h urban, 30 km/h in school and residential zones, 90 km/h on national/departmental roads, 120 km/h on dual carriageways whose design has no pedestrian crossings, and 80 km/h for public freight vehicles. Posted signs govern.
• Alcohol sanctions begin at 20 mg ethanol per 100 ml of whole blood — well below the 50 mg common in Europe. In every alcohol case the vehicle is immobilised. The safest operational rule is zero alcohol.

Read more about driving in Colombia

• 10 Interesting Facts About Colombia
• Best Places to Visit in Colombia
• How to Pass Your Driving Exam in Colombia: Complete Guide 2026

Watch what driving in Colombia looks like

A few minutes of real POV footage is the fastest way to feel confident before your first drive in Colombia:

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Law 769 of 2002, Article 25; Resolución 5477 de 2022 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), Article 34 (Visa V Turismo)
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Senate consolidated Law 769 of 2002 with amendment notes (Articles 19, 25)
5. Senate consolidated Law 769 — Articles 106 and 107 speed limits as amended by Law 2251 of 2022
6. Senate consolidated Law 769 — Article 131 fines (B.1, D.1) and Article 152 alcohol degrees
7. Ministry of Transport legal concept 20241340748231 (27-06-2024): Article 25 applies to foreigners only
8. Resolución 5477 de 2022, Article 34 — tourist permanence 90 days, extendable, max 180 per 365
9. UN MTDSG XI-B-1: 1949 Geneva Convention status list — Colombia absent
10. UN MTDSG XI-B-19: 1968 Vienna Convention status list (91 parties) — Colombia absent
11. Touring y Automovil Club de Colombia (ACC) — authorized IDP issuer in Colombia
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic