Car and driving licence in Chile: only new cars across the border, and a Chilean licence
Since 1985 Chile has only admitted cars without previous use: you cannot bring an ordinary used passenger car. The exceptions are narrow, such as a motorhome or a car fifty years old or more. Your Dutch licence is valid as long as you are a tourist. Anyone living in Chile gets a Chilean licence from the municipality; Dutch citizens cannot exchange theirs.
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Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
As a rule you cannot take your car to Chile. Article 21 of Ley 18.483 of 1985 says: "sólo podrán importarse vehículos sin uso", only vehicles without previous use may be imported. An ordinary used passenger car does not qualify. Your licence is a second question: as a tourist you drive on your Dutch licence, but anyone living in Chile gets a Chilean licence, with an exam.
| What | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Importing a used passenger car | not allowed | Ley 18.483, art. 21 |
| Exceptions | among others motorhomes, special vehicles and cars of 50 years or older | Ley 18.483, art. 21 |
| Bringing a car temporarily as a tourist | at most 90 days per calendar half-year | Aduana |
| Customs exemption for new residents | only household goods and work tools | Aduana |
| Bpm refund on export | only to another EU or EEA country | Belastingdienst |
| Dutch licence | valid as long as you are in Chile as a tourist | Ley de Tránsito, art. 5 |
| Chilean licence | from the municipality where you live, with a theory and practical exam | Ley de Tránsito, arts. 11 and 13 |
Which cars are allowed?
Article 21 lists vehicles for special uses: ambulances, hearses, fire engines, crane trucks, workshop vehicles, vehicles for off-road transport and also the vehículo casa-rodante, the motorhome. Further exceptions apply to trolleybuses and to old or historic vehicles of fifty years or older, which must first meet the requirements of the traffic law. And the law excludes vehicles that fall under a special customs regime or an exemption.
For foreigners who come to live, customs only lists exemptions for household goods and work tools. A car is not among them. See household goods to Chile.
Do not ship a used car to Chile in the hope that it will work out there. Customs has no exemption for a car for a foreign newcomer, and the exceptions in the law are narrow. Have customs confirm the import in advance.
Can you take your own car to Chile on holiday?
Temporarily, yes. A tourist can import their car temporarily with a Título de Importación Temporal de Vehículo or a carnet. According to customs, the car may then be in Chile for at most 90 days in the same calendar half-year. After that it must leave the country, or it is considered abandoned and auctioned, unless you fall under an exemption.
What do you do with your car in the Netherlands?
Selling it is the obvious choice. If you export it anyway, for example to family elsewhere, mind the bpm. The Belastingdienst only refunds it if the car is permanently registered in another EU country, or in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. For Chile you get no bpm back.
How long may you drive on your Dutch licence?
Article 5 of the traffic law lets foreigners who are in Chile as tourists drive on their own valid licence, if it corresponds to the Chilean class B, for as long as their tourist stay lasts. NederlandWereldwijd writes that your Dutch licence is valid for 90 days and recommends an international driving permit. Under the same law a court can ask for an official translation of your licence.
Anyone who comes to live with temporary residence is no longer a tourist. You then get a Chilean licence from the Dirección de Tránsito of the municipality where you live (article 11).
Can you exchange your licence?
Not as a Dutch citizen. ChileAtiende has exchange procedures for licences from Spain, South Korea, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Paraguay, and a recognition for Colombia and Japan, based on treaties with those countries. The Netherlands is not among them.
Article 15 of the traffic law does say that a resident with a foreign licence can get the Chilean licence if they show the required driving experience in that class and meet the other requirements. Article 13 lists those requirements: you show that you are morally, physically and mentally fit, you pass a theory and a practical exam, you have a valid cédula de identidad and you declare under oath that you do not use drugs.
Start as soon as your cédula is ready; see registration and numbers. Where this falls in the order of departure and arrival is in the route to Chile.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 4 of 5 of the journey, step 4.3: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Chile or go straight to step 4.3 in the open plan.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Ley 18.483, article 21: only vehicles without previous use, and the exceptions (BCN) — bcn.cl
- Aduana — rules for foreigners entering as a tourist or to live — aduana.cl
- Belastingdienst — bpm refund on export, only to the EU and the EEA — belastingdienst.nl
- Ley de Tránsito, articles 5, 11, 13 and 15: a foreign licence for tourists, and the requirements for a Chilean licence (BCN) — bcn.cl
- NederlandWereldwijd — travel advice for Chile, the Dutch licence valid for 90 days — nederlandwereldwijd.nl
- ChileAtiende — exchanging a Spanish licence, one of the treaty countries — chileatiende.gob.cl
- ChileAtiende — the exchange procedures per country (search result "canje licencia") — chileatiende.gob.cl
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