Your car and driving licence in Peru: two years old at most, and exchange after six months
A used car may only enter Peru if it is at most two years old, runs on petrol and has low mileage. The average Dutch car therefore cannot come in, not even as part of your household goods. With your Dutch licence you drive for the first six months at most; after that you exchange it, with a theory exam.
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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.
Taking your car to Peru only works with an almost new car. Since February 2020 Peru only admits used passenger cars if they are at most two years old, counted from the model year, with at most 32,000 kilometres, on petrol and with factory left-hand drive. A used diesel passenger car may not come in at all. According to the Ministry of Transport you may use your Dutch driving licence for the first six months; after that you exchange it.
| What | The rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Age of a used car | at most 2 years, from the model year | Decreto Supremo 005-2020-MTC |
| Mileage passenger car (M1) | at most 32,000 | same |
| Engine | no used diesel in categories L, M and N, except heavy buses and lorries | same |
| Steering | factory left-hand drive; converted from right-hand is not allowed | SUNAT |
| Damage | no accident, fire or water damage, never declared a total loss | same |
| Car with household goods | not allowed: vehicles are excluded from the household goods scheme | Decreto Supremo 182-2013-EF, art. 4 |
| Bpm refund on export | only on registration in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway | Dutch Tax Administration |
| Dutch driving licence | the first six months; the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) applies to both countries | MTC, United Nations |
| Exchange | with medical and psychological assessment and theory exam; the Netherlands has no treaty on exchange | MTC, Cancillería |
Why will your car probably not get in?
Decreto Legislativo 843 sets minimum requirements for used vehicles, and Decreto Supremo 005-2020-MTC tightened them in 2020. SUNAT, the customs authority, lists five requirements: age, mileage, damage history, left-hand drive and emissions. On import you submit a technical form, signed by an engineer accredited by the Ministry of Transport, and an inspection report from an approved inspection company.
It does not work through your household goods either. Article 4 of the regulation on luggage and household goods excludes cars, motorcycles, campers, trailers and boats, with their parts. What you may take is in household goods to Peru.
Only have a car shipped once it is certain that it meets all the requirements. A three-year-old car, a used diesel or a car with a damage history may not be imported under the rules, not even if you move to Peru with it yourself.
What do you do with your car in the Netherlands?
Selling it is the obvious choice. If you export it anyway, register it for export with the RDW; the RDW advises asking first in the country of import which papers you need. According to the Dutch Tax Administration you only get bpm back if the car is permanently registered in another EU country or in Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. For Peru you get nothing back.
How long may you drive with your Dutch licence?
The Ministry of Transport, the MTC, wrote in February 2026 that foreigners may only drive with their own valid licence during the first six months of their stay, and then only if an international treaty has been signed and ratified. The Netherlands and Peru are both parties to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949): Peru since 9 July 1957, the Netherlands since 19 September 1952. So the six months apply to your Dutch licence. After that, exchanging is mandatory. The RDW says the same from the Dutch side: anyone who goes to live outside the EU asks the authority there whether he may keep driving with his Dutch licence.
How do you exchange your licence?
At the MTC if you live in Lima, at the regional government elsewhere. Your Dutch licence must still be valid. The MTC lists:
- a health certificate stating that you are fit to drive;
- a certificate from the authority that issued your licence, or from that country's embassy or consulate in Peru;
- a passed theory exam;
- a copy of your carné de extranjería and a passport photo;
- the payment receipt of the Banco de la Nación: S/ 7.50 for a digital or S/ 15.50 for a physical licence.
The theory exam is only waived for countries with a treaty on exchanging driving licences. Peru has such a treaty with Chile, Colombia, Bolivia, Spain and South Korea, and with Argentina in implementation. The Netherlands is not among them. According to the MTC the exchange takes one to two working days. With a carné de extranjería your Peruvian licence is valid for up to five years, for category A1 up to ten years.
When to sell the car and sort out the licence is in the route to Peru.
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 Peru 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.
- SUNAT — the requirements for importing used vehicles (age, mileage, diesel, left-hand drive) — gob.pe
- MTC — since Decreto Supremo 005-2020-MTC only used vehicles of at most two years (February 2020) — gob.pe
- Regulation on luggage and household goods (Decreto Supremo 182-2013-EF), article 4 — vehicles are excluded from household goods — sunat.gob.pe
- MTC — what a foreigner needs for a Peruvian driving licence, and the six months with a foreign licence (February 2026) — gob.pe
- United Nations — the Convention on Road Traffic (Geneva, 1949), Peru a party since 9 July 1957, the Netherlands since 19 September 1952 — treaties.un.org
- Gob.pe — exchanging a foreign driving licence, with medical and psychological assessment and exam — gob.pe
- Cancillería — the countries with which Peru exchanges driving licences (August 2026) — gob.pe
- Dutch Tax Administration — bpm refund only on registration in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway — belastingdienst.nl
- RDW — registering a vehicle for export — rdw.nl
- RDW — living outside the EU with your Dutch driving licence — rdw.nl
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