Learn to drive in Colombia

Most foreign nationals living in Colombia for more than six few months will need a Colombian driving licence.

And, if you’ve never driven before, Colombia is a great place to learn to drive with a range of challenges: roadworks, potholes, gridlocks (the city regularly tops the ‘most congested’ lists), missing road signage, broken lights, street vendors and weaving motorbikes. 

Not to mention floods, protests, steep hills, mountains, mad buses, escaped animals and the occasional presidential motorcade. Every excursion is a real-life game of Grand Theft Auto.

And as people say here: “If you can learn to drive in Colombia, you can drive anywhere”. And it is definitely cheaper, in fact Colombia will be four times cheaper for driving lessons than most other countries. And you can start the process with just your passport.

See other posts: Guide to Colombia’s classic 4x4s and Buying a car in Colombia and Backroads of Santander and Boyacá backroads to El Cocuy.

Why do I need a driving licence in Colombia?

Foreigners can legally drive on their home licence for 6 months in Colombia. After that they need to be registered in the RUNT datatbase (Registro Unico Nacional de Transporte) and get a Colombian licence – and complete a driving course – to legally drive. The exceptions for the driving course are citizens of Spain, Peru, Korea, Chile and Argentina, who do not need to do the driving course and can co-validate their overseas licences by inscribing them in the RUNT. Everyone else has to do the course.

But I heard a different story….

Sure, there is always corruption and short cuts in Colombia, and some dude on Facebook /the bar / friend of your friend knows some way to get a licence under the table, or there is some dodgy ‘licence guy’ who knows someone in the transit office. I drove on a ‘duplicate’ licence for 5 years, some guy got me for a bit of cash upfront. But one day the transit office pointed out (nicely) that it was fake. So I did the course.

Some expats drive for years on their home licence and passport, and bribe the police if there’s a problem at a traffic stop. But beware the day you have an accident, or meet an honest policeman. To be properly legal you need to get properly in the RUNT and your Colombian licence or counterpart if you are from Spain, Peru, Korea, Chile or Argentina.

What if I need to learn to drive?

Then good news. Learning in Colombia can be four times less expensive than Europe or the US. The current cost of a full driving course in Colombia is currently US$440, compared to around US$2,000 for the UK, US$3,000 for Germany (US$3,000) or Switzerland (US$4,000).  Costs in the US vary from state to state, but average to US$1,200 for 20 hours behind the wheel, plus more for the theory classes.

You’ll also learn to drive a stick shift (ie car with manual gear changes) which is a useful life skill if you intend to drive in many countries where automatics are not ‘automatic’.

In terms of bang for bucks, driving schools like Conducir Colombia (and there is plenty of competition) offer a very full program: 25 classes of theory, 5 classes of mechanics, and 20 driving classes. Each class is 50 minutes long. The course cost of US$440 (January 2025) also covers an initial medical and psychometric evaluation, which is a simple computer test to check your hand-eye coordination.

What if I am already an experienced driver?

The bad news. You still have to do the whole driving school (unless you are from Spain, Peru, Korea, Chile or Argentina) and takes 45 hours over minimum 3 weeks and pay the full cost. Unfortunately in Colombia, unlike most European countries, the driving ‘test’ is incorporated in the driving school, so there are no shortcuts.

In the past many driving schools would fake the classes and sign off students without them actually doing any classes. Since 2018, this has become much harder as every licence applicant has his/her biometric data saved in the RUNT database and then shared with a system called SIVOC, Sistema de Control y Vigilancia, with students scanning their fingerprints at the start and end of every training session. Realtime checks were introduced in 2022; the computer randomly prompts students to re-register their fingerprints even during the 50 minute sessions. So you need to be physically present at the training to complete the course and get your licence.

How do the classes work?

Participants have to complete the theory course presentially in the classroom, but hours are flexible. The mechanic session, usually on Saturday mornings, covers basic car checks, maintenance and wheel changing. There is a short online theory test that students pass before moving on to driving practicals, which also have flexible hours which students can book to fit around their own schedule.

At Conducir Colombia school for exmaple, students learn in cars with dual controls, so the instructor can brake in emergencies, and switch between different car brands and models during the course, including wheel time in an automatic and hybrid car. The 20th and last class is also considered a test where the instructor certifies the student as a qualified driver, who can now claim their licence from an office of the Registro Único Nacional de Tránsito, or RUNT. This costs an additional US$70.

In theory you can complete the whole course in 3 weeks, but many students spread it out over 3 months.

Pero no hablo español…

A key question for some overseas students will be: is my Spanish good enough? Schools in Bogotá we talked to said it was not a problem; the teachers speak a bit of English and the other Colombian students help out, also, much of the tuition is with videos.

For practical driving, a few key words are essential, but everyone has picked these up during the theory by the time they get behind the wheel.

A Quick Guide to Getting a Driving Licence in Bogotá

1: Find an authorised driving school, called Centros de Enseñanza Automovilística. You can usually find one within walking distance in Bogotá.

2: Inscribe yourself in the RUNT, which is the national transport database. To do this you need to make an appointment in the Ventanilla Única de Servicios. These are small transport offices dotted across the city. The driving school can help you make the appointment. If you have not yet received a Cedula de Extranjeria ID card, you can use your passport number. On the day and time of your appointment, you will present your ID or passport and get your biometric data recorded. The cost in 2025 is US$5.

3: Do your medical exam. This is in a specialised clinic usually close to the driving school, and sometimes is included in the driving school fee. The tests are very simple and usually take 40 minutes. Once you have done the exam, you can start your driving classes.

4: Organise your theory classes with the driving school. You will be in groups of around 10 students, depending on the size of the school. After 20 hours of theory you will have a simple on-line exam, with several practice attempts to check you are ready

5: Attend the mechanic training. This is often done in one session on a Saturday morning.

6: Do your driving practice, 20 sessions of just under an hour. The last class is also your test, your instructor certifies you as a driver.

7: Obtain your driving licence. For this you need another appointment in the Ventanilla Única de Servicios where you will pay an additional US$70 and immediately receive your physical licence.