Driving in Paraguay

Paraguay's driving rules are simpler than the rumor mill suggests, and different from it in three places that matter: your foreign license is valid on a transit-law clock, not a visa clock; a license exchange exists only for Chileans; and mandatory car insurance does not currently exist. Here is what the laws and the issuing authorities actually say.

Who Regulates, and Who Actually Issues Licenses

Two authorities split the job, and neither is the office most relocation sites name. ANTSV, the Agencia Nacional de Tránsito y Seguridad Vial, is the national regulator: it sets the rules, the single national license format, and authorizes which municipal offices may issue (Ley 5016/14 Arts. 5, 8, 25). The licenses themselves are issued by municipal transit offices, in Asuncion under Ordenanza 479/10.

Names like "SETAMA" or "SUMMA" appear on some expat guides as the licensing body. No current official source mentions either, and the ANTSV framework has replaced whatever those labels referred to. If you are told to register a license at an office with those names, that instruction is out of date.

How Long Your Foreign License Works

Ley 5016/14 Article 27 is the operative rule: a license issued abroad is valid nationwide for no more than three months counted from entry into the country, provided the license itself is current and valid. Diplomats and consular officers accredited in Paraguay are excepted for the duration of their functions.

The distinction matters because the clock is the transit law's, not migration's. Many guides write "90 days, the length of the tourist stay" and imply your license expires with your entry stamp. The two rules are independent: a visa-free entrant and a long-stay resident both get three months of driving validity from the date they entered.

Getting a Paraguayan License: Exchange, Extranjero, or Exams

There is no general exchange of foreign licenses. ANTSV operates exactly one formal canje channel: drivers holding a valid Chilean license, of Chilean or Paraguayan nationality and resident in Paraguay, exchange at the municipality of their domicile (ANTSV Resolución 753/2023 additionally requires that the original license was not itself obtained by exchange). Every other nationality has two routes:

In Asuncion, the 2026 municipal cost frame is G. 357,400 for a first license (theory and practical exam rights included), G. 239,400 for a renewal, and G. 23,900 for the annual revalidation sticker. Drivers over 65 additionally complete annual medical and psychotechnical checks. RUC status plays no role in licensing.

Car Insurance: No SOAT Is in Force

This is the fact most guides get wrong. Ley 5016/14 Article 95 orders every circulating motor vehicle to carry a SOAT, a social-type mandatory accident insurance, "que será establecido por Ley" (to be established by law). That establishing law, Ley 4950/2013, was derogated by Congress after public complaints and unconstitutionality challenges from municipalities, before the obligation ever took effect. As of 2026 a replacement bill was still in debate.

The practical consequences: you cannot buy a SOAT in Paraguay today, no one can demand one at a traffic stop, and any checklist telling you to budget for mandatory insurance is describing a regime that does not exist. Paraguay is one of the few countries in South America with no mandatory private-vehicle insurance in force. Voluntary liability cover is strongly recommended, and public passenger transport must still contract accident insurance for its passengers.

Buying a Car: Where Title Actually Lives

Ownership transfers by notarized public deed inscribed at the Dirección General de Registros Públicos under the Poder Judicial, not at a transit office. The registry checklist: the original transfer deed, two certified copies of the seller's cédula, a title and encumbrance certificate (Certificado de Condición de Dominio e Interdicciones), a plant verification certificate, and copies of the municipal patente. First registration of an imported vehicle adds the customs nationalization certificate. A cédula is the operative ID throughout; a RUC does not appear on the checklist.

On top of title: municipal habilitación (circulation permit) and the ITV technical inspection at authorized plants, plus the municipal patente tax. Since the 2025 laws (Ley 7447/2025, Ley 7459/2025) a national Registro Único de Habilitación de Rodados under ANTSV standardizes the vehicle tax nationally at 0.3% of taxable value, replacing the purely municipal patchwork.

Importing a Vehicle: the 10-Year Cap and the Real Cost Question

Used-vehicle imports are legal and open, capped at ten years from manufacture (Ley 2018/2002). The 2025 DNIT resolutions tightened the pipeline: RG 31/25 sets new-versus-used classification criteria for customs, and RG 39/25 runs imports through the Ventanilla Única del Importador with physical control at import, where a vehicle that fails inspection is returned to origin. Used-vehicle emissions have been controlled by MADES before import since February 2023, and new electric and hybrid vehicles keep their import-tax exoneration (Decreto 5822/2016).

Road Safety: the Numbers That Should Shape Your Driving

Paraguay's official ANTSV annual report puts 2023 road deaths at 1,210 (preliminary MSPBS figures), a mortality rate of 19.1 per 100,000. The composition is the actionable part: motorcyclists account for roughly 60% of deaths and pedestrians 18%, and men aged 15-39 account for 57%. In 2024, 1,830 crashes were recorded on national and departmental routes and the national fleet reached 3,134,407 vehicles.

What this means in practice: give motorcycles generous space and expect them to filter at speed; treat route driving at night cautiously, since lighting, signage, and stopped vehicles combine badly; and keep pedestrians in mind in town, where they are the second-largest casualty group. Defensive driving around motorcycles is the single biggest behavioral adjustment for drivers from the US or Europe.

What Other Guides Get Wrong About Driving in Paraguay

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Frequently Asked Questions

Related

• → Moving to Paraguay checklist (where driving setup fits the sequence)
• → Is Paraguay safe? (crime data and neighborhoods)
• → Paraguay residency