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Driving in Ecuador

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Updated byAnne-Lise Mtyon 16 May 2018

While public transport is prevalent country-wide and has a great reputation in Ecuador, you may choose to drive around the country on your own from time to time. However, before you go on a road trip across the country, check out what you need to do to keep on the right side of the law.

Non-resident drivers

In Ecuador, the law states that tourists and non-residents may drive for the number of days allowed on their visa. Note that the US Embassy's website currently states that US tourists and temporary visitors are only allowed to drive for 30 days in Ecuador. In any event, while driving in Ecuador as a non-resident, you should always have the following documents with you:

  • the vehicle's ٰíܱ (licensing and annual tax receipt)
  • the vehicle's proof of insurance
  • your passport, showing the entry date stamp
  • a valid Driver's license from your home country
  • a printed copy of the law regarding your driving rights in Ecuador

An international driver's license is another option, but it will only give you a maximum of 6 months legal driving in Ecuador.

Resident drivers

As a resident, of course, you will need a more permanent solution. The Agencia Nacional de Tránsito (ANT), the national vehicular authority in Ecuador, offers a program that makes it possible for expats to use a current valid license from another country as the basis for which to easily obtain an equivalent Ecuadorian driver's license. To apply for an Ecuadorian license using your home country license, you will need:

  • 2 colour copies of your Cédula (ID card)
  • 2 colour copies of your passport and its residency page
  • 2 colour copies of the Blood Test Card (obtained for $5 at the Cruz Roja ' Red Cross ' offices, located in the larger cities in Ecuador)
  • your driving history, certified by competent authorities in your country of origin, apostilled within 3 months of usage in Ecuador. The documents will need to be translated and notarized and should show at least 3 years of your records
  • 2 colour copies of your original valid driver's license, both sides
  • 2 Passport photos

First, you will need to pay for and undergo a psicosensométrica evaluation. This test, costing about $12, certifies that you can see and react, and is performed at private testing centres that are typically located next door to the Ecuadorian licensing offices. Outside all ANT offices is usually someone who will sell you a book of all the possible questions that may be on your written exam, and it is highly recommended to study these questions. ANT also offers a website with randomized samples of 20 question tests that will give you an idea of the type of questions that you will see on your official test. You can take as many tests as you like to before the real thing.

Once you have all your documents and are ready for testing, present yourself to an ANT licensing centre and submit these documents to the clerk who will review them and hopefully approve you for testing, if all is in order. If your request is approved, you will be given a slip of paper with a code that will be used to pay for your test and the license as well as an appointment to return for your licensing test. You will be told at which bank that you are to pay this fee and how much to pay, currently $60.

The test is a written exam, performed on a computer screen, consisting of 20 multiple choice questions in Spanish, taken randomly from a bank of 400 questions. Many of the questions involve a street or road sign and the associative meaning. A minimum score of 16 out of 20 is needed to pass, after which you will then be able to legally drive yourself all over Ecuador. The license is valid for 5 years.

If you do not hold a valid driver's license from another country, you must take lessons from a driving school in order to obtain an Ecuadorian driver's license. There are many driving schools throughout Ecuador that will steer you through the required 4-6 weeks curriculum leading up to a certificate of completion. This certificate will allow you to pay for and take the 20-question test mentioned above. If you pass this test, you will then be granted a license to drive in Ecuador. Student driving vehicles are often seen in and around most larger cities and are very easy to spot with logos on all sides of the instruction car. Driving school tuition can run anywhere from $200 to $500, depending on where you take the course and which course you want to take.

Good to know:

Those wanting a motorcycle license must show proof of already holding a motorcycle license in your driving record. If you do not, an additional motorcycle course will be required in addition to all the above requirements.

Useful link:


- a driving school in Ecuador

We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.

About

Anne-Lise studied Psychology for 4 years in the UK before finding her way back to Mauritius and being a journalist for 3 years and heading 's editorial department for 5. She loves politics, books, tea, running, swimming, hiking...

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Comments

  • Huh?
    Huh?6 years ago(Modified)
    With a valid driver’s permit from the United States, Spain, OR FROM ANY OTHER COUNTRY, it is legal to drive within the territory of the Republic of Ecuador for up to SIX MONTHS, as long as you present it together with your valid passport which shows your date of entry into Ecuadorian territory, and as long as it shows your legal stay in Ecuador (in case of foreign citizens). So in case of having an Ecuadorian policeman stating that “those foreign driver’s licenses are not valid in Ecuador”, Ecuador’s Organic Law of Land Transport and Road Security (LEY ORGANICA DE TRANSPORTE TERRESTRE TRANSITO Y SEGURIDAD VIAL, as it is called in Spanish), on its Article 10 says “..those Ecuadorian citizens residing abroad, and foreigners who may be driving vehicles, within the national territory could drive with driver’s licenses issued by their country of residence. The Ecuadorian government acknowledges the validity of such documents, decals, driver’s licenses, international driver permits, foreign vehicle’s registrations and customs permits, issued in their countries in compliance with current international laws and requirements..” NOW……… IS IT REALLY LEGAL TO FILM A POLICEMAN or a MEMBER OF THE ARMED FORCES or any other PUBLIC SERVANTS THROUGH AUDIOVISUAL DEVICES? YES, it is COMPLETELY LEGAL and the reason is simple, all members of the National or Metropolitan Police or members of the Armed Forces are public servants, thus, DURING THEIR WORKING HOURS THEIR ACTS ARE OF PUBLIC INTEREST, moreover if such acts do happen on public roads or public places, so then, EVERY SINGLE PERSON, EITHER ECUADORIAN OR FOREIGNER has the right to film or record any policeman while he/she is at work, according to COIP’s (Código Orgánico Integral Penal, or “Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code”) Article 471, as well as Articles 18, 66, 76, 77, 91 and 384 from the ECUADORIAN CONSTITUTION (as described further on) Moreover, in the specific case of foreigners, if a member of the Police presumes to state that foreigners do not have the same rights as the Ecuadorians and thus they cannot film or record, they (foreigners) should know that the ECUADORIAN CONSTITUTION’s Article 9 states “..foreign persons in Ecuadorian territory shall have the same rights and duties as those of Ecuadorians, in accordance with the Constitution..”; while Article 11, numeral 2 says “..all persons are equal and shall enjoy the same rights, duties and opportunities, and no one could be discriminated based on their immigration status..”; and in the other hand, LEY ORGANICA DE MOVILIDAD HUMANA’s Article 47 (Human Mobility Organic Law) states “..foreign persons, without regard of their immigrant status, will have the right to access justice and its guarantees in due course for the protection of their rights, according to what is written in the Constitution..” Therefore, for all individuals, for Ecuadorian or foreign citizenships, the right of filming and/or recording a member of any of the national police bodies or their Armed Forces, is legally authorized by the following articles of the Ecuadorian Constitution: CONSTITUTION of ECUADOR Article 18.- All persons, whether individually or collectively, have the right to: 1. Look for, receive, exchange, produce and disseminate information that is truthful, accurate, timely, taken in context, plural, without prior censorship about the facts, events, and processes of general interest, with subsequent responsibility. Article 66.- It is acknowledged and guaranteed to all persons: 6. The right to voice one's opinion and express one's thinking freely and in all of its forms and manifestations. 29. The rights of freedom also include: d) That no person can be obligated to do something forbidden or to cease from doing something not forbidden by law. Article 91.- The petition for access to public information shall be aimed at guaranteeing access to this information, when this information has been denied expressly or tacitly or when the information provided is incomplete or not trustworthy. It can be filed even if the denial to provide information is based on the secret, reserved, confidential nature of the information or any other classification. The reserved nature of the information must be stated prior to the petition by a competent authority and in accordance with the law. Article 384.- The media system shall ensure the exercise of the rights of communication, information and freedom of expression, and shall strengthen public participation. COIP (Código Orgánico Integral Penal, or “Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code”). Artículo 471.- Filmings/recordings connected to an alleged law offense.- DO NOT REQUIRE JUDICIAL AUTHORIZATION. All audio recordings, video images or photographs connected to an alleged law offense, produced spontaneously at the same moment of its occurrence, by the means of telecommunication devices, security or surveillance cameras, by any technological means, by individuals on public places of public transit or in the cases in which is been broadcasted audio or video recordings produced by one of its participants… IN THE CASE THAT A POLICEMAN SAYS THAT A FILMING IS A VIOLATION OF HIS PERSONAL PRIVACY, ECUADOR’s LAW STATES AS FOLLOWS: Ecuador’s criminal law has provisions in regards to the right of personal and family privacy. The one who violates such rights could be punished from one to three years of imprisonment, according to COIP’s Article 178 (Código Orgánico Integral Penal, or “Comprehensive Organic Criminal Code”). However “..these laws are not applicable for the person who broadcasts audio or video recordings in which said person participates personally, nor when it is in regards of public information according to what is stated in the law..” HOWEVER, members of the any of the national police bodies are public servants and thus, DURING THEIR WORKING HOURS ALL OF THEIR ACTS ARE OF PUBLIC INTEREST, and therefore any filming or recording of a policeman during their working hours does not become a private act nor a violation of their privacy, according to COIP’s Article 471, and Articles 18, 66, 76, 77, 91 and 384 from the Constitution of Ecuador. Finally, in case that a policeman decides to ignore the laws he/she is supposed to abide, and in case that he/she wants to seize the documents of a person who is driving with a foreign driver’s license, or even worst, if he/she presumes or attempts to arrest an Ecuadorian or foreign citizen because of being filmed during either of these events, the ECUADORIAN CONSTITUTION on its Article 11, numeral 9 says “..The State's supreme duty consists of respecting and enforcing respect for the rights guaranteed in the Constitution. The State, its delegates, concession holders and all persons acting in the exercise of public authority, shall be obligated to redress infringements of the rights of individuals for negligence or inadequacies in the provision of public services..” Likewise, Article 76, numeral 7, paragraph E states “..No one can be questioned, not even for purposes of inquiry, by the Office of the Attorney-General, by police force authority or any other authority, without the presence of a private attorney or a court appointed defense attorney, or outside the premises authorized for this purpose..” And above all, Article 77 says “..In any criminal proceedings where a person has been arrested and detained, the following basic guarantees shall be observed: - Whoever imprisons a person by infringing these regulations shall be punished. The law provides for criminal and administrative sanctions for the arbitrary detention that takes place as the result of the excessive use of the police force, in their abusive application or interpretation of the penalties or other regulations or for reasons of discrimination..”

See also

All of Ecuador's guide articles