Guatemala Customs Declaration Form (DVE) 2026: How to Fill It Online, the QR Code, and What to Declare

In short: Everyone who flies (or sails) into or out of Guatemala files SAT’s free electronic traveler declaration. SAT calls it the DJRV; it is also known as the DVE. At La Aurora it has been electronic-only since August 2023, and paper is used only when SAT’s systems are down. File it within three days of your flight and keep the declaration number and QR code it emails you. One form covers you, your spouse and your minor children. Adult children and grandparents file their own. Gifts for relatives are goods you must declare. Cash of US$10,000 or more gets a “yes” on the cash question. This is general information, not legal advice.

If you are flying home to Guatemala for the holidays, you have probably seen the QR code signs at La Aurora, or had a relative tell you to do the SAT form before you fly. This page covers that form and nothing else: what it is, when to file it, what each screen asks, and the few answers that catch diaspora travelers out. For the allowances themselves (what enters duty-free, alcohol and tobacco limits), see our main guide to Guatemala customs for travelers.

Everything below comes from SAT’s own documents, which we read on 24 September 2026: SAT’s traveler-declaration page, its customs FAQ, its illustrated filing guide, and its two procedure guides for the electronic form (GU-IAD/DNO-ADU-GDE-19, approved 24 September 2025) and for the mobile app (GDE-18, dated 1 October 2025). We also read the resolution that made the form electronic (SAT-DSI-1049-2023) and the regional COMIECO resolution that created the form.

What the form is (and what it is not)

What kind of form it is: SAT, the tax and customs agency, runs it as a customs declaration; the US State Department describes it as an immigration and customs declaration form. It is not a visa.

What the US State Department tells Americans. Its Guatemala page says a tourist visa is not required for US citizens, but that you must fill out an electronic immigration and customs declaration form before entering and exiting the country. It adds that you can do it on arrival, but that doing it before the trip is safer and faster, and that you must show the completion QR code to customs agents after picking up your luggage. For passport questions, see renewing a Guatemalan passport from the US or our Guatemala passport and entry guide.

When to file it, and how long it lasts

SAT’s own documents disagree on how early you can file:

• SAT’s illustrated guide says: “Puedes llenar tu boleta hasta tres días antes de tu vuelo sin costo” (you can fill in your form up to three days before your flight, free).
• SAT’s FAQ answers the same question with: “15 días, normalmente las aerolíneas brindan el número de vuelo 3 días antes del viaje” (15 days; airlines normally release the flight number 3 days before the trip).

The practical answer: file it within three days of your flight. That satisfies both documents, and your flight details are more likely to be in the system by then.

It is tied to one date. SAT’s FAQ says the declaration expires on the day you said you would use it. SAT’s guide adds that if you do not use it for any reason, you must fill in a new one with the updated travel date. Resolution SAT-DSI-1049-2023 (Article 9) adds that if circumstances beyond your control stop you from travelling within 15 calendar days of filing, the system sets the declaration to inactive and you must file a new one. If your flight moves to another day, file again.

Exit counts too. The form asks whether you are entering or leaving. When you fly back to the US, you file a new one marked as an exit.

What to have ready before you start

SAT’s guide for the electronic form lists what to have with you:

• Your passport number and your flight number.
• For a Guatemalan passport, the libreta (booklet) number too. SAT’s FAQ says both are on the passport’s cartilla (the data page): the passport number at the top right and the booklet number at the bottom right. SAT’s illustrated guide describes the booklet number as the one above the barcode.
• The value of anything that is not your own baggage (gifts, extra devices, merchandise). You will need to state quantity and value in US dollars.
• Each companion’s details if you are filing for a spouse or minor children: full names, passport numbers and, for Guatemalan passports, booklet numbers.
• An email address you can open. The number and QR code are sent there. SAT’s FAQ says any personal email that is active will do; it does not have to be the one registered with SAT’s Agencia Virtual.

Guatemalan citizens: the form first asks whether your passport or travel document is Guatemalan. If yes, you choose between a passport and the DPI. SAT’s guide says the DPI can be used only when travelling between Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Flying to or from the US, that means your passport. With a Guatemalan document, SAT’s guide says the form fills in your name, document number, nationality, sex and date of birth automatically, and you cannot edit those fields.

Step by step: filling it in online

These are the steps in SAT’s guide GDE-19 and its illustrated guide:

1. Open the form. Go to SAT’s traveler declaration page and follow the link to the electronic form. SAT’s guide also says the link is published by airlines, travel agencies, the immigration institute (IGM), the Superintendencia de Bancos, INGUAT and the civil aviation authority (DGAC), and that printed QR codes at the airport and port lead to the same form.
2. Solve the CAPTCHA, pick your language and enter your email. The form defaults to Spanish; SAT’s guide shows an icon that switches it to English. You confirm your email address.
3. Answer the document question. Guatemalan passport or DPI, or a foreign passport (or a Salvadoran DUI, Honduran DNI or Nicaraguan CI).
4. Accept the sworn-statement instructions. You tick the box referring to perjury (Penal Code Article 459) and press accept and continue.
5. Check the autofilled fields and complete the rest. If you are flying and the airline has already sent its passenger manifest, the system fills in your flight details (entry or exit, customs office, airline and flight number, countries, date). If the manifest is not there yet, you type them in. SAT’s guide says every field is mandatory.
6. Work through the sections: trip type and transport; personal data; trip details (country of origin and destination, the address where you will stay, reason for travel, number of bags, unaccompanied baggage, date); family members travelling with you; and five yes/no questions (below).
7. Read everything, then press Guardar (Save). SAT’s guide warns the information cannot be modified after it is sent. The screen shows your declaration number (in SAT’s example it looks like GT-CA-A-00083554-2025) and the QR code. Take a screenshot; the same data arrives by email. SAT’s guide advises against downloading the summary on a public or shared computer.

Then, as SAT’s illustrated guide puts it, carry the number and QR code on the trip and show them when the authorities ask.

On your phone instead: SAT’s guide GDE-18 (dated 1 October 2025) describes a mobile app named Declaracion Del Viajero SAT-GT, for iOS and Android, from the App Store, Play Store and AppGallery. It asks for the same information.

The five yes/no questions

Read these questions carefully. The electronic form asks (SAT guide GDE-19, section 5):

For each “yes,” the form asks for a description, quantity and value in US dollars.

The cash threshold, precisely: Guatemala’s anti-money-laundering law (Decreto 67-2001, Article 25) speaks of a sum greater than US$10,000, which is how our customs guide describes the underlying law. But the question on this form, and Article 5 of Resolution SAT-DSI-1049-2023, use equal to or greater than US$10,000. The State Department’s Guatemala page uses the same line as the form: for US$10,000 or more, on entry or exit, you must declare the source of the money and its purpose. So on this form, exactly US$10,000 means yes. Carrying cash is legal whatever the amount. The form’s instructions add that failing to declare US$10,000 or more is a crime.

Gifts for family: the answer that matters most

SAT treats your own things and things you bring for other people differently:

• Your own baggage is the personal items you reasonably need on the trip, new or used: clothing, one laptop, one phone and similar (RECAUCA Article 578). These do not count as goods other than baggage.
• Goods other than baggage are things not for your own use. SAT’s illustrated guide gives two examples: bring three laptops and two of them are goods other than baggage; bring five phones, one for you and four for relatives, and the four are goods other than baggage. They can enter the country, but they go on the declaration with quantity and value, and taxes are paid when they apply.

What happens next depends on the value of those goods (SAT guide GDE-19 and the form’s own instructions):

The US$1,000 figure is Guatemala’s amount. The form’s instructions list amounts by country: US$100 for Costa Rica, US$1,000 for El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, US$2,000 for Nicaragua and US$4,000 for Panama (GDE-19 footnote).

Families, teams and other edge cases

• One form per family, narrowly defined. Resolution SAT-DSI-1049-2023 (Article 6) says a family group files one declaration, filled in by the head of family. SAT’s FAQ limits that to spouses and minor children: “Solo se incluye al papá, mamá e hijos menores” (only father, mother and minor children are included). Adult children and grandparents file their own.
• Travelling with a minor who is not your child (for example a sports team): SAT’s FAQ says each person files their own declaration. SAT’s illustrated guide says a coach or person in charge may file if they carry supporting documents. The two SAT documents differ. Filing one declaration per traveler satisfies both.
• Unaccompanied baggage: the form asks how many bags are travelling separately. SAT’s guide defines unaccompanied baggage (RECAUCA Article 581) as baggage that arrives within three months before or after your own arrival, which you arrange with the airline.
• Anything needing a permit (weapons, ammunition, plants, animals, medicine): SAT’s FAQ says yes, you need the corresponding permits. The form’s instructions say those permits are not issued by customs. Get them before you fly.

If something goes wrong

A false or incomplete declaration is serious. SAT’s FAQ says a false or incomplete declaration, such as not declaring goods other than baggage, will bring fines and sanctions that may include seizure of your belongings and prosecution. Filing is free, so declare what you carry.

By land or by sea

• By sea: the electronic form offers maritime travel (vessel name and trip number instead of a flight).
• By land: SAT’s electronic form offers only air or sea. The regional paper form in the COMIECO annex has a by-land box. SAT’s published guides do not describe how land crossings handle the declaration (checked 2026-09-24). If you are crossing from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras or Belize by road, ask the customs officer at the crossing.

Coming back to the US

The Guatemalan form covers leaving Guatemala. On arrival in the US you deal with US Customs and Border Protection, a separate system with separate rules. What you can carry back (coffee, cheese, tamales, crafts) is covered in what you can take back to the USA from Guatemala.

Checklist for the night before you fly

1. Within three days of the flight, open the form from SAT’s page or the Declaracion Del Viajero SAT-GT app.
2. Have passports ready, including the booklet number on Guatemalan passports, plus flight number and email.
3. File one form for you, your spouse and minor children. Adult children and grandparents file their own.
4. Declare gifts and extra devices as goods other than baggage, with value.
5. Carrying US$10,000 or more in cash or instruments? Answer yes.
6. Screenshot the number and QR code. Keep the email.
7. Flight changed? File again with the new date.

General information, current as of 24 September 2026. Sources: SAT traveler-declaration page, SAT customs FAQ, SAT’s illustrated DJRV guide, SAT guides GU-IAD/DNO-ADU-GDE-19 (24/09/2025) and GDE-18 (01/10/2025), Resolution SAT-DSI-1049-2023, COMIECO Resolutions 393-2017 and 477-2023, and the US State Department’s Guatemala country page. SAT can change the form at any time, so check SAT’s page before you fly. This is not legal advice. En español: Declaración Jurada de Viajero (DVE).