In short: Driving your own car to Guatemala means two temporary-import permits, one deposit, and two insurance decisions. Mexico: a Banjercito permit at US$51 + IVA at a module or US$45 + IVA online, plus a refundable deposit of US$400 (2007 and newer), US$300 (2001-2006) or US$200 (2000 and older), refunded only if you register the car’s exit before the permit expires (ANAM, read 23 Sep 2026). Guatemala: SAT’s tourist-vehicle permit at the customs office where you enter: Q160 Declaraguate form, Q100 per sticker, Q60 entry form, valid up to your migratory stay. Insurance: Mexico’s federal-roads law requires third-party cover. The permit is for visiting. If the car is staying, it has to be imported. That’s a different job, covered in bringing a car from the USA.
This page covers one question: is the car coming down on its own wheels? The import duty, SAT valuation and plates are already covered in the car-import guide. Life with foreign plates once you are here is in foreign-plated vehicle rules. What follows is the road itself: the two border permits, the deposit, the insurance and what governments say about the route.
The decision table
| Your situation | What the rules point to | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Moving for good, car must end up on Guatemalan plates | Drive it down or ship it, then do the formal import either way | The tourist permit ends with your migratory stay (RECAUCA art. 442); a car that’s not re-exported or nationalised is abandoned (art. 448) |
| Coming for a season (up to 90 days + one extension) and leaving with the car | Tourist permits on both sides are built for this | Mexico: valid for your immigration status. Guatemala: up to the stay migration grants |
| Car still financed or leased | Possible, with paperwork | Mexico accepts a credit contract, or a lease plus the lessor’s letter authorising the import (ANAM); Guatemala requires the owner’s authorisation if you are not the owner (SAT) |
| You want to sell the car in Guatemala | Import it first | Mexico’s permit forbids selling it in Mexico; RECAUCA art. 447 requires notice to customs before any sale in Guatemala |
| Car is 2000 or older | Cheapest Mexican deposit (US$200) | ANAM deposit scale |
| You’d be driving after dark or off toll roads | The published advice says don’t | Canada: avoid travelling after dark, use toll highways |
Mexico: the Banjercito temporary import permit (TIP)
Mexico’s customs agency, ANAM, publishes the terms; Banjercito issues the permit and holds the deposit.
| Item | Amount / rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Permit at a CIITEV module at an entry customs house | US$51 + IVA (cash or international card) | ANAM |
| Permit online | US$45 + IVA (international credit card) | ANAM |
| Permit at a Mexican consulate in the US with a Banjercito module | Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Sacramento, Albuquerque, Denver, Phoenix | ANAM |
| Deposit, model 2007 and newer | US$400 | ANAM |
| Deposit, models 2001-2006 | US$300 | ANAM |
| Deposit, model 2000 and older | US$200 | ANAM |
| How long it lasts (foreigners) | The length of your Mexican immigration status | ANAM |
| How many cars | One per foreign visitor or temporary resident | ANAM |
| Proof of ownership (original + copy, one of) | Title or current registration in your name; a lease plus the lessor’s authorisation letter; a credit contract in your name | ANAM |
The deposit table as ANAM prints it: “Modelos 2007 y posteriores, 400 dólares”, “Modelos 2001 a 2006, 300 dólares”, “Modelos 2000 y anteriores, 200 dólares”.
What the permit forbids. ANAM lists three things you cannot do with the car in Mexico: sell it, give it away, or use it commercially (public transport, moving or freight). A car loaded with your household goods is a grey area the page does not settle. Moving goods is named in the commercial-use line, so ask Banjercito before you drive down with a full cargo area.
Who may drive it. For a foreign importer, ANAM names the importer, the importer’s spouse, parents, children or siblings, other visitors or temporary residents, and anyone at all as long as you are on board.
Getting the deposit back is the whole game
ANAM’s refund rule is short: Banjercito returns the deposit “en la misma forma en que el interesado la constituyó” (the same way you paid it), provided the vehicle’s definitive return was registered before the permit expired. A card deposit goes back the next banking day. A cash deposit is refunded in cash at a CIITEV module at a border customs house.
That creates the one real trap of a one-way southbound drive. ANAM tells returning drivers to present the car at a CIITEV module on the border to get the return receipt, but its public page lists no modules on the Guatemala-Mexico border. Earlier research for our border-run cost guide also could not confirm one at Ciudad Hidalgo, Talismán or Ciudad Cuauhtémoc. Before you pay the deposit, ask Banjercito in writing which southern crossing will register the return. If none can, you’re gambling the deposit on getting there later.
If you miss the deadline. ANAM runs a retorno seguro procedure that gives you 5 business days from filing the notice to take the car out legally. Its own warning is blunt: until then, the car is in Mexico illegally and exposed to “sanciones, decomiso y/o embargo”.
Mexico: liability insurance is the law on federal roads
Article 63 Bis of Mexico’s Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal reads:
“Todos los vehículos que transiten en vías, caminos y puentes federales deberán contar con un seguro que garantice a terceros los daños que pudieren ocasionarse en sus bienes y personas por la conducción del vehículo.”
Two more sentences matter. “La contratación del seguro será responsabilidad del propietario del vehículo” makes it your job. The last one protects you: no one can force you to buy from a specific insurer. We did not read any US insurer’s policy for this page, so nothing here says what US policies cover in Mexico. Your declarations page and its coverage-territory clause decide that.
Guatemala: SAT’s tourist-vehicle permit at the border
Guatemala’s permit comes from customs (SAT), not migration. SAT’s requirements page for Importación Temporal para Vehículos de Turismo lists:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Passport, original + copy | With the Guatemalan migration stamp showing the period you were granted |
| Title, original + copy | In your name, or an equivalent document proving the right to use it |
| Driving licence | Current, for the driver or owner |
| If you are not the owner | Original or certified copy of the owner’s authorisation, issued abroad under that country’s law |
| Where | “Preséntate a la Aduana por donde ingresaste al país”: the customs office where you entered |
| SAT charge | Amount |
|---|---|
| Declaraguate form | Q160 |
| Tourism or international-transit sticker | Q100 per sticker |
| Temporary-entry authorisation form | Q60, one charge however many stickers |
| One car, one sticker | Q320 (sum of SAT’s published amounts) |
The customs offices SAT lists for this procedure include Tecún Umán, El Carmen and La Mesilla, the crossings from Chiapas, plus El Ceibo, Melchor de Mencos, El Florido, Agua Caliente, La Ermita, Pedro de Alvarado, San Cristóbal and Valle Nuevo.
How long it lasts. RECAUCA, the Central American customs regulation Guatemala applies, says customs authorises the car’s stay “hasta por el plazo otorgado por la entidad migratoria correspondiente”, meaning up to the stay migration gives you as a tourist (Art. 442). The Código de Migración caps a tourist stay at 90 days, extendable once (Art. 74). Three more RECAUCA rules are easy to break by accident:
- Carry the permit visibly. Art. 440: circulating requires carrying the authorisation visibly.
- Leaving and coming back. After the car leaves, a new permit can’t be issued for three months unless the clock was suspended by a temporary exit or customs storage (Art. 442). A temporary exit with you driving suspends it for up to three months.
- Breakdowns. If the car can’t leave because of damage, ask customs for a repair permit before the current one runs out (Art. 443).
Up to two travelling companions who also qualify can be added as authorised drivers (Art. 445). RECAUCA lets member states demand accident and third-party insurance (Art. 446), but SAT’s requirements page lists no insurance for this permit. The separate question of whether a Guatemalan liability policy is compulsory is answered in car insurance in Guatemala. The short version is yes in the statute, not in force.
The route: what three governments publish
We do not rate road safety ourselves. This is what the UK and Canadian governments publish as of September 2026. The US State Department’s Mexico advisory was behind a bot check on 23 September 2026 and could not be read, so it is not summarised here. Read it yourself before you leave.
| Stretch | UK (FCDO) | Canada (travel.gc.ca, updated 17 Sep 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Mexico overall | Use toll roads (cuotas) where possible; keep doors locked and windows closed; unofficial roadblocks in remote areas, including on main roads | “Exercise a high degree of caution in Mexico due to high levels of criminal activity and kidnapping.” |
| Northern border states | Drug-related violence affects Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León, Tamaulipas, Sinaloa and Durango | Nuevo León: avoid non-essential travel except Monterrey |
| Tamaulipas | Against all but essential travel, except Nuevo Laredo via toll road 85D from Monterrey in daylight, and the south of the state beyond named highways | Avoid non-essential travel except Tampico, and only by air or sea |
| Veracruz, Tabasco | More security incidents; illegal roadblocks reported frequently | — |
| Chiapas (the Tecún Umán, El Carmen and La Mesilla crossings) | — | Avoid non-essential travel, except Palenque (and highway 186), Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal (and toll highway 190D) |
| Driving generally | Carjackings and robberies along the Pacific Highway | Avoid travelling after dark; only use toll roads and highways; always stop at roadblocks |
Read that last Chiapas row closely. Canada’s exceptions name Palenque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal. None names the border towns (Ciudad Hidalgo, Talismán, Ciudad Cuauhtémoc) that lead to Guatemala’s Tecún Umán, El Carmen and La Mesilla. Canada’s avoid-non-essential-travel advice therefore covers the last stretch of the drive to those three crossings. If you drive anyway, the published precautions are daylight only, toll roads, and stopping at roadblocks.
Live border queues on the Guatemalan side are on our border wait-times page.
Drive or ship? The arithmetic you can actually do
| Cost line | Drive down | Ship |
|---|---|---|
| Mexican permit | US$45-51 + IVA | — |
| Mexican deposit | US$200-400, refundable if the exit is registered in time | — |
| Mexican liability insurance | Required on federal roads (Art. 63 Bis); price is the insurer’s | — |
| Guatemalan tourist permit | Q320 (one car, one sticker) | — |
| Fuel, tolls, hotels, time | Yours to estimate | — |
| Ocean freight, port fees, broker | — | Quoted by shippers; see the car-import guide and international movers |
| Import duty if the car stays | Same either way | Same either way |
Driving and shipping end in the same place if the car stays: a formal import with DAI, IVA and plates. So the real decision is between the road’s cost and risk and a shipper’s quote. Driving doesn’t let you skip the import.
Leaving again
If you drive back out through Mexico, the Mexican leg starts over with a new permit and deposit. Leaving Guatemala with a Guatemalan-registered car is its own trámite: the vehicle exit permit to Mexico or Honduras.
Related pages
- Bringing your car from the USA: title, customs, plates
- Foreign-plated vehicle rules in Guatemala
- Car insurance in Guatemala
- Border-run costs 2026
- Border wait times
- Vehicle import hub
- Guatemala import calculator
- Moving from the USA hub
Sources
All read 23 September 2026 unless stated.
- ANAM — Importación temporal de vehículos: permit prices, deposit scale, refund rule, prohibited uses, authorised drivers, retorno seguro
- Cámara de Diputados — Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal: Art. 63 Bis (added DOF 21-05-2013)
- SAT — Requisitos para la Importación Temporal para Vehículos de Turismo: requirements, Q160 / Q100 / Q60, customs offices (page dated 10/10/2023)
- SAT copy of RECAUCA IV (Resolución 224-2008 COMIECO-XLIX): Arts. 440-448
- Código de Migración, Decreto 44-2016, Art. 74 (tourist stay), as captured for our border-run research
- UK FCDO — Mexico safety and security and regional risks
- Government of Canada — Mexico travel advice (last updated 17 September 2026)
Spanish quotations are reproduced as published by ANAM, the Cámara de Diputados and SAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you drive to Guatemala from the USA?
Yes, as a tourist with a car registered in your name. You need two separate temporary-import permits: Mexico’s (issued by Banjercito for Mexican customs, ANAM) and Guatemala’s (issued by SAT at the customs office where you enter). Mexico’s permit costs US$51 plus IVA at a CIITEV module at an entry customs house, or US$45 plus IVA online, and you also leave a refundable deposit of US$400 for 2007-and-newer models, US$300 for 2001-2006 and US$200 for 2000 and older (ANAM, read 23 September 2026). Guatemala’s SAT lists Q160 for the Declaraguate form, Q100 per tourism sticker and Q60 for the temporary-entry form.
How long can I keep my US-plated car in Guatemala?
As a tourist, up to the stay Guatemalan migration gives you. RECAUCA Article 442 lets customs authorise the car’s temporary stay up to the period granted by the migration authority, and Article 74 of the Código de Migración caps a tourist stay at 90 days, extendable once. Mexico’s permit works the same way: for a foreigner it lasts as long as the Mexican immigration status. The permit is not a way to live in Guatemala with the car; for that you formally import it.
Do I get my Mexican deposit back if I don't drive back through Mexico?
ANAM ties the refund to one event: registering the vehicle’s definitive return before the permit expires, at a CIITEV module at a border customs house. Card deposits go back to the card the next banking day; cash deposits are refunded in cash at a CIITEV module. If you leave Mexico southbound into Guatemala, check before you go that the crossing you use has a module able to register the return. We could not confirm one at Ciudad Hidalgo, Talismán or Ciudad Cuauhtémoc; ANAM refers questions to Banjercito.
Do I need Mexican car insurance?
Mexico’s federal roads law says every vehicle using federal roads, highways and bridges must carry insurance covering damage to third parties and their property, and that buying it is the owner’s responsibility (Ley de Caminos, Puentes y Autotransporte Federal, Art. 63 Bis). The law also says no one can force you to buy it from a specific insurer. Read your US policy’s coverage-territory clause before you assume it applies in Mexico.
Is it safe to drive through Mexico to Guatemala?
This page repeats what governments publish instead of offering its own opinion. Canada’s advice, updated 17 September 2026, says to exercise a high degree of caution across Mexico, to avoid non-essential travel to Chiapas (except Palenque, Tuxtla Gutiérrez and San Cristóbal and named roads to them), to avoid travelling after dark and to use toll highways. The UK advises against all but essential travel to most of Tamaulipas, and reports more security incidents and frequent illegal roadblocks in Tabasco and Veracruz. The US State Department page could not be read for this guide.
Can I sell the car in Guatemala once I've driven it down?
Not freely. Under Mexico’s permit you cannot sell or give away the car in Mexico. In Guatemala, RECAUCA Article 447 requires the holder of a tourist-vehicle permit to notify customs before any sale, and a tourist who neither re-exports nor nationalises the car is treated as having abandoned it (Article 448). Selling or keeping it means a formal import first; see the car-import guide.
