⚡ DIRECT ACCESS TO THIS PROCEDURE
Lookup and Payment — Criminal Court Fines
→ Go to transito.gob.gt
Have ready before you click:
  • 🪪 DPI — you'll enter your CUI (13 digits)
  • 📄 Court case number (if you have it)
  • 📑 Court certification (certificación de lo conducente) if you received one
  • 🏦 Debit/credit card or access to an authorized bank
  • 📧 Email address to receive receipts
💰 Lookup cost: Free (Q0) · ⏱ Time: ~1 hour · 🆔 Verified: May 2026

Administrative fines from a criminal court order are penalties imposed by a criminal court judge and transferred to the MINGOB Department of Transit for collection. The lookup is free and can be done online. Payment itself varies based on the amount the judge imposed. Resolving them matters because, if left pending, they block future procedures.

Quick summary: Online or in-person lookup and payment. Lookup is free. Payment varies per fine. Time: about 1 hour if everything is clear. Resolve before processing a passport, renewing a license, or transferring a vehicle — these fines can block all of those.

What This Fine Is and How It Originates

When a criminal court judge issues a sentence or ruling that includes an administrative penalty — usually for traffic crimes, drunk driving, accidents with injuries, reckless driving, or offenses related to vehicle operation — the court issues a “certificación de lo conducente” and transfers it to MINGOB for system registry and fine collection.

That fine becomes linked to your CUI/DPI or your vehicle in the MINGOB database. As long as it’s unpaid, it appears as pending and can generate administrative consequences down the road.

It’s distinct from ordinary traffic fines (the ones a PMT or PNC officer writes on the street): those are paid via traffic fine payment. Criminal-court administrative fines come from a formal proceeding with a judge — they’re more serious and amounts tend to be higher.

Why This Matters (Even If You “Don’t Remember It”)

Many people discover they have a pending administrative fine years later — because they didn’t deal with it at the time or paperwork got lost. The problem: these fines don’t automatically expire. They stay in the MINGOB system until paid or judicially resolved.

Procedures that can be blocked by a pending fine:

Sometimes old fines are also linked to the vehicle, not the person — so if you buy a used car, you can inherit fines the previous owner never paid.

Requirements to Look Up and Pay

To look up:

  • Valid DPI (you need your 13-digit CUI)
  • Court case number (if you have it — speeds up the search)
  • Access to MINGOB portal or in-person at the office

To pay:

  • Debit/credit card (online payment) or
  • Printed payment slip to take to an authorized bank
  • ID document (DPI or passport)

If you received a written certificación de lo conducente from the court, bring it — it makes case identification easier.

Step-by-Step Process

Stage 1 — Check your status

  1. Log into the MINGOB Department of Transit portal (transito.gob.gt)
  2. Select “Fine Lookup” or “Account Status”
  3. Enter your CUI/DPI (13 digits, no dashes)
  4. Review the list of pending fines — the system shows:
    • Case number
    • Originating court
    • Type of fine (administrative from criminal order, ordinary, etc.)
    • Amount
    • Date imposed
    • Status (pending, in process, paid)

Stage 2 — Identify and verify

  1. Verify the fine corresponds to you — confirm court, date and reason
  2. If you recognize the case, note the case number and exact amount
  3. If you don’t recognize the fine, before paying go to the originating court with a lawyer to verify — it could be a name-collision error or wrong linkage

Stage 3 — Pay

  1. Online: inside the portal, select “Pay” → enter card details → confirm
  2. At a bank: print the payment slip from the portal and present it at any authorized bank in the system (Industrial, G&T Continental, Banrural, Promerica, etc.)
  3. At MINGOB office: if you prefer in person, go to the Department of Transit (6a Avenida y 13 calle, zona 1, Guatemala) with your DPI

Stage 4 — Verify the block is lifted

  1. Wait 24-72 hours for the system to update status to “paid”
  2. Go back to the portal and check again — the amount should appear at zero or as cleared
  3. Print the payment receipt — keep it for several years in case you need it for any procedure
  4. If you plan to process a passport, license, criminal record, etc., wait for the confirmation before starting — if you do the procedure with the block still visible in the system, it will be rejected

Cost & Timeline

ItemDetail
LookupFree (Q0)
Fine paymentVariable — depends on judge and offense (Q500 to Q50,000+)
Lookup timeImmediate (online)
Update time after payment24-72 business hours
Online availableYes (lookup and payment)
Diaspora-friendlyPartially — lookup and payment yes; physical certificates require a proxy
Fine validityDoes not expire until paid or judicially resolved

Common Mistakes

  • Ignoring it thinking “it’ll be forgotten” — the MINGOB system doesn’t forget; fines stay linked to your CUI for years or decades
  • Paying without verifying the case — there can be name-collision or identity errors; verify before paying
  • Paying and not keeping the receipt — if the system doesn’t update properly, the receipt is your only proof
  • Assuming paying one fine automatically clears others — each fine is a separate case; check the full status
  • Buying a used vehicle without checking linked fines — verify the vehicle history at SAT and MINGOB before closing the purchase
  • Going to MINGOB to “appeal” the fine — MINGOB only collects; appeals go to the originating court with a lawyer

These fines operate under:

  • Decreto 119-96 — Administrative Litigation Law (administrative procedures)
  • Decreto 51-92 — Criminal Procedure Code, articles on the criminal judge’s authority
  • Decreto 132-96 — Traffic Law (infractions that generate criminal proceedings)
  • Decreto 17-73 — Penal Code, articles 154 and 157 (traffic crimes)

Where to Go in Person

Department of Transit (MINGOB) 6a Avenida y 13 calle, zona 1, Guatemala Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Authorized banks for payments: Banco Industrial, Banco G&T Continental, Banrural, Banco Promerica, Banco Agromercantil, Banco Inmobiliario, Banco de los Trabajadores. Any branch in the country accepts payments with the MINGOB slip.