Reactivating a Vehicle at SAT Guatemala: Requirements for a Car or Motorcycle That Was Deregistered

Activating (or reactivating) a vehicle means returning it to SAT’s active register after an inactivation: a deregistration for permanent withdrawal (retiro definitivo), a theft, a permanent withdrawal made by an insurer, a transfer by sworn declaration or mandate, or an order from an authority. SAT (Guatemala’s tax authority, which keeps the vehicle register) has a separate route for each reason, with different requirements.

This page covers activation. To deregister a vehicle, see the guide to deregistering a vehicle at SAT.

Quick summary

Requirements as published on the vehicle activation requirement pages of the SAT portal.

Activation After Permanent Withdrawal

This is the route for a vehicle that was deregistered for permanent withdrawal and is going back on the road.

Requirements

1. Valid ID: DPI, or a passport if you are a foreigner (owner, attorney-in-fact or legal representative). SAT’s wording: “DPI o pasaporte en caso de ser extranjero (propietario, mandatario o representante legal)” [DPI or passport if a foreigner (owner, attorney-in-fact or legal representative)].
2. Agencia Virtual account and up-to-date data in the digital RTU.
3. Proof that the vehicle circulation tax (Impuesto Sobre Circulación de Vehículos) is paid for every vehicle registered in your name.
4. Form SAT-452, Declaración Jurada para Inactivación y/o Activación de Vehículos Terrestres (sworn declaration for the inactivation and/or activation of land vehicles), signed by the owner, the legal representative or the attorney-in-fact.
5. Proof of payment of electronic form SAT-8933 for Reposición de Distintivos, Modificación, Rectificación de Datos y Cambio de Uso (replacement of plates and documents, changes, data corrections and change of use).
6. The annex (Declaración para Modificaciones y Reposiciones) generated after paying the SAT-8933, signed.
7. A current physical inspection of the vehicle by the DEIC. The guide to vehicle color or engine changes explains that inspection.
8. Original ownership certificate and plates, only if you did not hand them in when the vehicle was inactivated.
9. If an authorized third party handles the process, the requirements for third parties.

SAT-8933 amounts

Steps

Before you go, gather the requirements above, including the SAT-8933 payment and the DEIC inspection. SAT gives these steps:

1. Fill in form SAT-452, by hand or electronically, with legible data and no alterations.
2. Go to a tax office or agency (oficina o agencia tributaria) with the requirements and the payments made.
3. When the process is finished, log in to your Agencia Virtual and generate your electronic plates and documents (distintivos electrónicos).

You receive license plates, the circulation card, the ownership certificate and the vehicle sticker.

If you do not have the plates or the certificate

If you did not hand in the plates or the ownership certificate when the vehicle was inactivated and no longer have them, SAT asks for:

• If they were stolen: a photocopy of the complaint filed with the Public Prosecutor’s Office (Ministerio Público).
• If they were lost or misplaced: a photocopy of the report made to the National Civil Police (PNC) or a certificate issued by the Ministerio Público.

If the vehicle is being reimported, SAT asks for the plates, the ownership certificate and the circulation card, or failing that the complaint or police report, as the case may be. If the physical inspection finds changes in the vehicle’s data or characteristics, the requirements for changes, transformations or data corrections are added. For bringing a vehicle in from the United States, see importing a used car from the USA.

Activation After Theft

For a stolen vehicle that has been recovered. SAT asks for ID, Agencia Virtual and RTU, proof the ISCV is paid, form SAT-452, a document from the National Civil Police, the Ministerio Público or the Judiciary’s return form (formulario de devolución del Organismo Judicial) recording the reason for the recovery, and the DEIC physical inspection.

If you ask for replacement plates or documents at the office, you pay: plates Q30.00 (one) or Q75.00 (two), ownership certificate Q60.00 and circulation card Q60.00. When the process is finished, you generate the electronic plates and documents in the Agencia Virtual. For plates lost outside this process, see lost license plates.

Activation After Permanent Withdrawal by an Insurer

The insurer applies as a legal entity, through its legal representative or attorney-in-fact: ID (DPI, or a passport if the legal representative or attorney-in-fact is a foreigner), Agencia Virtual and RTU, proof the ISCV is paid, SAT-452, the SAT-8933 payment with the same amounts as above and its annex, and the DEIC inspection. The result is the vehicle record printout (desplegado de vehículos) at no cost, or the certificación de alza for Q30.00.

Activation After a Transfer by Sworn Declaration or Mandate

This is the route when the owner withdraws from a transfer made by sworn declaration or mandate. It requires ID, Agencia Virtual and RTU, proof the ISCV is paid and an acta notarial de declaración jurada (notarial record of a sworn declaration) in which the owner states that they are withdrawing from the transfer and releases SAT from civil, criminal and administrative liability for the activation. For the transfer itself, see used car title transfer and vehicle transfer: sale process.

Activation by Court Order or Public Prosecutor’s Order

On these two routes SAT asks for the authority’s original official letter (oficio) and the ID of the person delivering it at a tax office or agency.

Activation for Caso San Marcos

SAT has a requirements page titled Activación de Vehículos por Caso San Marcos. It asks for ID, Agencia Virtual and RTU, proof the ISCV is paid, an acta notarial de declaración jurada in which the owner states the date on which they acquired the vehicle and releases SAT from liability, and the DEIC physical inspection. That requirements page does not describe which vehicles the case covers; ask at a SAT agency before using this route.

Special Cases (Permanent Withdrawal, Theft, Transfer and Caso San Marcos)

• Rental, urban, commercial, service, agricultural and freight plates, and three-wheelers (trimotos) for 3 or more passengers: registration in the RTU with VAT (IVA) and other taxes where applicable, an active business establishment and the online electronic invoice regime (Factura Electrónica en Línea, FEL).
• Rental or urban plates: route concession authorization from the municipality where the service will operate.
• Electronic plates and documents: to print them, you must be up to date on your tax obligations (IVA, ISR, ISO and others).
• Attorney-in-fact: the testimonio (certified copy) of the public deed granting a current mandate, registered with the Archivo General de Protocolos, and a photocopy.
• Owner who cannot read and write, or cannot sign: SAT says “El propietario que no pueda leer y escribir o que no pueda firmar ni consignar su huella dactilar por discapacidad física, a ruego del propietario debe ser acompañado por testigo y presentar su Documento Personal de Identificación -DPI-.” [An owner who cannot read and write, or who cannot sign or give a fingerprint because of a physical disability, must, at the owner’s request, be accompanied by a witness and present their Documento Personal de Identificación (DPI).]

Where It Is Done

At a SAT tax office or agency. The requirement pages list offices in the Central Region (including Galerías Prima, Plaza San Rafael, Pacific Villa Hermosa, Carretera a El Salvador and Montserrat), the West (Occidente), the Northeast (Nororiente) and the South (Sur), plus a Plaza San Rafael annex for authorized third parties. Each route publishes its own list; for court and MP orders, the Central Region lists Montserrat, El Progreso, Sacatepéquez and Chimaltenango.

Related

• Deregistering a vehicle at SAT (baja)
• Annual vehicle circulation card
• Vehicle registration and transfer in Guatemala
• Vehicle color or engine change
• Lost license plates

Sources

SAT requirement pages: activation for permanent withdrawal, for theft, for permanent withdrawal by an insurer, for transfer by sworn declaration or mandate, by court order, by Public Prosecutor’s order and for Caso San Marcos.