To transfer a used car in Guatemala through SAT, prepare the ownership certificate with signatures legalized by an active notary, pay the processing charge and the applicable IVA, and complete the transfer procedure. For a foreign applicant, SAT explicitly accepts a valid passport in the identification requirement; you should also prepare your Agencia Virtual access and updated RTU registration information. SAT’s transfer requirements give the documents and payment steps.
Quick summary
| What to prepare | Rule |
|---|---|
| SAT processing payment | Q120.00, using SAT-8611 in Declaraguate |
| Transfer IVA | SAT-2311; the amount depends on the vehicle’s model year |
| Identification | Valid DPI, or passport for a foreign owner, attorney-in-fact or legal representative |
| Ownership document | Endorsed certificate with signatures legalized by an active notary, or certificate plus its SAT-8611 annex with legalized signatures |
| IVA deadline | 15 business days from legalization of the endorsement signatures |
| Transfer deadline | 30 business days following the endorsement date |
| Electronic route | Through a notary, for vehicles with electronic documents; party attendance and fingerprints still apply |
The deadlines are the owner’s payment and filing obligations. They are not a promise that SAT will finish processing within that period. See the SAT requirements and vehicle FAQ.
What a foreign buyer needs
Bring your valid passport to the notary and discuss the intended filing route before signing. SAT’s identification alternative covers a foreign owner, attorney-in-fact or legal representative. Its electronic submission list separately includes the seller’s and buyer’s DPI/passport, so the passport alternative also appears directly in the buyer’s document requirements.
Identification is only part of the preparation. SAT also requires Agencia Virtual access and updated RTU digital information for the owner, attorney-in-fact, or legal entity and its representative, as applicable. Use our Agencia Virtual guide for that account and our Declaraguate guide for the payment forms.
If someone will act as your attorney-in-fact, SAT requires the testimonio de escritura pública of the current mandate, duly registered in the Archivo General de Protocolo, plus a photocopy. An authorized third party must also meet SAT’s separate third-party requirements. Have a Guatemalan notary check your representation documents before you arrange the transaction around someone else’s attendance. These conditions appear in the official transfer requirements.
Documents and checks before signing
For the individual or legal-entity route, SAT lists:
- Valid identification for the owner, attorney-in-fact or legal representative, with the passport alternative for a foreign applicant.
- Agencia Virtual access and updated RTU digital information for the applicable applicant and representative.
- Payment clearance for the ISCV circulation tax on all registered vehicles of the owner or legal entity.
- The SAT processing payment and transfer IVA payment.
- The current, original circulation card, subject to the replacement procedure below.
- The endorsed ownership certificate with signatures legalized by an active notary, or the certificate together with its annex generated through SAT-8611, also with legalized signatures.
- For current, previous and next model-year vehicles, an invoice containing at least one of these identifiers: plate number, VIN, series or chassis number. If you do not have that invoice, declare its absence when completing SAT-2311 so IVA is calculated using the taxable-values table under Art. 55 of Decreto 27-92.
- Additional third-party requirements if an authorized third party files the application.
SAT also directs applicants to obtain the vehicle’s physical inspection at an authorized DEIC location before attending the tax office or agency. Its FAQ describes this expertaje as free, performed in person, and valid for 60 business days from issue. That inspection checks the vehicle’s physical characteristics. Requirements; inspection FAQ.
For circulation-tax information, see our SAT vehicle sticker guide. For the sale document itself, see the vehicle bill of sale template. See also vehicle transfer: sale process and buying a car in Guatemala as a foreigner.
What the transfer costs
Keep the SAT processing payment, IVA, notary’s professional fee and notarial stamp separate when reviewing the price with your notary.
| Item | Amount or rule | Applies when |
|---|---|---|
| SAT processing and ownership certificate | Q120.00, SAT-8611 | Standard electronic payment form for this transfer procedure |
| Car IVA: current, next or previous model year | 12%, SAT-2311 | SAT cites Art. 10 and Art. 55 of Decreto 27-92 |
| Car IVA: model two to three years before the current year | Q. 1,000.00, fixed | Older-model scale in SAT’s FAQ |
| Car IVA: model four or more years before the current year | Q. 500.00, fixed | Older-model scale in SAT’s FAQ |
| Notarial stamp for legalization of signatures or documents | Q.10.00 | Art. 3, item 2(c), Decreto 82-96; the law exempts contracts authorized by the Escribano de Gobierno and proceedings handled by university legal-aid clinics |
| Notary’s authentication fee | Q. 50.00 to Q. 200.00, according to importance | Supplementary tariff under Código de Notariado Art. 109, item 10; Art. 106 allows fees and payment terms to be agreed freely |
| Circulation-card replacement | Q60.00, SAT-8933 | If you do not have the current circulation card |
| DEIC physical inspection | Free | In-person physical inspection described in SAT’s FAQ |
Sources: SAT transfer payments, SAT IVA and inspection FAQ and the CENADOJ Código de Notariado. The stamp provision is Decreto 82-96, Art. 3, item 2(c).
The notary tariff is a fallback when no fee agreement exists. Ask for the agreed professional fee and stamp charges in the quote; see our notary fees guide.
Motorcycles have a different older-model IVA scale: Q. 300.00 for models two to three years before the current year and Q. 200.00 for models four or more years before it. SAT’s current/next/previous model-year rule remains relevant. See motorcycle transfer costs rather than applying the older-car amounts to a motorcycle.
For a model subject to valuation, consult SAT’s vehicle tables and agreements with the notary handling your forms.
File at an SAT office or tax agency
Prepare the certificate with the notary
Use the endorsed ownership certificate or the certificate-and-annex alternative listed above. SAT says legalization of the signatures occurs in the parties’ presence. Arrange that stage with the notary and confirm any representation arrangement before signing. SAT FAQ.
Complete the forms and make the payments
In Declaraguate (see our Declaraguate guide), complete SAT-8611 and SAT-2311. Generate a SAT-2000 payment slip for each form and pay through an authorized bank. Once the slip is paid, return to Declaraguate to generate the ownership-certificate annex through SAT-8611 if applicable. These are the steps in SAT’s requirements.
If the electronic SAT-8611 cannot be presented, SAT specifies a fallback: SAT-2430, signed by the owner, attorney-in-fact or legal representative as applicable, with payment evidence under SAT-8370 and SAT-0811. SAT-8370 lists Q 60.00 for the transfer and Q 60.00 for replacement or issue of the ownership certificate. SAT-0811 covers the transfer IVA and is provided at the counter when requesting the procedure. This is an alternative payment-and-application route, not another processing payment to add to SAT-8611.
Attend with the requirements and paid forms
SAT directs the applicant to an office or tax agency with the requirements and payments completed. After the procedure, enter your Agencia Virtual account to download the electronic documents. SAT lists the electronic circulation card and ownership certificate as available there. Tax obligations, including IVA, ISR, ISO and others as applicable, must be cleared to download the electronic documents. Official steps and special cases.
The electronic route through a notary
SAT limits this route to vehicles with electronic documents. Its FAQ describes completing forms 8611, 2311 and 8028 in Declaraguate, paying through online banking, and the notary then carrying out the operation in Agencia Virtual.
The buyer’s and seller’s fingerprints are required, and signature legalization takes place in the parties’ presence. The notary must send these documents as PDFs with an advanced electronic signature:
- Certificate annex.
- Electronic circulation card.
- Electronic ownership certificate.
- Seller’s DPI/passport.
- Buyer’s DPI/passport.
- Legal representation documentation when the buyer is a legal entity.
The notary must upload the documents before completing the transfer; SAT says additional documents cannot be uploaded after completion. The notary is responsible for retaining the physical documentation and must show it or provide a copy when a competent authority requests it. SAT’s notary-transfer FAQ.
Deadlines and special situations
| Obligation | Deadline and starting event |
|---|---|
| Pay the transfer IVA | 15 business days from the date an active notary legalizes the endorsement signatures |
| Carry out the transfer before the Registro Fiscal de Vehículos | 30 business days following the endorsement date |
SAT refers missed deadlines to the corresponding sanction under Art. 94 of Decreto 6-91, Código Tributario. Keep both dates with your paperwork and plan the payments and filing separately. Official deadline provision.
The same requirements page lists additional conditions for particular cases:
- Missing circulation card: pay Q60.00 through SAT-8933. For loss, misplacement, robbery or theft, attach a photocopy of the corresponding notice or complaint filed with the Ministerio Público or Policía Nacional Civil.
- Transfer between spouses: attach a private document or a testimonio de escritura pública of a donation between living persons; SAT cites Art. 1792 of Decreto Ley 106, Código Civil.
- Owner unable to read and write, or unable to sign or provide a fingerprint because of physical disability: SAT calls for a witness accompanying the owner at the owner’s request and presentation of the DPI.
- Rental or urban-use plates: a line-concession authorization from the municipality where the service will operate.
- Three-wheel motorcycles carrying 3 or more passengers, and rental, urban, commercial, service, agricultural or cargo-use plates: RTU registration with IVA affiliation and other applicable taxes, an active establishment and enrollment in FEL electronic invoicing.
- Vehicles inactive through temporary insurer withdrawal: DEIC physical inspection and SAT-452, requesting activation.
- Transfers to government entities: change to official-use plates under Art. 21 of Decreto 70-94. SAT also requires the Dirección de Bienes del Estado resolution for the state-entity route; Central Government, decentralized and autonomous entities must present that office’s vehicle-ownership confirmation resolution.
General information, not legal advice: ask a Guatemalan notary or lawyer to review the sale, identification and any representation or special-case documents before you sign.