How do you convert a driving licence in Bolivia in 2026?

Finish temporary residence and collect the CIE first: Apply for residence and Get a CIE. Without that plastic, SEGIP will not treat you as a resident driver applicant.

If you hold a valid Argentine or Chilean licence, follow SEGIP’s published homologación track for that country. Chile’s flow often starts with an email package to the published SEGIP address with clear photos of both licence faces and both CIE faces; Argentina’s track asks for a signed written request, a copy of the valid Argentine licence and a valid CIE (or Bolivian cédula for dual nationals). Confirm the live checklist on SEGIP before you travel to the desk. Processing can take weeks, not an afternoon.

Most other nationalities plan a new SEGIP licence: valid CIE, medical and psychological certificates from an accredited centre, an original driving-skills approval from an authorised technical training centre (driving school), police clearances commonly cited from FELCN, FELCC and Tránsito desks, plus the fee for your licence category. Keep the foreign licence valid on filing day as supporting evidence when the desk asks for it. La Paz and Santa Cruz hold denser SEGIP and school options than smaller towns: Living in La Paz and Living in Santa Cruz.

SEGIP ties licence validity to your CIE status. If residence papers lapse, treat the driving card as at risk too and renew migration before you rely on the plastic for Equipetrol or Zona Sur traffic stops. Keep the licence with your CIE in the car folder.

Many Sopocachi and Cala Cala movers never need a car for weekly micros and Teleférico life, then still want the Bolivian licence for weekend highland trips or Santa Cruz ring roads: Utilities, internet, and transport and Paperwork after moving. Budget medicals, school hours and clearances outside a thin rent sheet: How expensive is Bolivia. A local mobile number helps schedule schools and SEGIP callbacks: Get a mobile phone.