Exchanging a foreign license — department of Montevideo
A reválida — recognition of a foreign license — gets you a Uruguayan license on the basis of the one you hold, without the whole path from scratch. The main condition is an ID from your department’s list.
Facts checked on September 24, 2026
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How the exchange works
There is one rule for the whole country — the PUNC rules, the national license regulation shared by every intendencia. The papers, the fee and the office are set by each intendencia on its own: they are below, by department.
The Uruguayan license is issued on the basis of the foreign one, and that one must be valid on the day you apply: an expired license is not exchanged.
You keep your foreign license after the exchange: the intendencia does not take it.
For a license from outside Mercosur, the documents are legalized in the country that issued it and translated into Spanish.
A license from a Mercosur country is backed by a consular certificate; if it is not in Spanish, a Traductor Público — a sworn translator — translates it.
A tourist with a license from a Mercosur country does not need to exchange it: for the trip, the license from home is valid.
If the license cannot be legalized back home, you explain why to the intendencia in writing. If it accepts, it recognizes the license fully or in part, on condition that you pass the theory test, the practical test and the medical check.
Montevideo: the homologación
In Montevideo the exchange is called homologación — recognition of a foreign license; it is done by appointment at the Intendencia’s main building.
The result is a local license in the same category A, G1 or G2, based on a valid foreign one. The fee is 2627 UYU.
Your own country’s passport will not do here: you need a Uruguayan cédula de identidad — the local ID card — or a Uruguayan passport.
A license-history record from the authority that issued the license, with an apostille. Without the apostille you have to take the theory and practical tests.
Papers that are not in Spanish need a traducción pública — a sworn translation.
If the license does not say clearly which vehicles it covers, you need a certificate from the embassy or consulate.
You also need a medical certificate from an institution on the intendencia’s list, and no unpaid fines or overdue payment plans.
The papers go to the Intendencia’s main building, Av. 18 de Julio 1360, at a time booked in advance.
Spain has a bilateral agreement: categories are converted by its table, and the Spanish license stays in Montevideo.
For countries without a reciprocity agreement, Contralor de Conductores may order extra tests — theory, practical or both.
If the exchange does not fit you
Without an ID from your department’s list, the exchange will not go through. What remains is getting the license from scratch.