Before you start

A valid Chilean cédula de identidad
A certificado de residencia for your comuna
Proof of at least 8 years of completed schooling
The municipal fee, typically CLP 20,000–40,000

Step-by-step

1
Check whether your country has an exchange agreement
Chile has six: Spain, South Korea, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Paraguay. If yours is on the list the process is a homologation rather than a full test cycle.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get your certificado de residencia
Issued by your junta de vecinos or municipality, evidencing you live in that comuna. You apply to the Dirección de Tránsito of the comuna where you actually live.
In personWho: You
3
Evidence 8 years of schooling
Chile requires proof of completed basic education. Foreign certificates generally need legalisation or apostille and an official Spanish translation — start this early, it is the usual delay.
In personWho: You
4
Sit the medical and psychotechnical exams
Vision, hearing, reflexes and coordination, administered at the municipality. These come before the theory and practical tests.
In personWho: You
5
Pass the theory and practical tests
Both in Spanish. All four exams — medical, psychotechnical, theory and practical — must be passed to be issued the Clase B licence.
In personWho: YouCLP 20,000–40,000 depending on comuna

Documents you’ll need

Chilean cédula de identidad
Certificado de residencia for your comuna
Proof of 8 years' schooling, apostilled and translated
Foreign licence, for the six exchange countries
Municipal fee payment

Things most newcomers don’t know

Only six countries can exchange, and the list is shorter than almost anywhere else.

Spain, South Korea, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Paraguay. Nationals of the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany and everywhere else start from scratch with four exams in Spanish, regardless of decades of driving history. This is a much heavier lift than in most countries and worth planning around.

Source: Subsecretaría de Transportes — exchange and recognition agreements

The schooling certificate is the sleeper requirement.

Proving eight years of completed education sounds trivial until you need your school records apostilled and officially translated from another country. It regularly takes longer than everything else combined, and nobody warns arrivals about it because Chileans simply have the document.

Source: Municipal Dirección de Tránsito requirements

The process is municipal, so your comuna decides your experience.

Fees range roughly CLP 20,000–40,000 and municipalities may demand additional documentation at their discretion. Waiting times and administrative friction differ noticeably between comunas, and you must use the one you live in.

Source: Municipal licensing practice, corroborated across comunas

You genuinely may not need a car in central Santiago.

The Metro is extensive, clean and cheap, and Providencia, Ñuñoa and the centre are well covered. Given the exam burden, many residents simply do not bother — then hire cars with an international permit for Andes weekends instead.

Source: community-reported