What must be taken into account when buying or selling a vehicle?
The transaction must always be in writing. The purchase of a new vehicle must be accredited through the invoice, and if used, by a contract of sale. This can be by public deed or by a private contract signed before a notary. Another option is to make a consensual statement, as long as you buy the car from a private person.
When buying a used car, you should ask for the Certificate of Registration and Valid Notes at any Civil Registry office, to see if the vehicle has legal problems or if it can or cannot be sold. This certificate is also a legal presumption of ownership of the vehicle, which means that whoever appears in the registration is the owner of the car. Once the purchase is made, you must register the vehicle in the Motor Vehicle Registry at any Civil Registry office.
What happens to the unpaid fines on the vehicle?
When the sale is made before a notary or another minister of faith, the latter must require the seller to certify the Registry of Unpaid Traffic Fines. The buyer will be liable only for the registered fines that appear in the certificate issued by the Civil Registry and Identification Service at the time of purchase.
The Civil Registry cannot record the fines that correspond to a previous owner of the seller. But the local police courts have the right to prosecute the responsibility of the person who was sentenced to pay the fine.
What is the Registry of Motor Vehicles?
A public registry of the ownership of all cars that circulate in Chile. Its function is to inform about the legal situation of each vehicle. Registration in this registry constitutes legal presumption of ownership (admits proof to the contrary), since it contains the owner’s data, the characteristics of the vehicle, the assigned patent number and other annotations that may affect the characteristics of the vehicle or its legal situation .
Where and how do I register my car in the Registry of Motor Vehicles?
At any Civil Registry office, presenting the documents that prove ownership of the vehicle:
- Original invoice.
- Customs documents stating the legal admission of the vehicle and payment of customs duties.
- Court ruling ordering the registration of the vehicle.
Each of these documents must contain:
- Full name of the person who acquires the vehicle (natural or legal person)
- RUT
- Data that identifies the vehicle: type, make, model, year of manufacture, color and engine, chassis or other numbers.
In addition, if applicable, payment of VAT corresponding to the first sale of the vehicle, or customs duties, if applicable, must be credited.
Whoever requests registration must always present the original of these documents . Only with respect to invoices, a photocopy authorized by a notary will be accepted. Registration has a cost.
What is a Certificate of Enrollment and Valid Endorsements? Information about each vehicle registered in the Registry of Motor Vehicles:
- Vehicle type
- Brand
- Model
- Color
- Year of production
- Identification numbers (engine, chassis or other)
- Individualization of its current and previous owners, and limitations to the domain that affect it.
Knowing the vehicle’s patent number, anyone can request this certificate at a Civil Registry office.
What is a “vehicle domain transfer”?
The transfer of ownership of a vehicle, which is accredited through a document. To do this, you must present one of the following documents in the Civil Registry:
- Contract for the sale of the vehicle, duly signed by the seller and the buyer, and authorized before a notary.
- Consensual declaration made before the official of the Civil Registry.
- Purchase invoice for the vehicle at public auction, issued by a public auctioneer.
- Leasing invoice, when the lessee of a vehicle, subject to a leasing contract, exercises his purchase option.
- Public deed of Transfer of Domain, by exchange, donation, capital contribution, liquidation of society or community.
- Executable judicial sentence, which awards or transfers the ownership of an individualized vehicle.
- Writ of Effective Possession, with the proof of its registration in the Real Estate Custodian and inventory of the deceased’s assets, in which at least the patent of the vehicle or vehicles is indicated.
Each of these documents must contain the full names of the seller or previous owner and the purchaser, the numbers of their respective RUN or RUT, the vehicle’s patent and the identifying information (type of vehicle, make, model, year of manufacture, color and numbers of engine, chassis or other). In addition, you must pay the vehicle transfer tax and the cost of the procedure.
How do you make a consensual statement?
Both parties must go in person to a Civil Registry office and present the following documents:
- Identity card of the buyer and seller.
- Certificate of Registration of the vehicle in the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
- Power of attorney, in the event that one or both parties act on behalf of a third person.
- Legal representation document, in the event that one or both parties participate in the sale on behalf of a legal person (company or institution).
- Form 1816 of the SII (notice of the sale of vehicles), in the case of a passenger cargo transport vehicle.
Then the Civil Registry official calculates the transfer tax (based on the vehicle registration information), which must be paid at a bank or authorized institution and then the domain transfer registration is made.
If the office is online, the registration in the Registry of Motor Vehicles is done immediately and the Certificate of Registration is also obtained.
How can I record that I made a change to my vehicle, such as a color change?
Anyone can file with the Civil Registry the modification of some data from the Motor Vehicle Registry, such as changing the color of the car. To do this, you must present the original documents that indicate this change, as well as the ownership of the vehicle and the patent number.
Documents vary depending on the change being reported:
- Color change:Simple affidavit of the vehicle owner, indicating the new color, the patent data and the other identifying data that are kept. If there is no simple affidavit, a technical inspection certificate or a Municipal eye inspection certificate can be submitted, stating the new color of the vehicle.
- Engine change:Invoice or other document that proves the acquisition of the new engine (failing that, a sworn statement of the owner may be presented before a notary public, or of his legal representative, about the place and date of the engine acquisition) and certificate technical inspection certificate or a municipal eye inspection certificate, stating the new engine number.
- Change of vehicle type:Invoice or receipt issued by the workshop or company that carried out the transformation (failing that, a sworn statement before a notary from the owner of the vehicle, or his legal representative, indicating the alterations made) and a certificate of revision technique granted by a plant authorized by the Ministry of Transport, or a municipal eye inspection certificate. This last document is not valid to change the type of vehicle from “bus” to “truck”
