How to rent out your car or motorcycle in Colombia: contract, insurance, and daily price

Short answer: yes, you can rent out your own car or motorcycle to someone else, as long as you hand it over without a driver, with a written contract and all the documents up to date. If you also drive it and you charge for taking people, then it’s no longer a rental—it’s unauthorized transportation, and that comes with a fine and the vehicle being immobilized. Starting today, you can publish your vehicle for free for rent on Colombia Move, with a price per day, week, or month.

Until now, anyone who wanted to rent out their car on Colombia Move had to list it as a "service," where it didn’t appear in the cars section and didn’t have filters for brand, year, or mileage. That has changed. This guide explains what to check before handing over the keys, what to put in the contract, and how to publish the listing step by step.

Is it legal to rent out my personal car?

You need to separate two things that people confuse on the street:

• Rental without a driver. You hand the vehicle to another person, they drive it, and they pay you for using it for a period of time. It’s a lease contract for a thing between two parties. That’s how rent a carcompanies work, using cars for private service.
• Car with a driver. You (or someone you hire) drives and charges for carrying passengers. That’s providing transportation services. If the vehicle has a private-service vehicle license and is not enabled for that service, it falls under infringement D12 of the National Road Traffic Code: driving a vehicle intended for a different service than the one stated on its license. The penalty is a type D fine and immobilization of the vehicle, which—according to press reports—increases with each repeat offense (5, 20, and 40 days).

If you rent it out occasionally, the first case is the one that matters. If you’re thinking about turning it into a business with multiple vehicles, talk to an accountant about the RUT and invoicing before you grow, because that income must be declared.

Before posting: paperwork and insurance

1. Valid SOAT. It’s mandatory and covers the people in an accident, not damage to the car.
2. Up-to-date technical-mechanical inspection, if it’s due for your vehicle already. Check the date in the technical-mechanics guide for cars and motorcycles.
3. Full coverage insurance that covers the rental. Call your insurance company and ask exactly this: "Does the policy cover me if the car is driven by a person who pays me to use it?" Many private-use policies exclude commercial or rental use. If it doesn’t cover you, you’ll have to pay for the crash.
4. No pending fines or embargoes. Check the vehicle’s status in RUNT and SIMIT. The RUNT cédula consultation guide explains how.

The issue of speed-camera tickets

In 2020, the Constitutional Court (ruling C-038 of 2020) said that the vehicle owner can’t be charged a speed-camera ticket just for being the owner of the car. But later, Law 2161 of 2021, upheld by ruling C-321 of 2022, set the owner’s own duties: having the SOAT and technical-mechanical inspection up to date, respecting the day-and-time restrictions (pico y placa), speed limits, and traffic lights. If a camera detects that those duties were not met, the penalty can reach you even if someone else was driving the car (as explained by the Mayor’s Office of Medellín).

That’s why the contract should state that the person renting is responsible for fines from the rental dates, and it’s a good idea to check SIMIT a few weeks after each return. If the person renting comes from another city, explain your pico y placa before they leave.

What the rental contract should say

You don’t need a lawyer for a weekend rental, but you do need a document signed by both parties. At minimum:

• Name, ID card number or passport number, and phone number of both parties, and the driver’s license number of the person renting (with a photo of the current, valid license).
• License plate, make, model, and color of the vehicle.
• Date and time of delivery and return, and where it’s delivered.
• Price per day, week, or month, how it’s paid, and what happens if it’s returned late.
• Mileage: unlimited or with a daily cap, and how much each additional kilometer costs.
• Security deposit: how much it is, how it’s paid, and within how many days it’s returned.
• Fuel: it’s delivered with the tank full and returned the same way, or the difference is charged.
• Inventory: condition of the body, tires, spare parts, tools, and documents, with dated photos and video that both parties approve.
• Who pays for fines, tolls, parking, and the insurance deductible if there’s a crash.
• Clear prohibitions: no subletting, no lending the vehicle to another person, and not using it to transport passengers while charging for it.

How to set the price

On Colombia Move you can set the price per day, per week, or per month. To set it:

• See what others charge for a similar vehicle in your city in the cars for rent section and in the rent a car companies in your area.
• Add up your real costs: insurance, tire wear, maintenance, cleaning between rentals, and the days the car sits idle.
• Offer a lower weekly or monthly price per day. Longer rentals save you on deliveries, car washes, and risk.
• Make clear what’s included: mileage, insurance, delivery to the airport, second driver.

How to post your car or motorcycle for rent on Colombia Move

1. Log in to Publish and choose Sell something.
2. Open Vehicles and select the category: Cars, Motorcycles, Pickup Trucks and SUVs, Trucks, Bicycles, or Other vehicle.
3. Under the category you must Rent it.. The listing will become a rental.
4. Enter the price and choose whether it’s per day, per week, or per month.
5. Complete make, year, mileage, transmission, and fuel. These are the filters people use to find you.
6. Upload up to 30 photos: exterior from all four sides, interior, dashboard showing the mileage, and any scratches. Honest photos prevent arguments when returning the vehicle.
7. In the description, explain what the price includes, what you require to rent (license, deposit), and where you deliver it.

Posting is free. Your ad appears in the vehicle category and in search with the filter Rent, alongside cars for sale, so that someone searching for a Kia or a motorcycle in your city can also see that they can rent it.

If what you’re looking for is to rent a vehicle

Go to the search for cars for rent or change the category to Motorcycles or Pickup Trucks and leave the filter on Rent. If you can’t find what you need, post an ad for what you’re looking for: in Publish, choose "I’m looking for something," the vehicle category, and "I want to rent." Owners in your city will see it.

If you’re a foreigner, check the rules first for driving in Colombia with a foreign licenseFor motorcycles, there is a separate guide on renting a motorcycle as a foreigner.

How to avoid problems

• Verify the person. Ask for their driver's license and national ID or passport in person and compare them to the person standing in front of you.
• Do not hand over the keys before signing the contract and receiving the deposit. Confirm that the payment has arrived in your account; do not rely on a screenshot.
• Deliver in a safe location and during the day, with a video inventory.
• If you are the renter, be wary of large advance payments before seeing the vehicle, prices well below the market average, and owners who do not show the registration card. The same warning signs from the guide to avoiding used vehicle scams apply here.

Renting out a car that spends the week parked can help you pay for insurance and maintenance. Do it with a contract, with up-to-date paperwork, and with insurance that truly covers you. List your vehicle for rent on Colombia Move.