How to Check Liens, Pledges, and Restrictions on a Used Vehicle in the RUNT

The motorcycle inspection went well. The seller had the bank's letter in hand. The lien was still registered. The mechanic checked the chain, brakes and leaks. He did not check the registry.

Cars and motorcycles are checked in the same module. You enter the license plate and the owner's ID document. If Gravámenes a la propiedad says SÍ, there is a restriction. That box alone does not tell you it is a bank pledge, nor does it give you the creditor's name.

Quick answer

• Open the RUNT license plate query with the plate and the owner's ID document. The module covers both cars and motorcycles.
• Gravámenes a la propiedad is YES or NO. YES indicates a restriction on the property, not the name of the creditor.
• The pledge, if there is one, is read under Garantías a favor de: creditor, date, NIT and Confecámaras YES or NO.
• The license plate query page does not show a fee. The paid document is the Histórico Vehicular.

The plate query and the Histórico do not say the same thing

To find out whether your motorcycle has a pledge, open the vehicle query by license plate. The page says the module covers your vehicle or motorcycle. On November 14, 2026 I did not see a published fee there. You enter the license plate and the document number of the registered owner. If the seller hides that ID, the query is left incomplete. That is the snag that annoys me most.

The route in Spanish, without going through a page that charges for the same plate, is in the RUNT query guide. Use the modules at runt.gov.co.

Instructive RUNT2-IN-1010 of October 3, 2025 and Communiqué 101 of July 3, 2026 describe what you are looking at. Gravámenes a la propiedad is a YES or NO for restrictions on the property, and it does not name the creditor. Garantías a favor de shows the creditor, the registration date, the NIT and whether Confecámaras says YES or NO. Garantías mobiliarias shows the registration or the release authorization, and the ID Prenda Vehículo.

A query with the ID number will not list that person's plates or the pledges in their name. I separated that in the guide to RUNT query by ID number.

The paid document is the Histórico Vehicular. On November 14, 2026 the transaction page showed $41.037 with VAT included. Confirm that amount on the screen before paying. The PDF may include accidents, seizures or registered pledges, validity of the SOAT and the technical-mechanical inspection, technical data and judicial restrictions. Owners only appear if you tick YES in the right of petition under article 23 of the Constitution. That PDF does not replace the certificate of title from the transit authority.

How to read the pledge without mixing it with another lien

If Gravámenes is NO and Garantías a favor de shows no creditor, no pledge appears in that query. If Gravámenes is YES, there is a restriction. The pledge, when it exists, is under Garantías a favor de: creditor, registration date, NIT and Confecámaras YES or NO. Do not turn the YES in Gravámenes into a bank pledge.

A judicial seizure or a coercive measure is not cleared with the bank's letter. It is lifted by the authority that ordered it, with its official order. There is no single national deadline for seeing the release in the RUNT. It depends on the order and on the transit authority where the vehicle is registered recording it. Only that authority can correct the data. The query shows what the parties reported.

The paz y salvo does not update the RUNT by itself

Heads up: holding the paz y salvo does not delete the RUNT entry. The creditor's letter does not move the record on its own. You must file the lien release with the transit authority where the vehicle is registered. The framework is article 5.3.13.1 of Resolution 20223040045295 of 2022. Ask for the application form, the original registration or release document with stamps, verification of the SOAT in the RUNT, a paz y salvo for fines, and a cross-check with the Registro de Garantías Mobiliarias.

The creditor's paz y salvo does not have to go through a notary. It does have to say, in plain words, that the debt has been paid and that it authorizes the release. If Confecámaras appears as SÍ, the authority needs the release authorization from the Registro Nacional de Garantías Mobiliarias before it records the release. If it shows NO, it checks the papers and records the release as it has been doing.

That authority charges its own fees. Ask for the breakdown in writing before paying. I will not invent a peso range for you.

With a pledge, the transfer is not closed in advance

The authority does not have to reject every transfer just because there is a pledge. It requires the release, or the beneficiary's written authorization for that restriction to continue with the buyer. This is what the Ministry of Transport's opinion on Resolution 20223040045295 of 2022 and Resolution 20233040017145 sets out.

A judicial or coercive seizure is not settled with that letter. The one who ordered it must lift it. I would not hand over the balance against a loose paz y salvo. I pay when the authority can proceed: release filed, or the creditor's authorization for the pledge to continue with whoever buys.

What I check before handing over the money

This is the order I follow before making the payment. The inspection goes last on purpose: a healthy engine does not clean the record.

1. Query by license plate with the owner's ID document. Read Gravámenes and Garantías a favor de.
2. If you want the PDF, request the Histórico Vehicular and tick YES in the right of petition when you need the list of owners. It does not replace the certificate of title.
3. Check SIMIT with the ID number or the license plate. It is the register of offenders and can hold up procedures if there are fines, under Law 769 of 2002. A result by plate is a list of the vehicle's traffic citations, not a seizure or a pledge.
4. Compare the seller's license with the owner's ID number shown in the query.
5. Do the inspection. It is useful for the engine. It does not erase a lien.
6. Pay when the procedure is set up, not when they rush you with the bank's letter.

SIMIT is checked on the official portal. The Ministry of Transport's opinion of February 5, 2026, filing 20261340146001, separates those citations from a lien on the vehicle.

On November 14, 2026 the motorcycle category on Colombia Move showed 13 listings. Bogotá, 8. Cali, 1. Cartagena, 1. Medellín, 1. Other city, 1. Tunja, 1. One of those ads was a rental, so these are not 13 sales. The SOAT, technical inspection and transfer marks are added by whoever posts. They do not replace the RUNT query.

Frequently asked questions

❓ How do I know if my motorcycle has a pledge?

Check the plate with the owner's ID document: Gravámenes at SÍ is a restriction, and Garantías a favor de shows the pledge and the creditor. The same screen covers the motorcycle. There you see the registration date, the NIT and whether Confecámaras says SÍ or NO, as described in Communiqué 101 of 2026.

❓ Is it free to check whether a car or motorcycle has seizures in the RUNT?

The plate query page does not show a fee; the published charge is in the Histórico Vehicular. On November 14, 2026 that query still had no value on screen. The charge that did appear that day corresponds to the Histórico, and it is worth confirming it there before paying.

❓ How much does the Histórico Vehicular cost in 2026?

On November 14, 2026 the transaction page showed $41.037 with VAT included. Confirm that amount on screen before paying. That figure belongs to the Histórico Vehicular. Do not use it as if it were the release fee.

❓ Can I transfer a vehicle that still has a pledge?

The authority requires the release or the creditor's authorization for the pledge to continue with the buyer. A judicial seizure is not settled with the bank's letter: it is lifted by the authority that ordered it, according to the Ministry of Transport's opinion on Resolution 20223040045295 of 2022.

❓ What do I do if I already paid off the loan and the motorcycle still has a pledge?

The paz y salvo does not update the RUNT by itself: you must file the release. If Confecámaras says SÍ, the authority asks for the release authorization from the Registro Nacional de Garantías Mobiliarias before recording it, according to Communiqué 101 of 2026. If it says NO, it checks the papers and records the release as before. The letter does not have to go to a notary, but it must authorize the release in plain words.

❓ Are SIMIT fines the same as a seizure or a pledge?

No: SIMIT shows debts for infractions that can hold up procedures, while the pledge or seizure is read in the RUNT. You can check it with the ID number or the license plate. A result by plate lists the vehicle's citations and does not turn the fine into a lien, as the Ministry of Transport clarified on February 5, 2026.

❓ How long does it take for the release to show in the RUNT?

There is no single national deadline; it depends on the authority's order and on the transit authority recording it. A bank letter does not move a judicial seizure. The data changes when the authority issues the order and the transit authority where the vehicle is registered incorporates it.