Photo Traffic Fines (Fotomultas) in Colombia: How Foreign Drivers Check SIMIT and Appeal

The classic story goes like this: you rent a car, drive a highway for a weekend, hand the keys back, and weeks later a letter lands at an address you have never seen. Camera tickets in Colombia are built around the plate and the registered owner, not around whoever was behind the wheel. So the first thing to know, before you panic or pay anything, is that a fotomulta is not yet a fine.

It begins as an orden de comparendo, a formal order to appear. The sanction comes later, either because you accept the ticket and pay, or because the transit authority decides it in the contravention process. Everything below follows from that distinction.

Check the plate before you argue

Start with SIMIT, the national registry of traffic infractors, run through the Federación Colombiana de Municipios at fcm.org.co/simit. Transit agencies report the data, and a plate search returns comparendos, fines, and payment agreements tied to the vehicle no matter who was driving. Outstanding SIMIT debts are also used to block transit procedures (trámites).

Then check the city that imposed the ticket, because SIMIT only shows what local agencies report and it can lag or differ:

• Bogotá: the Secretaría Distrital de Movilidad consulta page accepts a cédula or the vehicle plate.
• Medellín: the Alcaldía's electronic-comparendo query accepts a plate, an identity-document number, or a comparendo number, and answers virtually.

Foreign drivers often have no cédula, so search by plate. I would not assume a passport search shows every rental-car ticket; neither official screen I reviewed promises that.

Safety warning: fake messages use SIMIT's name by email, text, WhatsApp chains, and calls. Open fcm.org.co/simit or the city portal yourself, and never pay a private website just to look up a plate.

Owner, driver, and the rental car

Two Constitutional Court rulings get mixed up constantly, so here they are separately.

C-038 of 2020 declared unconstitutional only parágrafo 1 of article 8 of Law 1843 of 2017, the clause that made the owner jointly liable (solidary) with the driver for technology-detected tickets. It did not shut down photo enforcement; cameras kept working.

C-321 of 2022 is a different rule. Owners still have duties over SOAT, tecnomecánica, permitted place and time, speed, and red lights (Law 2161 of 2021, article 10). For the speed, red-light, and place-or-time cases, the owner can be sanctioned only if the contravention process proves a culpable breach. The owner can show the vehicle was taken by force, fraud, or another crime. C-321 did not revive the solidarity that C-038 removed, and a comparendo alone is not the sanction.

So no, the court did not make camera tickets impossible to enforce against owners. It made guilt something the authority must prove inside the process.

For rentals, keep two things apart. The traffic file is handled by the transit authority named on the record. Any later charge on your card is a separate contract question between you and the rental company, and I could not verify a rule that settles it either way.

The 11-business-day hearing

For electronic tickets, the authority must mail and/or email the comparendo and its supports within three business days after validation, to the last address registered in RUNT. Bogotá adds that validation is due within 10 business days of detection, citing article 18 of Resolution 20203040011245 of 2020. You then have 11 business days after receipt to appear. If the owner cannot be found at that address, the authority notifies by aviso.

Here is the honest downside: the owner must keep RUNT contact data current, and a notice sent to the last registered address still binds the owner. Out-of-date data does not by itself void the process. That is exactly why a rental-company mailing delay hurts you.

To contest, schedule the hearing within those 11 business days (an on-street ticket gets five business days from imposition). In Bogotá, scheduling is free by phone at +57 (601) 364 9400 option 2, or through "Mi movilidad a un clic." The Secretaría Distrital de Movilidad is at Calle 13 #37-35, Bogotá.

According to the Ministry of Justice's LegalApp (article dated 8 July 2025):

• The hearing may be in person or virtual, depending on each secretariat.
• If you cannot attend, send a justified excuse and the authority reschedules once.
• You do not need a lawyer, and the impugnación procedure itself has no fee.

A roadside stop by an officer is a different thing from a camera ticket; for that, see our guide to police stops and your rights.

Paying means accepting

Under article 136 of Law 769 of 2002, if you accept the contravention you can pay 50% within five days after the comparendo order, or 75% of the fine within 20 days, but only if you also take the mandatory transit course. Outside those windows the accepted fine is 100% plus late interest. Rejecting the ticket leads to a public hearing instead of the discount.

Bogotá publishes its own electronic table (consulta page updated 23 October 2026): 50% if course and payment happen on business days 1 through 11 after notification, and 25% on business days 12 through 26, with one course per infraction. That is Bogotá, not every city.

I am not quoting peso amounts, because the figure on the official SIMIT or city record is the only one that counts. And if you want to fight the ticket, do not treat payment as something you can undo.

One year is not a waiting strategy

The action for a traffic contravention expires one year after the facts, and the authority must decide within that year. The term is interrupted when the hearing that decides the sanction is actually held. After the decision is notified in estrados, Bogotá says caducidad can no longer be requested.

Do not read that as "ignore it and it vanishes." Debts sit on SIMIT and can block procedures in the meantime. If your problem is a defective notice, our Spanish guide on impugnar fotomultas por indebida notificación covers it, including caducidad versus prescripción.

Signs, cameras, and staying longer

Camera or radar zones must have a visible sign before the zone, and on national roads a fixed speed-detection sign must sit 500 meters ahead. Bogotá calls its system Cámaras Salvavidas and says a person reviews the evidence before a comparendo is issued. If you stay and plan to drive long term, the medical exam for a Colombian license is a separate step, not part of any appeal.

Buying a used car? Read the plate first

Tickets travel with the vehicle's record. Before you contact a seller, run the plate on SIMIT and confirm there are no open comparendos. Active car listings in Colombia Move are still thin right now, so check carefully rather than rushing.

Frequently Asked Questions

❓ Is a fotomulta already a fine?

No. It starts as a comparendo, an order to appear. The sanction comes later, either when you accept and pay or when the transit authority decides after a hearing. Read the status on the official record before paying anything. (verify with the official source, as accessed)

❓ Does the registered owner automatically pay a camera ticket?

No. Sentencia C-038 of 2020 struck the owner-driver solidarity. Under C-321 of 2022, an owner can still be sanctioned for speed, red-light, or place-and-time cases if the process proves a culpable breach, and can show the car was taken by force or fraud. (verify with the official source, as accessed)

❓ How do I check a rental car if I have no cédula?

Search the plate on SIMIT at fcm.org.co/simit, then on the portal of the city that imposed the ticket. Do not assume a passport search shows every record, because the official screens do not promise it. (verify with the official source, as accessed)

❓ How long do I have to contest an electronic ticket?

You must schedule the hearing within 11 business days after notification. Bogotá's appointment is free by phone or through its online channel. Whether the hearing can be virtual depends on each city's secretariat, so confirm with the one that imposed it. (verify with the official source, as accessed)

❓ If I pay the discount, can I still fight it?

Treat payment as acceptance. The 50% or 75% national discounts require accepting the ticket and taking the mandatory course. Bogotá's electronic table, dated 23 October 2026, has its own windows, so check your city before paying. (verify with the official source, as accessed)

❓ Will an unpaid camera ticket disappear after one year?

Not safely. The authority has one year from the facts to decide, but the term is interrupted once the deciding hearing is actually held. Meanwhile unpaid debts on SIMIT can block procedures, so waiting is not a plan. (verify with the official source, as accessed)

❓ Should I pay a website or WhatsApp message that says I have a fotomulta?

No. Fake messages use SIMIT's name. Open fcm.org.co/simit or the city portal yourself, and never pay a private site merely to look up a plate. (verify with the official source, as accessed)