If you need more time than the initial 30 days permit that is issued to you at the border for your vehicle like we did then look no further here is what you will have to do to renew your vehicle import permit in Nicaragua. To obtain another 30 days you must visit the D.G.A. office in Managua. Scroll to the bottom of the page for gps coordinates and map to locate the office. Your vehicle does not need to be present to renew the permit but the vehicle owner listed on the title and registration must be present. You will need to bring with you:
When you enter the D.G.A. office go to the left where there is two offices behind large glass windows. Sign in on the sheet to claim your place in line. If the wait is long go outside and eat at the tienda in the parking lot. They serve only one choice a day that rotates daily. The food is good.
When your name is called you will enter the office and explain to the clerk that you would like to extend your vehicle import permit. The biggest factor we found here for a quick approval was that they want to know you are a tourist. Use the word tourist a lot and assure them that you will be leaving Nicaragua with your vehicle at some point.
They will now issue you a invoice for the new permit and you will go next door to the bank and pay the importation fee of $1 dollar a day. You can only get up to 30 days at a time issued. So if you need more you will have to return to Managua again and repeat this process. After returning from the bank enter the D.G.A. office and go to the right. There will be a row of clerks behind a counter. The person that deals specifically with your situation will be the furthest to the right when looking at the counter. You will need to show this person all the personnel and vehicle identification documents listed above. You will be issued a receipt to return the next morning and pick up your new permit. Of course nothing can be completed in one day in Central America so go enjoy the city. When you return the next morning you will enter the D.G.A. and this time go to the desk directly on your left upon entering. You will need to show them your passport for identification. They will have your permit ready and you’re done.
*Some Notes for Consideration*
While in Managua you can also extend your mandatory vehicle insurance. We used Seguros America for our insurance. If you know that you will be renewing your permit when you first purchase insurance at the border you can purchase more than 30 days at this time. Insurance through Seguros America is $12 a month for basic coverage. To purchase more insurance you will need:
Below is a map of Managua with locations and gps coordinates of both the D.G.A. vehicle import permit renewal office and vehicle insurance office (click on icons on map for gps coordinates).
Map Legend:
D.G.A. office 
Seguros America office 
Pet friendly hotel
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Las Cabanitas, Hotel
Great location in a residential setting yet walking distance to downtown. They allow dogs and have gated secure parking. We paid $55 Dollars a night |
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Seguros America
Get your vehicle insurance here |
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DGA office
Renew your vehicle import permit here |
Thanks so much for this super helpful post. I’m happy to report that as of October 2015 this is still very accurate (and very easy). Yes, it’s a pain that you have to go back to the DGA office two days in row but it was cake.
Day 1 – took me 25 minutes to do everything (DGA, Bank and DGA). NOTE: You are now required to provide a photo copy of your paid bank receipt to DGA. Thankfully you can get a photo copy at the Centex office right next door to the bank for 2 Cordobas. The bank and Centex share a parking lot and are actually connected.
Day 2 – took me 5 minutes at the DGA office and 40 minutes at the Seguros America office.
Below were the hours posted at both the DGA and Seguros offices.
DGA – Monday-Friday from 8:20AM-4:30PM, Closed Saturday and Sunday
Seguros America – Monday-Friday from 8:00AM-5:30PM, Saturday 8:30AM-11:30AM
Thanks so much, this is exactly the info I needed!
I spent a month building a bridge near Esteli and overstayed my visa and my vehicle permit expired. The police stopped me and fined me for having no valid insurance. The fine was conveniently what I had in my wallet. The Border officials fined me for having overstayed not only the 30 day passport stamp but the CA4 90 day limit. That fine was paid at the passport stamp ventanilla after a private interview/argument in a scary backroom. My argument was the Nicaraguan passport expiration date suggested I had overstayed my welcome by one week, but they went by the date that I had last entered Guatemala 3 months earlier, which was 20 days older. The Nicaraguan visa was irrelevant and they only went by the date from Guatemala. That was bad enough but the vehicle inspection folks escorted me to the bank to pay a fine that was more like a $50 plus $2 a day. I don’t remember the specifics but I overstayed by 14 days beyond the vehicle permit and was fined less than $100 for the vehicle. The passport expiration was a different fine that was around $50…and the bribe was around $30. The gas line of my van ruptured in the Aduana parking lot to add to the entertainment.
So I’m not sure if the $500 fine you mention is accurate/practiced. My experience was in August 2015. Now I am back in Nicaragua after 3 months in Costa Rica and don’t want to be forced to move to Costa Rica again and would prefer another month here on the beach so this essay gives me hope I can do it. Gracias!
Thanks for the great post. We were not able to negotiate an extension on our permit more than one week in advance of expiry, even though we will be on the Corn Islands until after it expires. After much discussion the GDA agreed that they would waive the fine of 50 USD (we asked if it was 500 USD as stated above but they insisted it was only 50USD) and provided us a written and stamped/signed slip of paper stapled to our existing permit stating that we are allowed to drive until the date that we would be able to return and renew the permit.
I can confirm this whole plan works. They told me I could renew the permit a maximum of 5 days before it expired. Also, they told me I would only be allowed 1 renewal for a total of 60 days. Maybe this was because I had been in Nicaragua 3 months earlier or maybe they didn’t like the look of me. I said I thought I was allowed 2 renewals and they said, no, 1 renewal and then I would have to leave Nicaragua. Also, the renewal was not ready when I returned at noon the following day and I ended up waiting until around 4 PM for the final signature. Traffic in Managua is especially bad around 5pm and I was stuck behind several accidents for hours, the van overheated and true chaos ensued. In all, it was like spending 40 hours at a DMV surrounded by rush hour traffic.
You guys are on point. Everything was correct. The only thing that was left out was that you have to get a number from the lady at the door right as you enter the DGA. Also the copy center is closed now you have to walk up the street to get the copy of the receipt made. Thanks for posting this it made the process so much easier