New vehicles must comply with this regulation after 4 months, while old vehicles have a period of 12 months.
On May 14, 2024, Decree No. 13 was published in the Official Gazette, which approves the regulation that establishes the characteristics of the mandatory engraving of the letters and digits of the unique license plate on the windows and side mirrors of motor vehicles.
The purpose of the regulation is to establish the criteria for engraving on side windows, windshields and rear windows, and side mirrors to travel through the national territory.
In this sense, the regulation establishes that vehicles must have:
Glasses:
- Letters and digits must be between 7 and 10 mm high, normal style, capital letters, without italics or bold.
- Engraved on the lower right corner of the driver’s side glass and on the lower left corner of the passenger side.
Lateral mirrors:
- Letters and digits must be between 5 and 10 mm high, normal style, capital letters, without italics or bold.
- Engraved on the edges of the side mirrors, parallel to the ground.
Windshield:
- Engraved in the lower right corner, without obstructing the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
Rear window:
- Engraved in the lower left corner, without obstructing other mandatory information.
Engraving Permanence:
- The engraving must be permanent, meaning that it is made by abrading the surface of the glass and the side mirror so that it cannot be erased.
Exceptions:
- Vehicles mentioned in article 54 of the Traffic Law (foreign patents).
- Old or historic vehicles in accordance with title XIX of the same law.
Supervision and compliance:
- Compliance will be verified in technical reviews.
- Inspections by Carabineros de Chile and tax and municipal inspectors.
When does the recording obligation come into force?
Finally, it is important to highlight that the regulation establishes the obligation to record the unique license plate for new vehicles from the fourth month after this decree is published in the Official Gazette, that is September 2024.
In addition, vehicles marketed prior to September 11, 2023 will come into force twelve months after the publication of this decree in the Official Gazette, that is, May 2025.
For more information on these topics you can contact our Corporate and Business team:
Álvaro Rosenblut | Partner | arosenblut@az.cl
Javiera Lira | Senior Associate | jliras@az.cl
Nicolás Zaliasnik | Associate | nzaliasnik@az.cl
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