How to Get a Salvadoran DUI: Cost, Documents & Online Renewal (2026)

The short answer, from the official sources, for the national ID card (Documento Único de Identidad) that Chapter 5 explains. Checked November 2026.

The answer (as of November 2026)

• Who can get one: every Salvadoran 18 or older, including Salvadorans born abroad once their birth is registered. Foreign residents get a residency card instead.
• From the US: at a Salvadoran consulate or a mobile consulate, $35. A first DUI must be done in person. Bring your Salvadoran birth certificate (partida de nacimiento), issued within the last 12 months, and a photo ID.
• In El Salvador: at a DUI center (duicentro) run by the national registry (RNPN). A first DUI is free, and a renewal costs $10.31.
• Online: renew or replace your DUI at dui.sv. Pick it up at a duicentro, or pay $55 from the US to have it mailed to your home.
• It's also your tax ID: a Salvadoran adult's DUI works as their tax ID number (NIT).

In the book: Chapter 5

The chapter covers the DUI and everything around it:

• Who is Salvadoran by birth, and how the chain works when a parent was born abroad and never registered
• Why to get your DUI before you move, and what it unlocks your first week
• Registering your US-born children so they can get their own DUIs at 18
• How a mobile consulate saved us a three-hour round trip

Official sources

• DUI online renewal and replacement (dui.sv) (in Spanish)
• RNPN: the national registry (in Spanish)
• Foreign Ministry: consulates and their contacts (in Spanish)
• El Diario de Hoy: getting a DUI at a consulate ($35) (in Spanish)
• El Diario de Hoy: DUI online from the US ($55 with delivery) (in Spanish)
• Ministerio de Hacienda: the DUI as your NIT (in Spanish)