The Ministry of Transport suspended on August 28 the start of operations of the Logistics Support Evaluation Centers (CALE), the system that was going to change the way to obtain a driving license in Colombia. The measure was established in Circular 0317, signed by Minister Elsa Noguera, and halted the model seventeen days before it was to become mandatory.
The postponement is for three months. The Ministry announced that during this period it will review the structure of the centers, the legality of the contract with the National Open and Distance University (UNAD), and whether the fees contribute to road safety.
In a statement, the Minister Noguera said that they want “better drivers and fewer deaths on the roads“. She added that “we are not going to pass on new costs to people without analyzing them objectively, demonstrating that they are necessary and that they will produce results. We will comply with the law, but we will also protect citizens and their wallets”.
Behind this is an inter-administrative contract signed on December 31, 2025. It has a duration of twenty years and leaves UNAD as the sole operator of driver evaluation throughout the country.
EL TIEMPO consulted the SECOP II records of the process and the contract, the prior studies, the three resolutions supporting the decision, the risk matrix and the filings of responses to the universities that applied.
The contract was registered with the reference CI-760-2025 and a value of zero pesos. The text states that the agreement “does not generate payment obligation, budgetary expenditure nor transfer of resources” from the Ministry to UNAD.
The university’s remuneration comes through another channel. The university receives the income from the fees paid by each applicant for the theoretical and practical exams. A query to the SECOP II additions and execution databases confirms that the contract has no additions or budgetary disbursements.
According to the Ministry itself, the operation could move around 20 trillion pesos in the next two decades. As a size reference, between 2022 and 2024 the country issued an average of 1,098,491 licenses per year for first-time processing and recategorization, according to figures from the RUNT included in the prior studies.
The contract term runs until December 31, 2045. The resolution that created the CALE allowed each center to be registered for a period of between ten and twenty years.
The contract term runs until December 31, 2045. The resolution that created the CALE allowed each center to be registered for a period of between ten and twenty years.
Ten universities knocked on the door and only one remained
Between September 12 and October 14, 2025, ten institutions expressed interest in operating the CALE. ESCOLME, UNISABANETA, the Coffee Axis University System (SUEJE), Francisco de Paula Santander University (UFPS), the National University, the Surcolombian University, the Envigado University Institution, the Nueva Granada Military University, the Pedagogical and Technological University of Colombia (UPTC), and UNAD applied.
The Ministry’s analysis narrowed the list. Escolme and Unisabaneta were excluded for being private, and the law gives priority to public ones. Sueje was excluded for being an association of institutions and not a higher education institution.
The University of Envigado, the Military, UPTC, and Surcolombiana fell short of the national coverage requirement. Envigado and the Military reported two campuses each, with presence in only one department.
However, there is one case that draws attention. The National University formally requested to extend the deadline by one month “to a term not less than four months” to structure its proposal. The Ministry denied the extension and relied on the rule that allowed extending the deadline only if no public institution applied.
UFPS and the National University itself received an additional five business days on December 16. The deadline expired on December 23 and neither responded.
The Surcolombian University announced a tutela action to request the revocation of the contract and that the operation of the CALE be opened to other institutions.
At the end, UNAD remained, with a network of 73 campuses and presence in 29 of the 32 departments. The Ministry qualified it as the only one with accredited national coverage and with an evaluation platform already tested abroad.
UNAD defended the award and stated that its network of campuses would allow it to cover 98 percent of the territory, according to Ministry documents, and recalled that previous legal actions with similar arguments had already been denied.
The final point of the process occurred in the last week of the year. On December 29, Minister María Fernanda Rojas delegated to the Deputy Minister of Transport the authority to sign the CALE contracts. That same day, the Contracting Committee gave a favorable recommendation. On December 30, the acting Deputy Minister, Lina María Huari Mateus, signed the resolution that justified the direct contracting. The contract was signed on December 31.
All the evaluation of the proposals, the elimination of the other universities, and the signing of the twenty-year agreement took place within that eight-day window. No appeal is currently allowed against the resolution that justified the contracting.
A more expensive exam and a risk borne by the university
The Resolution set the exam fees in Basic Value Units (UVB). The theoretical exam costs 9.40 UVB for all categories, and the practical exam ranges by license type.
With the UVB value that the Ministry itself used for 2025, 11,552 pesos, the theoretical exam costs 108,589 pesos and the practical exam for a private car license, category B1, ranges from 502,512 to 582,221 pesos.
To these amounts, the regulation adds contributions to the National Road Safety Fund, Runt, the Control and Surveillance System (SICOV), and taxes. The total approaches an additional 800,000 pesos that would raise the license cost from about 1.4 million to 2.2 million pesos.
Two conditions define the charge to the user. The fee is a range and the operator sets the price within that band. It also increases each year with the UVB defined by the Ministry of Finance.
The risk matrix of the contract places almost all the burden on UNAD. The university is responsible for financial sustainability, coverage, infrastructure, and drops in demand. In the prior studies, the Ministry states that the total investment risk lies with the university and not the State.
The same document leaves a gray area. The matrix describes the object as “joining inter-institutional cooperation efforts” and calls the agreement a “convention” throughout the page, while the rest of the file defends it as a onerous contract. The distinction matters because a convention and a contract are governed by different rules.
As the sole guarantee of compliance, UNAD had to establish a policy for 119,283,819,501 pesos for 2025, renewed annually. The contract itself clarifies that this figure is a reference amount and not the value of the business.
The model originates from Law 2251 of 2022, the Julián Esteban Law, which amended the National Traffic Code and ordered that the evaluation be carried out by public higher education institutions with national coverage. The Ministry justified the need for the scheme based on accident rates, with more than 72,000 deaths in road accidents in the last decade.
For engineer Darío Hidalgo, Transport professor at Javeriana University, independent evaluation is a desirable figure that has been poorly executed. “The idea of having an exam independent from driving schools that truly verifies driver competence is common practice in many parts of the world, but it has to be done properly,” he points out.
Hidalgo believes the pause can be beneficial. “The fact that the national government decided to postpone this implementation is an opportunity for the mechanism to be done right,” he explains.
The suspension lasts for three months. Law 2251 of 2022 remains in force, so the separate evaluation from training continues on paper. What is paused is the model that would put it into operation.
DATA UNIT
More news
Photo fines would change in Colombia: Government prepares reform to the Traffic Code
What would change with the new National Traffic Code? These are the measures prepared by Elsa Noguera, MinTransporte: ‘Let’s get to work, President’
Abelardo De La Espriella’s government officially prepares new National Traffic Code: these are the reforms proposed by Mintransporte
