Argentina

At a glanceRequirements at a glance

CNRT Habilitación Required for Interjurisdictional Transport

Yes

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Any company or individual transporting goods across a provincial border needs CNRT habilitación. Purely intra-provincial transport may not require CNRT habilitación, but does require the relevant province’s own transport authorization instead. Where a mover subcontracts the road transport, the carrier’s own habilitación covers the transport it performs, and the mover should use carriers that hold the licences that transport requires.

Habilitación Requirements

Yes, for CNRT habilitación. CUIT (tax identification) with ARCA (Agencia de Recaudación y Control Aduanero, Argentina’s tax authority since a 2024 restructuring that dissolved the former AFIP and transferred its functions), clear tax standing, a mandatory civil liability insurance policy, clear VTV (vehicle roadworthiness) standing, and background checks for both the business owner and drivers.

Mandatory Crew Insurance (ART and Life Insurance)

Yes. Under Ley No. 24.557 (the Workers’ Risk Law) and Decreto 1567/74, all transport and packing crew members must be covered by Aseguradora de Riesgos del Trabajo (ART) workers’ compensation insurance and mandatory life insurance. Many gated communities and residential buildings also ask for proof of this coverage before allowing crews on site.

Per-Vehicle Registration Required

Yes, where the mover operates its own vehicles. Each vehicle must be registered individually with CNRT, requiring its own fee payment and, where applicable, physical inspection, before being placed into service.

Registration Process

Digital, through CNRT’s own system. Create a user account on argentina.gob.ar/transporte/cnrt, upload company documentation, register vehicles individually, pay the applicable fees, and complete a physical inspection if required, receiving a transport number and identifying stickers upon approval.

Habilitación Validity

Annual. CNRT habilitación must be renewed every year, with updated documentation (insurance, VTV, background checks) required at each renewal. Operating with an expired habilitación exposes the company to significant fines, vehicle impoundment, and, for repeat violations, disqualification from operating at all.

Consumer Protection

Yes. The Ley de Defensa del Consumidor (Law No. 24.240) provides the national consumer protection framework. Any consumer, including a tenant or family member who wasn’t the one who contracted the service, can bring a claim, not only the party who signed the contract.

Consumer Complaint Resources (For Movers Not Vetted as ITMs)

Yes, genuinely accessible. Consumers can reach Argentina’s national consumer protection service through a free hotline (0800-666-1518, weekdays 8am to 4pm), a chatbot-based assistance service (TINA), or online through argentina.gob.ar’s dedicated complaint-filing service. Two distinct binding resolution paths are available: the Sistema Nacional de Arbitraje de Consumo and the Sistema de Resolución de Conflictos en las Relaciones de Consumo (COPREC). Provincial and city-level consumer protection offices (Buenos Aires city and province, among others) also operate their own complementary systems.

Industry Association

A trade association for international moving companies, CEMIRA (Cámara de Empresas de Mudanzas Internacionales de la República Argentina), has been reported by a mover operating in Argentina. Association membership is not a government licence and does not replace CNRT habilitación.

OverviewOverview & Scope

Argentina’s transport licensing hinges on a specific jurisdictional trigger: CNRT, the national transport regulator, only governs interjurisdictional transport, meaning any move that crosses a provincial border. A company operating vehicles purely within one province falls under that province’s own transport authority instead, so the applicable regulator for any given move depends on its actual route, not just where the company is based. CNRT registration itself runs through a fully digital system, requiring company-level documentation (CUIT, ARCA standing, mandatory insurance, clean VTV standing, background checks) and separate per-vehicle registration, renewed annually with updated documentation each year.

These transport obligations attach to whichever company operates the vehicles. Where a mover subcontracts road transport, the carrier’s own habilitación, vehicle registration, insurance and VTV cover the transport it performs, and the mover should use carriers that hold them.

Separately, all transport and packing crew must be covered by mandatory ART workers’ compensation insurance and life insurance. On the consumer side, Argentina’s Ley de Defensa del Consumidor provides broad standing (even someone who didn’t sign the original contract can bring a claim), backed by a genuinely accessible, free, multi-channel complaint system and two distinct binding arbitration mechanisms.

RegistrationRegistration & Compliance Essentials

Company licensing (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

1. Determine whether each move is interjurisdictional or intra-provincial, since this determines whether CNRT or a provincial authority governs.
2. Obtain CNRT habilitación for interjurisdictional transport (or the relevant provincial authorization for intra-provincial transport), including CUIT, ARCA standing, and clean tax standing, and renew it annually with updated documentation.
3. Maintain a mandatory civil liability insurance policy as a condition of habilitación.
4. Pass background checks for the business owner as part of habilitación.

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

5. Register each vehicle individually with CNRT, paying the applicable fee and completing inspection where required.
6. Maintain clean VTV (vehicle roadworthiness) standing for each vehicle.
7. Ensure drivers pass the required background checks.
8. Display the CNRT-issued identifying stickers on registered vehicles.

Subcontracted transport

9. Where transport is subcontracted, use carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they perform.

Crew

10. Maintain ART (Workers’ Compensation Insurance) and mandatory life insurance for all transport and packing crew.

Customer practices

11. Ensure consumer-facing practices comply with Ley de Defensa del Consumidor No. 24.240.

ChecklistCompliance checklist

Company licensing

• CNRT habilitación held and renewed annually for interjurisdictional transportWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles across provincial borders)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Provincial transport authorization held for intra-provincial transportWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles within a province)Verified by DocumentRequired
• CUIT registered with ARCA and clear tax standingWhere applicable (CNRT habilitación)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Mandatory civil liability insurance policy in forceWhere applicable (CNRT habilitación)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Background check passed for the business ownerWhere applicable (CNRT habilitación)Verified by DocumentRequired

Subcontracted transport

• Where transport is subcontracted, the mover uses carriers that hold the licences required for the transport they performWhere applicableVerified by AffirmationRequired

Vehicles and drivers (where the mover operates its own vehicles)

• Each vehicle individually registered with CNRTWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Clean VTV (vehicle roadworthiness) standing for each vehicleWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• Background checks passed for driversWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by DocumentRequired
• CNRT identifying stickers displayed on registered vehiclesWhere applicable (mover operates its own vehicles)Verified by AffirmationRequired

Crew

• ART (Workers’ Compensation Insurance) and mandatory life insurance current for all transport and packing crew (Ley No. 24.557, Decreto 1567/74)Verified by DocumentRequired

Customer practices

• Consumer-facing practices comply with Ley de Defensa del Consumidor No. 24.240Verified by AffirmationRequired