Lost or stolen cédula: what to do and how to get a duplicate

Block what was with it, like bank cards or your phone, and if it was stolen, report the theft. Then request a duplicate from the Registraduría: you don't need a police report, and part of it can be done online. The bigger risk comes later, when someone uses your number to open loans or phone lines, so turn on credit alerts and check your report for a few months.

This guide covers the Colombian cédula de ciudadanía. For a cédula de extranjería, see the end.

The first hours

1. If your wallet went too, block your cards. Use the number in your bank's app or on its website, since the card with the printed number may be gone.
2. If your phone was stolen too, call your operator. Ask them to suspend the line and block the phone. The CRC, Colombia's telecom regulator, says a phone reported as stolen is blocked on every network in the country within 25 minutes. With your SIM (the chip that holds your number) and your cédula, a thief can get your bank's text codes.
3. If it was stolen, report the theft. Theft (hurto) is a crime. You can report it online through ¡ADenunciar!, the Policía and Fiscalía system, under "hurto a personas", or in person at a police station or a Fiscalía office. Keep the case number. More options in where to report a scam.

Do you need a police report?

Not for the duplicate. Article 30 of Decreto 19 de 2012 says no public office can ask for a report of lost documents to issue a duplicate. Your own statement is enough, and it counts as made under oath. The Policía Nacional confirms it applies to lost and stolen documents alike.

The Policía also has a free online certificate of lost documents (constancia por pérdida de documentos). It's optional. It isn't an ID or a theft report, and the Policía says not to use it if your document was stolen. It can still help: TransUnion, one of the two main credit bureaus, asks for a copy before adding a lost-document alert to your file.

Still, report a theft. It gives you a dated record if someone uses your identity later, and TransUnion asks for it before adding an identity-theft alert.

How to get a duplicate at the Registraduría

There are two main routes. Both keep your number, and the card is handed only to you, in person.

	Online replica of the yellow cédula	Digital cédula
How	Request and pay online, then pick it up at the office you chose	Pay online or at a payment point, then go to any Registraduría, no appointment
Cost in 2026	67,350 pesos	76,100 pesos
Time	15 to 30 business days	Up to 30 business days, sometimes 45
Photo	Reuses your last one	A new one, taken there

The online replica copies the last cédula the Registraduría made for you, so you must have had a yellow one with holograms. It's not advised if you need a new photo or signature, or if your last cédula dates from before 2019. Pay by PSE from a Colombian bank account; cash payments can take a day to show up.

The digital cédula comes as a card plus a phone version in the official Cédula Digital Colombia app. Don't bring photos. Wear dark clothes, and bring the PIN or CUS number from your payment.

These are the 2026 fees, set by Resolución 1500 de 2026, so check the current fees page before paying. Some groups, such as registered victims of the armed conflict, get one duplicate free.

Pay only on the Registraduría's website or at the payment points it lists. If a message offers to speed up your duplicate or sends a payment link, paste it into the scam checker first. The text is read in your browser; only the links go to our server (api.ethorns.com) to see where they lead and how old their domain is, and results are kept for up to an hour.

Can you block a lost cédula?

Not that we could find. The Registraduría's pages on lost and stolen cédulas only describe the duplicate, and the new card has the same number. So assume someone can still show the lost card or a photo of it, and protect what your number unlocks: credit, your bank and your phone line.

Protect your identity in the weeks after

1. Turn on the free credit alerts. Law 2157 of 2021 requires credit bureaus to offer a free way to register your email and get a message, within five business days, when a new loan or account is reported in your name. On midatacredito.com (DataCrédito) it's the "Comunicaciones de obligaciones nuevas" option in your profile.
2. Consider a lost-document alert at TransUnion. TransUnion says an alert makes lenders more careful with applications in your name. It asks for a signed request authenticated at a notary and a copy of your loss certificate, and the alert lasts up to a year.
3. Check your credit report now and again in a month or two. How to read it and dispute what you don't recognize is in loans or phone lines in my name.
4. Tell your bank the cédula is lost, even if your cards weren't with it. Ask what extra checks it can add, and watch your statements.
5. Protect your phone line. SIM swapping is when someone tricks an operator into moving your number to a SIM card they control, so your bank's codes go to them. In 2025 the SIC, which oversees operators, opened an investigation into the four largest over weak identity checks on SIM replacements. Ask your operator which lines are registered to your cédula and whether your SIM was changed recently. If you get a code to switch operators that you never asked for, don't share it and call your operator. Also turn on WhatsApp two-step verification.
6. If something appears that isn't yours, the "scammed or hacked? what now" tool has steps for someone pretending to be you and for loans or lines opened in your name, plus official places to report. It runs in your browser and sends nothing.

Watermark every copy from now on

Soon you'll send copies of your contraseña or new card to banks, employers or landlords. Each copy sits in inboxes and chats you don't control. Before you send one, write across it who it's for and the date, for example "Only for account update at tubanco.co, 25/09/2026".

The ID watermark tool does this in your browser, and nothing is uploaded. It repeats your text on a slant across the whole card, photo and number included, and gives you a smaller copy with no location or camera data. A watermark makes reuse harder, not impossible, and some banks, notaries and government portals require a clean copy, so ask first.

If you have a cédula de extranjería

Migración Colombia issues it, and the duplicate is fully online: its form asks for your card number, and you pay through PSE. Migración gives 10 business days from payment and a 2026 fee of 293,000 pesos. Everything else here applies the same way.

Quick checklist

• I blocked my cards and, if needed, my phone and line.
• If it was stolen, I reported the theft and kept the number.
• I requested the duplicate and saved the contraseña.
• I turned on free credit alerts and checked my report.
• I told my bank and asked my operator about my lines and SIM changes.
• Every copy of my ID I send carries a watermark with who it's for and the date.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a police report to get a duplicate?

No. Under Decreto 19 de 2012 your own statement is enough, for a loss or a theft. Report a theft anyway, for the record.

What can I use as ID while I wait?

After you apply, the Registraduría emails you a green receipt with a QR code, called a contraseña. It shows your cédula is being processed and is valid for six months, but not every office accepts it, so ask ahead. With the police, you can use another document, such as your driver's license.

How do I know when my new cédula is ready?

Use the status lookup on the Registraduría's website with your cédula number. Pick it up within a year: after that, the card is destroyed and you'd have to pay for another duplicate.

Try it

• 1.13Watermark an ID copyStamp who a copy of your ID is for, and the date, across the whole photo or PDF, then download a smaller copy with no photo data.
• 1.2Scammed or hacked? What nowSteps for the first hours after a scam or a hack: a bad link, a shared code, a stolen WhatsApp, money sent.
• 1.1Is it a scam?Paste a message or link you received and see its warning signs: brand look-alikes, new domains, short links, scam wording.