Formulario 4 in 2026: What Replaced It

If you bought property in Colombia years ago, or you are reading older guides, you may come across “Formulario 4,” the exchange declaration filed when foreign money came in as an international investment. In 2026 the documents have different names, and the rules were adjusted again in August. This guide explains, using only official documents published on the Banco de la República (Banrep) website, what Formulario 4 was, what does the same job today, and how to show that your purchase is registered. It is education, not legal advice.

What Formulario 4 was

Banrep's exchange procedures live in an operating circular, historically called DCIN-83 and now DCIP-83. A 2008 version, published in Banrep Boletín 37 of 2008, described Formulario No. 4 as the declaración de cambio por inversiones internacionales, the exchange declaration for international investments. It had to be completed when foreign currency for an investment was channeled through the regulated exchange market, and it was presented to an exchange-market intermediary, such as a bank.

Two details from that 2008 text matter for property buyers:

• As a general rule, filing Formulario 4 produced an automatic registration for investments made in foreign currency. But investments in real estate (inmuebles) were listed under a different procedure: registration with proof that the investment requirements were met, using Formularios 11 to 13.
• Funds channeled with an exchange declaration other than Formulario 4 were not considered registered, apart from exceptions in the decree then in force.

So under the 2008 rules, a real estate purchase could involve both Formulario 4 and the Formularios 11 to 13 registration. Both belonged to the rules of that time.

What does that job in 2026

The current procedures are in Chapter 7 of Circular Reglamentaria Externa DCIP-83. The Chapter 7 compendium published by Banrep says it develops Decreto 1068 de 2015 as modified by Decreto 119 de 2017 and Decreto 1044 de 2026, and it carries notes of changes made through Banrep Boletín No. 22 (25 August 2026). In plain terms:

• Money wired in from abroad: the exchange declaration is the registration. Direct foreign investments made in foreign currency are treated as registered automatically when the minimum data for the exchange operation (the Declaración de Cambio) is supplied as the funds are channeled through the exchange market, and the intermediary transmits it through Banrep's Sistema de Información Cambiaria. The circular says this declaration serves as the registration declaration. The list of investment destinations in that data includes Inmuebles (real estate).
• No currency channeled: a Declaración de Registro. Direct investments made through other lawful acts or contracts, without channeling foreign currency, are registered with a Declaración de Registro de Inversiones Internacionales, an electronic document sent through the Sistema de Información Cambiaria. Chapter 7 says these can be registered at any time and without attaching supporting documents. Banrep publishes a guide to completing that declaration, which also lists Inmuebles as a destination.
• Changes and cancellations. Changes of holder, destination or receiving company (sustituciones) and cancellations are also registered through the system, and Chapter 7 now says they can be registered at any time.

In the current Chapter 7, the special registration regimes we found for direct investment cover branches of foreign companies and the financial and insurance sector. We did not see a separate real-estate procedure like the 2008 one. Even so, confirm with your bank and a specialist how your specific transfer must be declared.

The short answer: the Chapter 7 provisions we reviewed do not refer to a numbered “Formulario 4.” Its function, the exchange declaration for an international investment, lives on as the Declaración de Cambio data that your intermediary transmits electronically.

What Decreto 1044 de 2026 changed

Decreto 1044 de 2026, dated 5 August 2026 and signed by the Minister of Finance and Public Credit and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, rewrote article 2.17.2.5.1.1 of Decreto 1068 de 2015, the rule on the registration procedure. According to its text:

• Before the change, changes in holders, destination or receiving company, and cancellations had to be registered within six months. The decree removes that deadline. Investors or their representatives may present the registration declaration for initial or additional investments, changes and cancellations at any time.
• For international investments made in foreign currency, the exchange declaration for channeling the funds serves as the registration declaration. When there is no channeling, registration follows Banrep's procedures.
• Banrep may set special registration procedures depending on the type of investment or how the assets are acquired.
• It does not change investors' formal tax obligations tied to the income tax return for a change of ownership of the foreign investment and indirect disposals, and DIAN may ask the investor, or their attorney-in-fact, for the support of the Banrep registration of the transaction or sale of the investment.
• Exchange sanction proceedings already under way must take the changes into account, under the principle of favorability.

The decree says it takes effect the day after its publication in the Diario Oficial. Removing a deadline does not remove the obligation: investors still must register.

How to prove your purchase is registered

The Banrep provisions we reviewed do not describe a single “registration certificate.” In practice, your proof comes from three places:

1. Your exchange declaration. Ask the bank or intermediary that converted your money for the Declaración de Cambio data for each inbound transfer. Under Chapter 7, it includes the declaration number assigned by the intermediary, the date (the day the currency was bought or sold), the intermediary's tax ID (NIT), the type of investment, the destination (look for Inmuebles), the investor's identification and the amounts. Check that the investor named is the same person or company on your escritura.
2. Banrep's Sistema de Información Cambiaria. Annex 3 of DCIP-83 says users may consult the operations subject to registration that are in the system, and that since 22 August 2022 those consultations must be made directly in the system. Users are adult individuals identified with a document valid in Colombia. A representative can act for an investor; for a non-resident individual without a valid Colombian ID, documents proving the representation are required, and Banrep publishes a model power of attorney for this. Chapter 7 also says foreign investors must appoint an attorney-in-fact (apoderado) in Colombia. Confirm with your Colombian lawyer or accountant how access should be set up in your case.
3. Your own file. Chapter 7 says whoever registers must keep the information and documents proving the amount and conditions of the investment, available to the authorities for as long as an exchange sanction could still be brought. Keep the escritura, a current certificado de tradición y libertad, your wire confirmations and the declarations together.

One caution from Banrep's own texts: being reported or registered in the system does not certify that you complied with the exchange rules, and registration does not clean up the origin of the funds. Treat it as evidence, not as an approval.

Older purchases and fixing mistakes

Annex 3 lists, among the records migrated from Banrep's older system (the Sistema Estadístico Cambiario) into the Sistema de Información Cambiaria, international investment registrations after 30 November 2003 and international investment exchange declarations after 1 December 2003. Chapter 7 lays out the routes for changing information: corrections to the Declaración de Cambio follow Chapter 1 of the circular, changes to operations in the system can be sent through it, and changes to operations from before 1 December 2003 go through a Solicitud Especial. There is also a special adjustment procedure, which Chapter 7 says does not cure an earlier breach of the rules. The right route depends on how and when your money came in, so work with a Colombian specialist in the exchange regime. See also our guide to unregistered foreign investment.

Why it matters

Decreto 1044 recalls that properly formalized foreign investment gives investors exchange rights to send profits abroad and repatriate the capital invested and capital gains, within the Government's conditions. That is the practical reason to care: when you sell and move the money home, the registered investment supports the outflow. For the purchase-side mechanics, see how to register your foreign investment and how to send money from the US to buy.

Quick checklist

• For every transfer from abroad, you have the Declaración de Cambio data from your bank, showing destination Inmuebles and your name as investor.
• The investor in the declaration matches the buyer on the escritura and the certificado de tradición y libertad.
• If no foreign currency was channeled, a Declaración de Registro de Inversiones Internacionales was filed in the Sistema de Información Cambiaria.
• You, or your apoderado in Colombia, can consult the record in the Sistema de Información Cambiaria.
• Escritura, wire confirmations and declarations are stored together, and you keep them for the long term.
• Any gaps or mismatches are reviewed by a Colombian exchange-regime specialist before you sell.

Frequently asked questions

Does Formulario 4 still exist in 2026?

The current Banrep Chapter 7 provisions we reviewed do not refer to a numbered Formulario 4. Its function, the exchange declaration for an international investment, continues as the Declaración de Cambio data that your bank or intermediary transmits electronically through Banrep's Sistema de Información Cambiaria. A Colombian exchange-regime lawyer should confirm whether any numbered Formulario 4 reference remains elsewhere in DCIP-83 beyond Chapter 7.

If I wired money from abroad to buy, do I need to file anything else to register?

Under Chapter 7 of DCIP-83, direct investments made in foreign currency are treated as registered automatically through the Declaración de Cambio transmitted by the intermediary, and Inmuebles is one of the listed destinations. Confirm with your bank and a specialist that your transfer was declared correctly.

What did Decreto 1044 de 2026 change?

It removed the six-month deadline for registering changes of holder, destination or receiving company and cancellations, allowing registration at any time. It also states that the exchange declaration for funds channeled in foreign currency serves as the registration declaration. The obligation to register remains.

How can I prove my purchase is registered?

Keep the Declaración de Cambio data for each inbound transfer, check that the investor matches your escritura, and consult the record in Banrep's Sistema de Información Cambiaria yourself or through a representative. Banrep notes that registration is not a validation of compliance with exchange rules.

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