Colombian police no longer have to wait until they reach the top ranks to grow a moustache.
Since 1997, a code of conduct gave only officers above the rank of lieutenant the right to sport a little hair above their top lip.
Rather than shave, lower-ranking officers decided to sue and Colombia's state council sided with them in a ruling.
The administrative court said the prohibition violates a constitutional right to develop one's own personality.
The ruling affects tens of thousands of officers. A similar prohibition on moustaches still exists amid the rank-and-file in Colombia's armed forces and experts say it is now likely to be challenged.