In order to find new options that lead to an improvement in the efficiency of fertilization with nitrogen (N) in coffee cultivation, the column leaching technique, leaching of N-NO3 - and N-NH4 + was evaluated in three soils of the Colombian coffee zone, two of them with varying load predominance, for 90 days under laboratory conditions. The treatments were prilled urea (46 % N), ammonium sulfate -SAM (21% N) and ammonium nitrate -NA (26 % N). Regarding the total of N applied, more than 90% of leaching losses due to moisture excess corresponded to N-NH 4 + , the magnitude was different depending on the type of soil and the applied fertilizer source. For soils with varying load predominance, the leaching of N-NH4 + maintained a ratio SAM≥NA>urea with rapid leaching at the one with the lowest structural development. For the soil with permanent charge predominance, the cation leaching was below 28 %, with a ratio loss equivalent to SAM=NA>urea. Regarding the N-NO 3 - leach, the levels were higher in the treatment with urea. The leaching of N-NH 4 + and N-NO 3 - were associated with the variable load induced by pH changes, fertilizer sources effect and moisture excess that may have temporarily prevented the biochemical processes of N transformation in the soil.