Driving abroad: do I need an international driving permit? UK, Canadian and Australian licences (2026)

Whether you need an international driving permit (IDP) depends on the country you visit and on the licence you hold. For each country we quote what the UK government (GOV.UK and FCDO), the Government of Canada (travel.gc.ca) and the Australian Government (Smartraveller) say about driving there with their licence, with the date we checked it (last check 28 October 2026).

UK licence: every country56 IDP needed · 51 not needed · 82 it depends Canadian licence: every country70 IDP needed · 7 not needed · 42 it depends Australian licence: every country93 IDP needed · 7 not needed · 44 it depends

Rules change, and car hire companies can ask for more than the law. We quote the official travel advice word for word, with its date; this is information, not legal advice. If you are unsure, ask the embassy of the country you are visiting, your car hire company or your travel insurer before you travel.

Most searched

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Every country, every licence

Click an answer for the official sentence, the source and the date. “Not stated” means that government's advice for the country says nothing about driving permits.

Do you need an international driving permit? Official advice for UK, Canadian and Australian licences, by country, checked on 28 October 2026
Country or territory	UK licence	Canadian licence	Australian licence
Afghanistan	Not stated	IDP needed	Not stated
Albania	Recommended	IDP needed	IDP needed
Algeria	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
American Samoa	–	It depends	–
Andorra	No IDP needed	Recommended	–
Angola	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Anguilla	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Antarctica	–	Not stated	–
Antigua and Barbuda	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Argentina	IDP needed	Recommended	Not stated
Armenia	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Aruba	IDP needed	Recommended	–
Australia	No IDP needed	Recommended	–
Austria	No IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Azerbaijan	IDP needed	IDP needed	It depends
Bahamas	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Bahrain	It depends	IDP needed	It depends
Bangladesh	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Barbados	Not stated	Recommended	–
Belarus	Not stated	IDP needed	IDP needed
Belgium	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Belize	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Benin	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Bermuda	Not stated	No IDP needed	–
Bhutan	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Bolivia	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	No IDP needed	Recommended	–
Bosnia and Herzegovina	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Botswana	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Brazil	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
British Indian Ocean Territory	Not stated	–	–
British Virgin Islands	It depends	It depends	–
Brunei	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Bulgaria	No IDP needed	It depends	IDP needed
Burkina Faso	No IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Burundi	It depends	IDP needed	Not stated
Cambodia	It depends	Local permit needed	IDP needed
Cameroon	It depends	IDP needed	Not stated
Canada	It depends	–	It depends
Cape Verde	It depends	Recommended	–
Cayman Islands	No IDP needed	Local permit needed	–
Central African Republic	IDP needed	IDP needed	Not stated
Chad	Local permit needed	IDP needed	Not stated
Chile	It depends	Recommended	No IDP needed
China	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	Local permit needed
Colombia	No IDP needed	No IDP needed	IDP needed
Comoros	It depends	IDP needed	–
Cook Islands	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Costa Rica	It depends	It depends	It depends
Côte d'Ivoire	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Croatia	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Cuba	It depends	Not stated	IDP needed
Curaçao	No IDP needed	Recommended	–
Cyprus	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Czechia	No IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Democratic Republic of the Congo	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Denmark	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Djibouti	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Dominica	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Dominican Republic	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Ecuador	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Egypt	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
El Salvador	No IDP needed	It depends	Not stated
Equatorial Guinea	Not stated	IDP needed	–
Eritrea	IDP needed	Local permit needed	IDP needed
Estonia	It depends	It depends	It depends
Eswatini	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Ethiopia	It depends	IDP needed	Local permit needed
Falkland Islands	It depends	Recommended	–
Fiji	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Finland	No IDP needed	Not stated	Not stated
France	No IDP needed	It depends	It depends
French Guiana	No IDP needed	Recommended	–
French Polynesia	IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Gabon	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Gambia	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Georgia	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Germany	It depends	It depends	IDP needed
Ghana	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Gibraltar	No IDP needed	Recommended	–
Greece	No IDP needed	No IDP needed	It depends
Greenland	–	Recommended	–
Grenada	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Guadeloupe	It depends	IDP needed	–
Guam	It depends	IDP needed	It depends
Guatemala	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Guinea	IDP needed	IDP needed	Not stated
Guinea-Bissau	It depends	It depends	–
Guyana	No IDP needed	Recommended	Not stated
Haiti	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Honduras	It depends	It depends	IDP needed
Hong Kong	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Hungary	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Iceland	It depends	Recommended	It depends
India	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Indonesia	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Iran	IDP needed	IDP needed	Not stated
Iraq	IDP needed	IDP needed	Not stated
Ireland	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Israel	IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Italy	No IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Jamaica	It depends	It depends	IDP needed
Japan	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Jordan	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Kazakhstan	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Kenya	It depends	It depends	IDP needed
Kiribati	No IDP needed	It depends	–
Kosovo	No IDP needed	Recommended	Recommended
Kuwait	No IDP needed	IDP needed	It depends
Kyrgyzstan	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Laos	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Latvia	No IDP needed	It depends	IDP needed
Lebanon	No IDP needed	IDP needed	Recommended
Lesotho	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Liberia	Not stated	Recommended	IDP needed
Libya	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
Liechtenstein	No IDP needed	It depends	–
Lithuania	No IDP needed	It depends	IDP needed
Luxembourg	It depends	IDP needed	–
Macao	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Madagascar	IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Malawi	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Malaysia	IDP needed	It depends	IDP needed
Maldives	IDP needed	Local permit needed	IDP needed
Mali	No IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Malta	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Marshall Islands	Not stated	Recommended	It depends
Martinique	It depends	It depends	–
Mauritania	No IDP needed	IDP needed	Not stated
Mauritius	No IDP needed	It depends	No IDP needed
Mayotte	It depends	It depends	–
Mexico	No IDP needed	Recommended	Not stated
Micronesia	Not stated	Recommended	It depends
Moldova	No IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Monaco	IDP needed	It depends	–
Mongolia	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Montenegro	Not stated	IDP needed	IDP needed
Montserrat	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Morocco	IDP needed	Not stated	IDP needed
Mozambique	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Myanmar	Recommended	Local permit needed	Local permit needed
Namibia	It depends	Recommended	No IDP needed
Nauru	Not stated	It depends	–
Nepal	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Netherlands	No IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
New Caledonia	IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
New Zealand	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Nicaragua	No IDP needed	No IDP needed	No IDP needed
Niger	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Nigeria	It depends	IDP needed	It depends
Niue	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	Local permit needed
North Korea	Local permit needed	Not stated	Not stated
North Macedonia	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Northern Mariana Islands	–	Recommended	–
Norway	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Oman	It depends	Recommended	Recommended
Pakistan	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Palau	It depends	IDP needed	It depends
Palestine	IDP needed	–	Not stated
Panama	It depends	Recommended	Not stated
Papua New Guinea	It depends	IDP needed	It depends
Paraguay	No IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Peru	It depends	No IDP needed	It depends
Philippines	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Pitcairn Islands	Not stated	–	–
Poland	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Portugal	It depends	It depends	No IDP needed
Puerto Rico	–	Recommended	–
Qatar	IDP needed	It depends	IDP needed
Republic of the Congo	No IDP needed	IDP needed	–
Réunion	Not stated	It depends	–
Romania	No IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Russia	IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Rwanda	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Saint Barthélemy	No IDP needed	It depends	–
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	It depends	–	–
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Saint Lucia	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Saint Martin (French part)	No IDP needed	No IDP needed	–
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Not stated	It depends	–
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	–
Samoa	Local permit needed	Local permit needed	Local permit needed
San Marino	IDP needed	IDP needed	–
São Tomé and Príncipe	IDP needed	IDP needed	–
Saudi Arabia	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Senegal	Recommended	It depends	IDP needed
Serbia	Recommended	Recommended	IDP needed
Seychelles	It depends	IDP needed	No IDP needed
Sierra Leone	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Singapore	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Sint Maarten	Not stated	Recommended	–
Slovakia	It depends	IDP needed	It depends
Slovenia	No IDP needed	IDP needed	It depends
Solomon Islands	It depends	Local permit needed	IDP needed
Somalia	Not stated	Not stated	Not stated
South Africa	It depends	Recommended	Not stated
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands	Not stated	–	–
South Korea	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
South Sudan	No IDP needed	Recommended	Not stated
Spain	No IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Sri Lanka	IDP needed	Local permit needed	IDP needed
Sudan	It depends	IDP needed	IDP needed
Suriname	IDP needed	Local permit needed	–
Sweden	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Switzerland	No IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Syria	Not stated	IDP needed	Not stated
Taiwan	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Tajikistan	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Tanzania	It depends	IDP needed	Not stated
Thailand	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Timor-Leste	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Togo	It depends	Recommended	–
Tokelau	Not stated	Not stated	–
Tonga	No IDP needed	It depends	It depends
Trinidad and Tobago	It depends	It depends	IDP needed
Tunisia	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Turkey	It depends	Recommended	It depends
Turkmenistan	IDP needed	Recommended	IDP needed
Turks and Caicos Islands	It depends	It depends	–
Tuvalu	It depends	Recommended	–
Uganda	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed
Ukraine	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
United Arab Emirates	No IDP needed	It depends	IDP needed
United Kingdom	–	It depends	No IDP needed
United States	It depends	No IDP needed	It depends
Uruguay	It depends	It depends	Recommended
US Virgin Islands	–	Recommended	–
Uzbekistan	IDP needed	IDP needed	IDP needed
Vanuatu	No IDP needed	Recommended	It depends
Vatican City	Not stated	–	–
Venezuela	It depends	Recommended	Not stated
Vietnam	IDP needed	Local permit needed	Local permit needed
Wallis and Futuna	Not stated	–	–
Western Sahara	IDP needed	–	–
Yemen	Not stated	IDP needed	IDP needed
Zambia	It depends	It depends	IDP needed
Zimbabwe	It depends	Recommended	IDP needed

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Hiring a car abroad? Compare rental companies and prices on DiscoverCars. Check the licence and IDP rules for your country in the table above before you book: the rental desk can refuse your booking without the right permit.

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How we check

For UK licences we read two GOV.UK pages: the international driving permit table (“Country or territory / Type of IDP / More information”) and the driving paragraphs of the FCDO travel advice for each country. A table row with nothing under “More information” only tells you the type of IDP: the answer then comes from the FCDO advice. When the two pages disagree we give the more cautious answer and quote both. For Canadian licences we read the “Driving” part of the “Laws and culture” section of the Government of Canada travel advice for each destination, through the official open data files. “Must carry an international driving permit” is “IDP needed”; “should carry” is “Recommended”. For Australian licences we read the driving paragraphs (“Driving permit” and similar) of the “Local travel” part of the Smartraveller advice for each destination. Smartraveller blocks simple automated requests, so its pages are read in a browser. We only use official government sources and never fill a gap with our own reading: where the advice is silent, we say so. More on the About page.