The last date to buy one in our branches was 31 March 2024. For more information, please check our international driving permit support page.
What is an IDP?
An International Driving Permit is a permit that allows you to drive in countries where a UK licence alone isn’t sufficient. These countries include the USA, Turkey, Brazil and Japan, among others.
Do I need one?
An IDP is required or recommended in over 140 countries. The IDP you need depends on what country you're visiting. Check the requirements of the country you’re planning on driving in. If you're travelling through more than one country, you might need more than one type of IDP.
How do I apply?
You need to have a valid Great Britain (GB) or Northern Ireland driving licence to get an IDP. You may also get an IDP if your licence was issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man.
At a participating Post Office branch bring along your full valid photo-card licence, a passport standard photograph (see FAQs) and your valid passport as proof of identification if presenting an older paper version licence.
Which IDP do I need?
Country or territory | Type of IDP | More information |
---|---|---|
Albania | 1968 | |
Algeria | 1949 | |
Andorra | 1949 | |
Argentina | 1949 | |
Armenia | 1968 | |
Australia | 1949 | |
Austria | None | You don't need an IDP to drive here |
Azerbaijan | 1968 | |
Bahamas | 1968 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Bahrain | 1968 | IDP needed for car hire, and for stays longer than 90 days. You must get your permit certified by local authorities when you arrive |
Bangladesh | 1949 | |
Barbados | 1949 | |
Belarus | 1968 | |
Belgium | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months. If you have a paper driving licence, you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Belgian Embassy |
Benin | 1949 | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1968 | |
Botswana | 1949 | IDP needed for car hire |
Brazil | 1968 | |
Bulgaria | None | You don't need an IDP to drive here |
Burkina Faso | 1949 | |
Cambodia | 1949 | |
Canada | 1949 | |
Cape Verde | 1968 | |
Central African Republic | 1968 | |
Chile | 1949 | |
Congo | 1949 | |
Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) | 1968 | |
Croatia | None | If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Croatian Embassy |
Cuba | 1968 | |
Cyprus | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for visits up to 30 days. For visits longer than 30 days you’ll need a 1949 IDP. If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need a 1949 IDP for any length of visit. Check with the High Commission of Cyprus |
Czech Republic | None | If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from the Isle of Man, you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Czech Republic Embassy |
Democratic Republic of Congo | 1968 | |
Denmark | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 90 days |
Dominican Republic | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Ecuador | 1949 | |
Egypt | 1949 | |
Estonia | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for up to 90 days in any 180-day period. If you hold a paper driving licence you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Estonian Embassy |
Eswatini (previously Swaziland) | 1949 | If you have an older, paper UK driving licence, you must take another form of photographic ID, such as your passport. You may need to show an IDP to your insurance company if you’re involved in an accident |
Fiji | 1949 | |
Finland | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
France | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
French Polynesia | 1968 | |
Georgia | 1968 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Germany | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months. If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from the Isle of Man, you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the German Embassy |
Ghana | 1949 | |
Greece | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
Guam | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 30 days. If you have an older, paper UK driving licence, you must take another form of photographic ID, such as your passport. You may need to show an IDP to your insurance company if you’re involved in an accident |
Guatemala | 1949 | |
Guyana | 1968 | |
Haiti | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Hungary | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 12 months. If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from the Isle of Man, you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Hungarian Embassy |
Iceland | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 30 days |
India | 1949 | |
Iran | 1968 | |
Iraq | 1968 | |
Ireland | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 12 months |
Israel | 1968 | |
Italy | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
Jamaica | 1949 | |
Japan | 1949 | |
Jordan | 1949 | |
Kazakhstan | 1968 | |
Kenya | 1968 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Kuwait | 1968 | |
Kyrgyzstan | 1968 | |
Laos | 1949 | |
Latvia | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
Lebanon | 1949 | |
Lesotho | 1949 | |
Liberia | 1968 | |
Libya | 1949 | |
Liechtenstein | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
Lithuania | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months |
Luxembourg | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months |
Macao (Macau) | 1949 | |
Madagascar | 1949 | |
Malawi | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Malaysia (Sabah) | 1949 | |
Mali | 1949 | |
Malta | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 12 months. If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from Guernsey or the Isle of Man, you may need a 1949 IDP. Check with the Malta High Commission |
Mexico | 1926 | |
Moldova | 1968 | |
Monaco | 1968 | |
Mongolia | 1968 | |
Montenegro | 1968 | |
Morocco | 1968 | |
Myanmar (previously Burma) | 1968 | |
Namibia | 1949 | IDP needed for car hire. If you have an older, paper UK driving licence, you must take another form of photographic ID, such as your passport. You may need to show an IDP to your insurance company if you’re involved in an accident |
Nepal | 1968 | |
Netherlands | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here |
New Zealand | 1949 | |
Niger | 1968 | |
Nigeria | 1968 | |
North Macedonia | 1968 | |
Norway | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 90 days. If you hold a paper driving licence you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Norwegian Embassy |
Pakistan | 1968 | |
Papua New Guinea | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 30 days |
Paraguay | 1949 | |
Peru | 1968 | |
Philippines | 1968 | IDP needed for car hire, and for stays longer than 90 days |
Poland | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months |
Portugal | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months |
Qatar | 1968 | |
Romania | None | If you hold a paper driving licence or a driving licence from the Isle of Man, you may need a 1968 IDP. Check with the Romanian Embassy |
Russian Federation | 1968 | |
Rwanda | 1949 | |
San Marino | 1968 | |
Saudi Arabia | 1968 | IDP needed for car hire |
Senegal | 1968 | |
Serbia | 1968 | |
Seychelles | 1968 | |
Sierra Leone | 1949 | |
Singapore | 1949 | IDP needed for car hire, and for stays longer than 30 days |
Slovakia | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months. For visits longer than 6 months you’ll need a 1968 IDP |
Slovenia | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 90 days |
Somalia | 1926 | |
South Africa | 1968 | If you have an older, paper UK driving licence, you must take another form of photographic ID, such as your passport. You may need to show an IDP to your insurance company if you’re involved in an accident |
South Korea | 1949 | |
Spain (including Balearic and Canary Isles) | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 6 months |
Sri Lanka | 1949 | As well as the IDP, you must get a Sri Lankan recognition permit from the Automobile Association of Ceylon (AAC) in Colombo |
St. Lucia | 1949 | Show your UK driving licence or IDP to the police to get a visitor’s licence |
St. Vincent | 1949 | Show your UK driving licence or IDP to the police to get a visitor’s licence |
Sweden | None | You don’t need an IDP to drive here for periods up to 12 months |
Switzerland | None | You don't need an IDP to drive here |
Syria | 1949 | |
Tajikistan | 1968 | |
Taiwan | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 30 days |
Thailand | 1968 | |
Togo | 1949 | |
Trinidad & Tobago | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Tunisia | 1968 | |
Turkey | 1968 | |
Turkmenistan | 1968 | |
Uganda | 1949 | IDP needed for stays longer than 90 days |
Ukraine | 1968 | |
United Arab Emirates | 1968 | |
United States | 1949 | If you have an older, paper UK driving licence, you must take another form of photographic ID, such as your passport. You may need to show an IDP to your insurance company if you’re involved in an accident |
Uruguay | 1968 | |
Uzbekistan | 1968 | |
Vatican City | 1949 | |
Venezuela | 1949 | |
Vietnam | 1968 | |
Zimbabwe | 1968 |
What you need when applying
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Full valid GB or Northern Ireland driving licence – photocard or an older paper licence
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The £5.50 application fee (cash or debit/credit card)
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A passport standard photograph - a recent true likeness of the applicant (see FAQs)
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Original valid passport as proof of identification, if presenting an older paper version licence
Driving in Europe from 1 January 2021
The rules for driving in Europe have changed. Please visit the GOV.UK website for further information
Common International Driving Permit questions
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Not every country requires an IDP. Use our country checker tool to search for your destination country.
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You can apply for an IDP if you hold a full, valid GB or Northern Ireland driving licence or if your licence was issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man.
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Yes they can, providing they have the correct supporting documents.
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No. You need to carry your supporting valid GB or Northern Ireland driving licence wherever you drive.
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The photograph must be:
- A recent true likeness of the applicant and of the full face (face forward with nothing covering your face)
- In colour, against a light grey or cream background
- Clear, in sharp focus, free from red-eye and have no shadow in it
- Free from any reflection or glare from glasses
- In good condition, not damaged, creased, torn or marked
- See more IDP FAQs
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IDPs are valid for 1 to 3 years depending on the type of IDP required for your destination country. A 1968 IDP is valid for 3 years or until the expiry of your driving licence, whichever is sooner.
Whilst your IDP is valid it can be used in as many countries as you wish providing you have the correct version. Some countries, like Japan, only allow you to drive for one year on an IDP, regardless of the length of its validity.
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Yes. You can apply 3 months before you travel, however a permit cannot be backdated.
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Yes, you can purchase as many permits as required. Please remember that you may need more than one permit if you’re travelling or driving through more than one country, you should check the requirements for each country.
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Online:
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