Do I need an IDP to drive in United Arab Emirates in 2024?

Suppliers

Please select your rental company branch

Differnet rental branches may ask you to show an IDP.
Please select your upcoming trip rental branch for the most accurate guidelines.

At this point in time, we have not yet collected the rental terms of rental companies in United Arab Emirates. Please visit us again in a later time to get more specific details.

Do I need an IDP?

Full laws breakdown for driving with the Australian license in United Arab Emirates

To determine with confidence whether you need an IDP or not, we check multiple data sources. Please review the following legal terms of: the Australian laws, the local laws in United Arab Emirates, the rental company requirements and real life reports we collected from other Australian travelers in United Arab Emirates.

What do the Australian laws say about driving in United Arab Emirates with the Australian driving license?

We have not yet collected the Australian laws. Please visit us again in a later time.

What do the laws in United Arab Emirates say about driving with a foreign driving license?

The laws in United Arab Emirates say the following:
If you are on a visit to UAE and holding a valid international driving license, accordingly you can rent a car or drive a car registered to your name or one of your 1st degree relatives. For more information, please visit UAE automobile and touring club website.
Source: Government of Dubai - Roads and Transport Authority

It means that:
Based on the information provided, holders of an Australian driving license can drive in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) if they have a valid international driving license, as per the Roads and Transport Authority of the Government of Dubai. The Australian driving license complies with annex 6 of the International Road Traffic Convention of 1968 and annex 9 of the Geneva Road Traffic Convention of 1949, which suggests that it is recognized internationally.

However, the Australian driving license is not the same as an International Driving Permit (IDP), which is a separate document that serves as a translation of a national driving license. The IDP is recognized internationally and is often required alongside the national driving license when driving in a foreign country.

Given that the UAE authorities specifically mention the need for a valid international driving license, it implies that an Australian driving license alone may not be sufficient for driving in the UAE. Therefore, an International Driving Permit would be mandatory in addition to the Australian driving license when driving in the UAE. This conclusion is drawn from the requirement stated by the UAE's Roads and Transport Authority and the distinction made between a national driving license and an IDP.

What are the rental agency terms for driving with a foreign license?

Different rental agencies might still require an IDP even while the local laws do not require it. Please find your appropriate local supplier in the list above to verify.

What do Australian travelers report after being pulled over by the local police in United Arab Emirates?

We don't have any real life reports by Australian travelers in United Arab Emirates.
If you've been there and was pulled over by the local officials, please share your experience with us and we will publish it to help others.

Where can I get an IDP?

Facts check reviewed on 6 March 2024 at 10:50 pm by PaapmPaapm editorial team.

Help us get it right!

Have you found a mistake or rented a car and can report with an up-to-date status?

Please help us helping other travelers with recent actual requirements of your rental agency or after being pulled over by the local police.

Why we created this website?

For years there's uncertainty of whether the driving license can be used abroad as is. We see travelers taking the effort of driving to the offices to purchase it, which is sometimes a non trivial effort, and at the end - nobody asks them to show the IDP.
This is frustrating as the IDP wasn't cheap or easy to get.

Some travelers say that they didn't need it while others say their trip was ruined due to the fact that they didn't hold an IDP in hand and the rental company refused to rent them the car. Some have reported that they've also lost their rental car pre-payment completely due to not holding an IDP.

The truth about the IDP is that there are multiple legal factors by the destination country laws, the rental agency rental terms and what happens in real life, when you meet with the local police or rental company agent. Sometimes real life is different from what the laws or terms state.

We hope that if an agent of the law or the rental company asks you for an IDP which you don't hold, you may refer them to the laws and rental terms we have collected here. Our experience shows that most of the time, the agents get confused and don't know the requirements, so showing them the proper snippet might help you out.

Please help us and report back whether our information is correct or not, so we can keep it up to date for other travelers like you!

Hold an IDP to be on the safe side

If you have the time, we always recommend to purchase an IDP, even if the information on our website says with confidence that you won't need one.