International Driving Permit in Algeria

🗓 Facts checked against Algeria's road-traffic law and official sources. Research last updated: 29 July 2026. You may copy this information only if you provide a link back to this page.

⚠ This page is general information about driving rules, not legal advice. Rules change, and each authority applies its own — confirm your case with the relevant authority before you drive.

ℹ We are a private company. We are not a government body, a licensing or issuing authority, or a treaty organisation, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any of them. The International Driver's Document we sell is a translation of your national driving licence: it is not a driving licence, and it is not a government-issued document.

• Driving in Algeria: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Algeria?
• What side of the road does Algeria drive on?
• How long can you drive in Algeria with a foreign licence?
• Is Algeria a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Algeria with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Algeria? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Algeria tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Algeria
• Sources

Driving in Algeria: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Algeria?

An IDP is not required for the first route: under Article 75-76 of Law No. 26-09 (code de la route) a valid foreign national licence is treated as equivalent to an Algerian licence and is recognised for six (6) months for non-resident foreigners (and non-resident Algerian citizens) - but that equivalence is expressly subject to the principle of reciprocity ('sous reserve du principe de reciprocite'). Article 76, third paragraph, adds a separate route open to anyone residing abroad: they may drive for up to one (1) year if they hold both a valid foreign licence and an international driving permit meeting international standards ('un permis de conduire international conforme aux normes internationales'). Algeria acceded to the 1949 Geneva Convention on 16 May 1963 and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the 1949 IDP is the format with a treaty basis in Algeria. Because reciprocity cannot be checked country-by-country from any public Algerian list, carrying a 1949 IDP together with the original national licence is the only route that is safe for every origin. An IDP never replaces the national licence - both documents must be produced.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: carry your national licence together with the document named in the row for your country of issue, in the table below — for most non-exempt licences that is an IDP.
• Car renters: Carry the original valid foreign national licence at all times, plus a 1949 IDP if you intend to rely on the up-to-one-year route in Article 76. An IDP is never valid on its own - Article 76 requires both documents, and Article 78 states that an international permit cannot substitute for a driving licence on Algerian territory. Also carry passport and entry stamp or residence card, the rental contract, the vehicle registration and the insurance certificate.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Official source.

What side of the road does Algeria drive on?

Algeria drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Cars in Algeria are left-hand drive.

How long can you drive in Algeria with a foreign licence?

Two visitor clocks. (1) Recognition of a valid foreign national licence lasts six (6) months for non-resident foreigners and for non-resident Algerian citizens - subject to the reciprocity condition in Article 75. (2) Separately, a person residing abroad may drive for a maximum of one (1) year if carrying both a valid foreign licence and an international driving permit conforming to international standards. Foreigners resident in Algeria have a one (1) year recognition period, after which the licence must be replaced by an Algerian licence subject to reciprocity. (Law No. 26-09 of 12 May 2026, Article 76 (JO No. 36 of 17 May 2026, p. 16))

Planning to move to Algeria? Different rules apply once you become a resident — see the residents section below.

Is Algeria a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?

Algeria is a Contracting Party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, but not to the 1968 Vienna Convention.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: accession on 16 May 1963.

Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place

Whether a foreign country accepts your driving licence hangs on a tangle of variables: three different road-traffic conventions signed decades apart (1926, 1949, 1968) — the oldest predates the United Nations itself, and only the latter two were concluded under it — countries at different stages of joining each (signed vs. accepted vs. ratified), licences printed in alphabets local police can't read, vehicle-category systems that don't line up between countries, document generations that may not meet a convention's format even when the country is a member, bilateral deals between individual states, and local laws that are looser in one place and stricter in the next. The same licence can be fine at one border and rejected at the next — even at the next rental desk. The International Driving Permit exists to cut through most of it: a standardized, multilingual presentation of your existing licence, with harmonized category symbols, that most officials can read at a glance. It doesn't replace your national licence or grant new rights — you carry both — and it doesn't guarantee acceptance: a handful of destinations still require a local permit alongside or instead of it, but for most it meaningfully improves your odds.

Can you drive in Algeria with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Algeria as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Algeria's new code de la route (Law No. 26-09 of 12 May 2026, JO No. 36 of 17 May 2026) gives visitors two routes. A valid foreign national licence is treated as equivalent to an Algerian one and recognised for six months - but only 'subject to the principle of reciprocity', and Algeria publishes no list of the countries that satisfy it. Separately, anyone residing abroad may drive for up to one year if they carry both the foreign licence and an international driving permit. Algeria is a 1949 Geneva Convention state and not a 1968 Vienna one, so the 1949 IDP is the safe format, and it must always be shown together with the original licence. There is no translation route. Driving after the recognition period expires is a criminal offence carrying one to two years imprisonment and a DA 100,000-200,000 fine. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: July 2026.

Legend: "1949" — Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (IDP valid up to 1 year); "1968" — Vienna Convention (IDP valid up to 3 years).

What the Status column means on this page:

• Treaty recognises licence — IDP advised — the 1949 Geneva Convention obliges this destination to recognise your national licence, and separately allows a destination to require a 1949-type IDP; this row states the treaty position and does not settle which of the two this destination chose, so carrying an IDP is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis.
• Not established — the record does not settle whether you may drive here on this licence; confirm with the destination's licensing authority before you rely on it. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what could not be confirmed.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] UN Treaty Collection, Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General — status of the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-1) and of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-19) — XI-B-1, XI-B-19

Where to get an International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit must be obtained before you travel, and only certain countries may issue one to you — you cannot buy an official IDP from an unrelated country. Under the 1968 Vienna Convention it may be issued only by the Contracting Party where you normally reside and which issued or recognizes your licence — by that Party's competent authority or by an association it has duly empowered. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention it is issued by the competent authority of a Contracting State, or by an association that authority has duly empowered. Which body that is varies by country: a government agency in some, an authorized motoring club in others.

• Travelling from Algeria? Algeria's official IDPs are issued by Touring Club d'Algérie (TCA).
• Travelling from another country? Ask that country's driving-licence authority which body it authorizes to issue IDPs — a government agency in some countries, an authorized motoring club in others.

Separately, IDA offers a digital International Driver's Document — a translation of your national licence that you carry alongside it. It is not an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 or 1968 conventions by the body your country authorizes for that purpose, and it is not a certified, sworn or otherwise official translation: no authority certifies it, and where a country requires an official or certified translation by law, our document does not satisfy that requirement. It is a private translation meant to make your national licence readable at rental desks and roadside checks.

Moving to Algeria? Rules for new residents

A foreign resident's foreign licence is recognised for one (1) year. At the end of that period it must be replaced by an Algerian licence, subject to reciprocity (Article 76) or to a mutual-recognition agreement (Article 77). Note that this one-year residents' clock is a different clock from the visitor routes - do not read the visitor six-month or one-year-with-IDP periods as a residence allowance. Official source.

Driving rules in Algeria tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat belts front and, where fitted, rear; helmets and protective equipment for two-wheelers. Law No. 26-09 makes carrying mandatory road-safety equipment an enforceable obligation but leaves the exact inventory to implementing regulation, which had not yet been issued at the verification date - confirm with the rental company that the car carries the required warning triangle, reflective jacket, spare wheel and first-aid kit.
• Drink-driving: Law No. 26-09 defines the 'etat d'ivresse' as ethyl alcohol in the blood at or above 0.20 g per 1,000 ml (0.20 g/L, i.e. 0.02 g/dL) or alcohol in exhaled air at or above 0.10 mg per 1,000 ml. This is close to a zero-tolerance threshold - the safe rule is no alcohol at all before driving. Article 137 punishes driving (or supervising a learner) while intoxicated or under the influence of narcotics or psychotropic substances with one (1) to two (2) years imprisonment and a fine of DA 100,000 to DA 200,000. Article 143 applies the same penalties to anyone refusing the breathalyser or the prescribed medical, clinical or biological tests. Heavier penalties apply where the offence causes injury or death.
• Speed limits: Motorways 120 km/h, outside built-up areas 100 km/h, in built-up areas 50 km/h; in rain 100, 80 and 40 km/h. Drivers who have held a licence for less than two years must not exceed 80 km/h and must display a removable distinguishing marker on the vehicle (Decree 04-381, Article 25); Law No. 26-09, Article 69, keeps a two-year probationary period for new licence holders. Vehicles over 3.5 t and buses have lower limits (2015 arrete). Exceeding the permitted speed by more than 30%, as recorded by an approved device, is punished by a fine of DA 25,000 to DA 80,000 (Article 139).
• Carry the original valid foreign national licence at all times, plus a 1949 IDP if you intend to rely on the up-to-one-year route in Article 76. An IDP is never valid on its own - Article 76 requires both documents, and Article 78 states that an international permit cannot substitute for a driving licence on Algerian territory. Also carry passport and entry stamp or residence card, the rental contract, the vehicle registration and the insurance certificate.
• Traffic keeps to the right; vehicles pass on the right and overtake on the left (Decree 04-381, Article 28). Ordinary maxima under Article 24 of the same decree are 120 km/h on motorways, 100 km/h outside built-up areas on non-motorway roads and 50 km/h through built-up areas, reduced in rain or on a wet carriageway to 100, 80 and 40 km/h respectively. A wali may raise the built-up limit to 80 km/h on major through-routes. Posted, temporary and vehicle-specific limits override these figures.
• After a collision, Article 50 of Law No. 26-09 requires the driver to stop as soon as it is safe, clear the carriageway and warn other traffic, exchange identity and address, and - where anyone has been injured or killed - notify the national police (surete nationale) or the gendarmerie and the civil protection service, avoid altering the scene or destroying traces except where traffic safety requires it, and not obstruct traffic or the arrival of rescuers.
• Seat belts are compulsory for front-seat occupants and for rear occupants of vehicles fitted with belts (Article 35). Children under 10 may not travel in front seats, and children under 8 may not be carried on a motorcycle or moped (Article 36). A helmet and personal protective equipment are compulsory for riders and passengers of motorcycles, mopeds and motorised personal mobility devices (Article 37).

Read more about driving in Algeria

• 10 Interesting Facts About Algeria
• Best Places to Visit in Algeria
• What is Algeria Famous For?

Watch what driving in Algeria looks like

A few minutes of real POV footage is the fastest way to feel confident before your first drive in Algeria:

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. Executive Decree No. 04-381 of 28 November 2004 fixing the road traffic rules, JO No. 76 - Articles 24-25 (speed), 28 (keep right), 182 (minimum ages); kept in force by Article 188 of Law No. 26-09
4. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, participant list: Algeria acceded 16 May 1963
5. UN Treaty Collection - 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, participant list: Algeria not listed
6. Arrete published in JO No. 56 of 25 October 2015 fixing maximum speeds for passenger and goods vehicles over 3.5 t, adopted under Article 24 of Decree 04-381
7. Ministry of Interior communique relayed by Radio Algerienne - emergency numbers Civil Protection 1021, Surete nationale 1548, Gendarmerie nationale 1055
8. Ministry of Post and Telecommunications - official toll-free numbers: Police 1548/104, Gendarmerie 1055/103
9. Ministry of Interior background on the 2026 traffic-law reform (page reachable, 7 January 2026)
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic