International Driving Permit in Argentina

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

Driving in Argentina: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Argentina?

Argentina recognises the national licence of any contracting party to the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Convention for up to one year from entry, so an IDP is optional, not required. Where a driver does carry one, the current national rule expressly recognises international driving permits issued under both conventions ("se reconocen los permisos internacionales de conducir emitidos en el marco de ambas convenciones"), even though Argentina itself acceded only to the 1949 Geneva Convention (25 Nov 1960) and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention. A third, separate route exists: a national or international permit issued under the 1943 Washington Inter-American Convention, the international permit being valid one year from issue (art. XIII). MERCOSUR State Party licences circulate for tourism with no prior formality.

• 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.

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

What side of the road does Argentina drive on?

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

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

Up to one year from entry into Argentina, for a national licence issued by a 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna contracting party, while the licence and the driver's lawful migratory status remain valid. Two exceptions to that clock: an international permit issued under the 1943 Washington Inter-American Convention runs one year from issue, and a Colombian licence is recognised for only 180 days, continuous or non-continuous, per calendar year under the 2022 bilateral agreement. (Argentina.gob.ar, "Informacion sobre Licencias de Conducir Internacionales"; ANSV SINALIC Anexo I, Titulo VI, 4.2 B)

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

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

Argentina 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 25 Nov 1960.

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 Argentina with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Argentina as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Argentina recognises the national driving licence of any 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Convention contracting party for up to one year from entry, so an International Driving Permit is optional rather than required. If you do carry one, Argentine regulation expressly accepts IDPs issued under either convention. MERCOSUR licences circulate for tourism with no formality, and Spain, Italy and Chile have bilateral agreements confirming the same one-year window - while a Colombian licence is limited to 180 days per calendar year. The national blood-alcohol limit is zero. 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.
• No convention basis established for your licence — IDP advised — no road-traffic convention basis for your licence could be established at this destination, so this row settles neither that the licence alone is enough nor that anything must be carried with it; carrying an IDP is advised as a practical translation of your licence rather than as a legal entitlement. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what could not be established.
• 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 Argentina? Argentina's official IDPs are issued by Automóvil Club Argentino (ACA). Official site.
• 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 Argentina? Rules for new residents

A separate clock from the visitor one. Transitory and temporary residents may keep driving on the recognised foreign licence for the convention period; permanent residents must obtain the Licencia Nacional de Conducir on the same terms as an Argentine citizen, unless an exchange (canje) agreement with their country applies. Once the convention period expires, the person must regularise migratory status and apply for the Argentine licence, sitting the applicable exams. Official source.

Driving rules in Argentina tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Legally required (Ley 24.449 art. 40): normalised fire extinguisher and portable warning beacons in every car, legible number plates, valid insurance certificate (paper or digital), vehicle registration document, seat belts in use, under-10s in the rear seat, helmets for motorcyclists. A reflective vest is not a national requirement. Patagonian and Andean routes may need seasonal tyres or chains under provincial or road-authority rules.
• Drink-driving: Zero. Ley 24.449 art. 48 a) prohibits driving any vehicle with a blood-alcohol level above zero (0) mg per litre of blood, as amended by Ley 27.714 (B.O. 3/5/2023). Driving under the influence is a falta grave (art. 77 m). Fines are expressed in UF (1 UF = lowest retail price of a litre of premium petrol), within the 50-5,000 UF statutory band, plus possible licence retention, points deduction and arrest; the applied amount and procedure are set by the province or municipality that judges the case.
• Speed limits: 40 km/h urban streets, 60 avenues, 110 rural, 120 semi-motorways, 130 motorways for cars and motorcycles; 30 km/h at unsignalled urban junctions, 20 km/h at unguarded level crossings and near schools, 60 km/h where a highway crosses a built-up area. Posted signs and provincial rules prevail.
• Carry the physical foreign licence plus a valid MERCOSUR identity document or a passport showing Argentine entry (or the DNM admission record). A photo of the licence on a phone is not accepted; the insurance certificate, by contrast, may be shown on paper or digitally.
• Traffic keeps right. Statutory maxima: 40 km/h on urban streets, 60 on avenues, 110 rural, 120 semi-motorways, 130 motorways (cars and motorcycles); 30 km/h at urban junctions without signals and 60 km/h on highways crossing urban areas. Signs and provincial rules govern; tolerance is 10 percent.
• Zero alcohol nationally: it is prohibited to drive any type of vehicle with a blood-alcohol level above zero. Inciso substituted by art. 1 of Ley 27.714 (B.O. 3/5/2023). Provinces run the enforcement and the sanction schedule, and provincial adherence to the national text is uneven.
• A normalised fire extinguisher and portable warning beacons are compulsory in every car (motorcycles exempt); children under 10 must travel in the rear seat; seat belts must be worn where the vehicle is required to have them.

Read more about driving in Argentina

• 10 Interesting Facts About Argentina
• Best Places to Visit in Argentina

Watch what driving in Argentina looks like

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

Open the video on YouTube if the player does not load.

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Argentina.gob.ar, "Informacion sobre Licencias de Conducir Internacionales"; ANSV SINALIC Anexo I, Titulo VI, 4.2 B
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Same guidance, Colombia sub-page - 180 days per calendar year
5. Same guidance, MERCOSUR sub-page - Res. GMC 35/02 / RG AFIP 1419/2003
6. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Geneva Convention, Argentina accession 25 Nov 1960
7. UN Treaty Collection - 1968 Vienna Convention status (Argentina absent)
8. Automóvil Club Argentino (ACA) — authorized IDP issuer in Argentina
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic