International Driving Permit in Bangladesh

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

Driving in Bangladesh: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Bangladesh?

Bangladesh acceded to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic on 6 December 1978 and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so only the 1949 IDP is the treaty-recognised booklet here. Domestic law is wider than the treaty: section 9(1) of the Road Transport Act 2018 lets any foreign national drive throughout Bangladesh on the licence issued by the competent authority of his own country, 'by submitting and endorsing' it, for as long as that licence is valid. The Act never makes an IDP the operative document. Carry a genuine 1949 IDP with, never instead of, the original national licence.

• 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 origin licences that document is not an IDP, so read your own answer rather than assuming one.
• Car renters: Section 9(1) requires the foreign licence to be submitted and endorsed - it is not a pure 'just show your licence' country. Arrange the endorsement with the relevant BRTA circle office or the competent local authority before driving, and do not assume a rental desk has completed the statutory step.

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

What side of the road does Bangladesh drive on?

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

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

Section 9(1) ties the driving right to the validity of the home-country licence: a foreign national may 'drive a motor vehicle all over Bangladesh during the validity of the said license', after submitting and endorsing it. The Act sets no separate tourist-month limit - the practical ceiling is the visa/immigration permission to remain, which is a different clock from the licence clock. (Road Transport Act 2018, section 9(1))

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

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

Bangladesh 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 6 Dec 1978.

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 Bangladesh with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Bangladesh as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Bangladesh recognises the national driving licence of every country: section 9(1) of the Road Transport Act 2018 lets any foreign national drive nationwide on the home-country licence for as long as it is valid - but only after that licence has been submitted and endorsed. Bangladesh is a 1949 Geneva Convention party (not 1968), so a genuine 1949 IDP is the right companion translation; it never replaces the original licence. 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:

• National licence OK — the destination lets a visitor drive on the national licence itself. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis, and any period or condition that qualifies it.
• National licence OK — IDP advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, but carrying one is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.
• IDP or translation — your national licence needs a supporting document alongside it. Which ones the destination accepts, and whether an official IDP can be issued for your licence at all, are in the row for your country of issue, in the table below.
• 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.
• National licence OK — IDD/translation advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, and no official convention IDP can be issued for it; carry an IDD or a certified translation instead. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] Road Transport Act 2018, section 9(1)

[2] Road Transport Act 2018 s.9 contains no script rule; BRTA public service pages are published in Bengali only

[a] Licence categories do not follow the convention A–E scheme — rental staff may ask for an IDP to map them.

[b] IDD = International Driver's Document, a standardized translation of your national driving licence. You can apply here: https://idaoffice.org/apply-now/.

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 Bangladesh? Bangladesh's official IDPs are issued by Automobile Association of Bangladesh (AAB). 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 Bangladesh? Rules for new residents

Section 9(2) gives any foreign national the option of applying to BRTA, on the prescribed form and fee, for a Bangladeshi driving licence instead of relying indefinitely on an endorsed foreign licence. This is a separate, optional route - it is not a deadline that ends the section 9(1) right. Official source.

Driving rules in Bangladesh tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Motorcycles: maximum one pillion passenger and both rider and passenger must wear helmets properly (s.49(1) first part (f)). Cars: the driver must not drive without fastening the seatbelt and passengers must follow the prescribed seatbelt provisions (s.49(1) second part (b) and (e)); using a mobile phone while driving is prohibited (second part (a)). Second-part breaches carry up to 1 month, or a fine up to BDT 5,000, or both (s.92(2)). Check lights, horn, tyres, spare wheel and flood readiness before setting off.
• Drink-driving: The Act sets no numeric BAC limit. Section 49(1) first part (a) is an absolute prohibition: 'no driver shall drive a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or intoxicants'. Alcohol is also tightly restricted in Bangladesh generally. Treat the safe limit as zero - any traveller-facing summary quoting a milligram figure for Bangladesh is unsourced. Breach of section 49(1) first part is punishable under section 92(1) with imprisonment up to 3 months, or a fine up to BDT 10,000, or both, plus 1 demerit point. For a foreign national it can additionally trigger section 9(3): the Authority may invalidate the endorsed foreign licence, ending the right to drive in Bangladesh.
• Speed limits: The Act fixes no national numeric limits: section 44(1) leaves speed limits to the Authority in consultation with the road-owning agency, and section 44(2) forbids exceeding the prescribed limit or driving recklessly. Obey posted km/h signs. Section 87 punishes a breach with imprisonment up to 3 months, or a fine up to BDT 10,000, or both, plus 1 demerit point.
• Section 9(1) requires the foreign licence to be submitted and endorsed - it is not a pure 'just show your licence' country. Arrange the endorsement with the relevant BRTA circle office or the competent local authority before driving, and do not assume a rental desk has completed the statutory step.
• Carry the original national licence (endorsed), a genuine 1949 IDP, passport and visa, plus the rental agreement, registration, valid fitness certificate, tax token and insurance for the vehicle.
• Traffic keeps left. Dense mixed traffic, rickshaws, buses, pedestrians, livestock, monsoon flooding and poor night lighting make daytime, defensive driving essential; many visitors hire a car with a driver instead of self-driving.

Read more about driving in Bangladesh

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

Watch what driving in Bangladesh looks like

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

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

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, status list (Bangladesh: accession 6 Dec 1978)
4. UN Treaty Collection - 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, participant list (Bangladesh absent from all 91 parties)
5. Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence - hotline banner (Fire 102, Emergency Service 999)
6. Automobile Association of Bangladesh (AAB) — authorized IDP issuer in Bangladesh
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic