International Driving Permit in Barbados

🗓 Facts checked against Barbados's road-traffic law and official sources. Research last updated: 2 November 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 Barbados: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Barbados?
• What side of the road does Barbados drive on?
• How long can you drive in Barbados with a foreign licence?
• Is Barbados a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Barbados with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Barbados? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Barbados tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Barbados
• Sources

Driving in Barbados: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Barbados?

No IDP is required by law. Paragraph 4(1) of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles (International Circulation)) Order, 1960 lets a person making only a temporary stay drive for up to 12 months from the last entry on either (a) a Convention driving permit or (b) 'a domestic driving permit issued in a country outside Barbados'. The Order's definitions name the Paris Convention of 1926 and the Geneva Convention of 1949, not the 1968 Vienna Convention. Paragraph 4(2), as the Attorney-General's Office publishes it, also requires the visitor to be at least 18, to have first registered with the Licensing Authority, the Commissioner of Police or an authorised operator of a hired car service, and to have paid a registration fee. The Barbados Revenue Authority states that the requirement for a Visitor Driving Permit was abolished on 15 October 2025, but no Order amending paragraph 4(2) was found. Whether a visitor must still register is not established: check with the Barbados Licensing Authority before you drive.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: The 1960 Order requires a visitor driving on a foreign licence or Convention permit to register first and pay a fee; the Revenue Authority says the Visitor Driving Permit was abolished on 15 October 2025. No amending Order was found. Check with the authorities before you travel; the answer below says what is known.
• Car renters: The Barbados Revenue Authority states that from 15 October 2025 the requirement for a Visitor Driving Permit is abolished, including the online application it administered; the Order as the Attorney-General's Office publishes it still requires a visitor to register first, so check with the Barbados Licensing Authority before you drive. The rental operator adds a Car Rental Levy of BBD 5.00 per day, capped at BBD 35.00 per rental (7 days). It applies per rental, not per driver, to residents and visitors alike, and must be itemised separately on the invoice (it is not subject to VAT).

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

What side of the road does Barbados drive on?

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

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

12 months from the date of your last entry into Barbados. Paragraph 4(1) of the International Circulation Order authorises 'a person making only a temporary stay in Barbados' who holds a Convention driving permit or a domestic driving permit issued in a country outside Barbados to drive 'during a period of 12 months from the date of his last entry into Barbados ... notwithstanding that he is not the holder of a driving licence under Part V of the Act'. This is a genuine visitor clock tied to temporary stay, not a residence clock; it does not survive taking up residence. (Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles (International Circulation)) Order, 1960, paragraph 4(1))

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

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

Barbados 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: succession on 5 Mar 1971.

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 Barbados with your country's licence?

This answer is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Barbados as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Under paragraph 4 of the Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles (International Circulation)) Order, 1960, a visitor on a temporary stay may drive for up to 12 months from the last entry on a driving licence issued in any country outside Barbados or on a Convention driving permit. The Order, as the Attorney-General's Office publishes it, also requires the visitor to be at least 18, to register first with the Licensing Authority, the Commissioner of Police or an authorised operator of a hired car service, and to pay a registration fee. The Barbados Revenue Authority states that the requirement for a Visitor Driving Permit was abolished on 15 October 2025, but no Order amending paragraph 4 was found. Whether you must still register is not established: check with the Barbados Licensing Authority before you drive. Rentals carry a Car Rental Levy of BBD 5 per day, capped at BBD 35. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: November 2026.

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

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 answer below says what could not be confirmed.

What you need to carry — Check with local authorities before travel

Why — The 1960 Order requires a visitor driving on a foreign licence or Convention permit to register first and pay a fee; the Revenue Authority says the Visitor Driving Permit was abolished on 15 October 2025. No amending Order was found. [1]

Sources and notes for the answer above

[1] Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles (International Circulation)) Order, 1960, paragraph 4(1) and (2) (L.R.O. 1989 text, Attorney-General's Office); Barbados Revenue Authority Policy Note OGC 09/2025

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 Barbados? Barbados's official IDPs are issued by Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) — applications are accepted online. 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 Barbados? Rules for new residents

Whatever the status of the Visitor Driving Permit, paragraph 4(1) of the Order only covers 'a person making only a temporary stay in Barbados', and the 12-month allowance runs from the last entry — so it is not an indefinite entitlement and does not convert into one. A person taking up residence should obtain a Barbados driving licence from the Barbados Licensing Authority. Official source.

Driving rules in Barbados tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat belts are compulsory for drivers and passengers under Road Traffic Act section 36D. Section 36F requires a child under 4 to travel in a child safety seat secured by a seat belt in a back seat (a rear-facing seat may go in front only if there is no passenger airbag), and a child of 4 or over to wear a seat belt; contravention is an offence carrying a fine of BBD 500 or 3 months. Check lights, tyres and the spare before leaving the rental lot.
• Drink-driving: The legal alcohol limit for drivers in Barbados is 35 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath, 80 milligrammes in 100 millilitres of blood or 107 milligrammes in 100 millilitres of urine. Section 85 of the Road Traffic Act makes it an offence to drive, attempt to drive or be in charge of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place with alcohol above that limit, or while 'under the influence of drink or a drug to such an extent as to be incapable of having proper control of the motor vehicle'. The police may require a breath test of a driver suspected of exceeding the limit or of committing a traffic offence while driving and, if it indicates alcohol over the limit, two breath specimens for analysis. The safe rule is not to drink at all before driving. Section 85: on a first conviction a fine of BBD 5,000 or 2 years' imprisonment or both; on a second or subsequent conviction BBD 10,000 or 5 years or both. Unless the court for a special reason orders otherwise, conviction also brings disqualification from holding or obtaining a driving licence for 12 months on a first conviction, 5 years on a second and permanently on any later one, plus likely voiding of rental insurance cover. Failing without reasonable excuse to give a breath, blood or urine specimen when required is a separate offence, punishable by BBD 1,000 or 6 months or both.
• Speed limits: Speed limits are set by regulation and posted in km/h rather than fixed in the Act. Speeding is an offence under section 84 of the Road Traffic Act, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of BBD 1,000 or 12 months' imprisonment, or both. The Act's former BBD 75 fixed penalty for exceeding the limit by up to 20 km/h was deleted with effect from 17 January 2026. Fixed penalties, which can be paid instead of facing prosecution, and the demerit points recorded for each offence are now set by order of the Minister; the amounts in force for speeding could not be confirmed. Narrow lanes and roundabouts frequently require far lower speeds than the posted maximum.
• The Barbados Revenue Authority states that from 15 October 2025 the requirement for a Visitor Driving Permit is abolished, including the online application it administered; the Order as the Attorney-General's Office publishes it still requires a visitor to register first, so check with the Barbados Licensing Authority before you drive. The rental operator adds a Car Rental Levy of BBD 5.00 per day, capped at BBD 35.00 per rental (7 days). It applies per rental, not per driver, to residents and visitors alike, and must be itemised separately on the invoice (it is not subject to VAT).
• Carry the original valid national licence and present it at booking or vehicle pickup — the policy note makes rental companies responsible for verifying that licences are valid and current. Expect the counter to record your licence number, category, country of issue, expiry date, entry date and intended length of stay, because the operator must report all of that to the Revenue Authority each month. Bring your passport, the rental agreement and insurance evidence; add a 1949 IDP or official English translation if your licence is not in English.
• Traffic keeps left and roundabouts are common. Roads are often narrow with soft or absent shoulders; watch for buses stopping without warning, pedestrians walking in the carriageway and potholes.

Read more about driving in Barbados

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

Watch what driving in Barbados looks like

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

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

Sources

1. Road Traffic (Motor Vehicles (International Circulation)) Order, 1960, paragraph 4(1)
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. Barbados Revenue Authority — Policy Note OGC 09/2025, Car Rental Levy and Discontinuation of Visitor Driving Permits (landing page)
4. Barbados Revenue Authority — Policy Note OGC 09/2025 (PDF, full text)
5. Barbados Revenue Authority — Car Rental Levy guide and resources
6. Barbados Road Traffic Act, Cap. 295 (L.R.O. 2002 revised edition, without later amendments)
7. The Barbados Police Service — emergency numbers
8. Barbados Road Traffic Act, Cap. 295, consolidated to Act 2022-21 (Ministry of Transport and Works)
9. Official Gazette of Barbados, 19 January 2026, Part A — Road Traffic (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 2026-2)
10. Barbados Licensing Authority (BLA) — authorized IDP issuer in Barbados
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic