International Driving Permit in Curacao

🗓 Facts checked against Curacao's road-traffic law and official sources. Research last updated: 30 October 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 Curacao: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Curacao?
• What side of the road does Curacao drive on?
• How long can you drive in Curacao with a foreign licence?
• Is Curacao a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Curacao with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Curacao? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Curacao tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Curacao
• Sources

Driving in Curacao: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Curacao?

Curaçao's traffic ordinance, the Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, forbids driving a motor vehicle without a valid driving licence (art. 102(1)), and only a licence issued in Curaçao or elsewhere in the Kingdom of the Netherlands counts as one (art. 1). A driver who lives abroad needs no such licence while driving as the holder of a valid international driving permit issued abroad under Article 24 of the 1949 Geneva Convention, for the vehicle being driven (art. 102(2)(g)); the ordinance makes no other provision for a visitor's foreign licence. On the ordinance's terms, a visitor whose licence was issued outside the Kingdom therefore needs a 1949 IDP. UK government guidance nevertheless states that a UK photocard licence can be used to drive in Curaçao. The government's service portal also offers to register a foreign licence from a Geneva Convention state, free of charge, without saying what the registration permits. The ordinance's one amendment since its 2013 consolidated text (P.B. 2022 no. 110) deals only with tinted front side windows. Whether a licence from outside the Kingdom is enough on its own is therefore not established: check with Publieke Zaken (driving licence division) before you travel. Curaçao is covered by the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic only, through the Kingdom of the Netherlands' territorial extension to the Netherlands Antilles (notification received 9 May 1957), which continues to apply to Curaçao after the Netherlands Antilles was dissolved on 10 October 2010. The Kingdom's 1968 Vienna Convention accession (8 Nov 2007) is expressly limited 'For the Kingdom in Europe' and does not cover Curaçao. The 1949 IDP is therefore the only treaty-correct edition here; a 1968-only IDP has no treaty basis in Curaçao.

• 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: Hire companies set their own bar; UK government advice says: 'Hire car companies often have stricter requirements for their customers, such as a year of driving experience and a higher minimum age.' Confirm the rental company's requirements before booking.

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

What side of the road does Curacao drive on?

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

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

The traffic ordinance names no visitor period: a driver who lives abroad needs no Curaçao licence while driving on a valid 1949 International Driving Permit (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, art. 102(2)(g)). A 1949 IDP is valid for one year from its date of issue. A foreigner staying only temporarily in Curaçao on a temporary residence permit can instead be issued a temporary permit to drive the categories of their foreign licence, valid for up to three months, renewable as needed, from age 18 (art. 102(4)); the Government of Curaçao issues it for licences from 1949 Geneva Convention countries, for XCG 50. (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000 (consolidated text, P.B. 2013 no. 41 (G.T.)), art. 102(2)(g) and (4))

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

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

Curacao 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: applies via Netherlands (territorial application).

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 Curacao with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Curacao as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Curaçao is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands but lies outside EU territory, so EU driving-licence mutual recognition does not apply here. Curaçao is bound by the 1949 Geneva Convention only — the Kingdom's 1968 Vienna accession is expressly limited to the Kingdom in Europe — which makes the 1949 IDP the correct edition for this destination. Curaçao's traffic ordinance counts only licences issued in the Kingdom of the Netherlands as driving licences, and lets a driver who lives abroad drive without one only on a valid 1949 IDP (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, arts. 1 and 102(2)(g)); it names no visitor period. UK government guidance nevertheless says a UK photocard licence can be used to drive in Curaçao, and the government registers foreign licences from Geneva Convention states without saying what that permits. Whether a licence from outside the Kingdom is enough on its own is therefore not established: check before you travel and, where your country issues a 1949 IDP, carry one alongside your national licence. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: October 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.
• 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] Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000 (consolidated text, P.B. 2013 no. 41 (G.T.), as amended by P.B. 2022 no. 110), art. 1 sub af (sub ae in the consolidated text), art. 102(1) and 102(2)(g)

[2] Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, art. 1 (definition of 'rijbewijs') and art. 102(1) — only a licence issued in Curaçao or elsewhere in the Kingdom of the Netherlands counts as one

[3] 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 Curacao? Curacao's official IDPs are issued by Publieke Zaken (Kranshi), Afdeling Rijbewijzen (Curaçao civil affairs office, driving licence division). 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 Curacao? Rules for new residents

Anyone living in Curaçao needs a Curaçao driving licence or one issued elsewhere in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, arts. 1 and 102(1)); the exemption for an international driving permit covers only drivers who live abroad (art. 102(2)(g)). A person from abroad who settles in Curaçao with a residence permit, or is admitted by right, and holds a valid national licence from a 1949 Geneva Convention state can be issued a Curaçao licence without a driving test, on a medical certificate, from age 18 (art. 102(3)), even if the licence does not follow the Convention's model (art. 102(5)). The Government of Curaçao also exchanges such a licence that expired less than six months ago; the licence must have been issued before its holder settled in Curaçao. It asks for a residence permit for an indefinite period or a declaration of admission by right, a medical certificate no older than two months and a certificate of authenticity from the issuing country; it requires a driving test for licences from Venezuela, Haiti, Lebanon, China, India and the Dominican Republic, and the exchange costs XCG 175. A licence from a state outside the Convention does not qualify (art. 102(7)): its holder takes the route to a first licence, which the government describes as: you have passed the theory and practical exams and are applying for a licence for the first time ('U heeft het theorie- en praktijkexamen succesvol afgelegd en u gaat voor de eerste keer een rijbewijs aanvragen'). Official source.

Driving rules in Curacao tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry your driving licence and, unless it was issued in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, a 1949 IDP; on an officer's first demand a driver must stop and hand over the driving licence, the vehicle's inspection certificate and its insurance certificate for inspection (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, art. 116(1)). A stationary vehicle that forms an obstacle approaching drivers cannot see in time must be marked with a warning triangle placed on the road about 30 m from it, on the side of the traffic it endangers, unless its hazard lights are flashing (art. 77). The driver and passengers seated next to a door must wear the seat belt fitted; a child under 12 who is shorter than 150 cm must use an approved child restraint in the front passenger seat and, in the other seats, one if fitted, otherwise the seat belt from age 3 (art. 78). The ordinance has no hi-vis vest rule.
• Drink-driving: Driving any vehicle is forbidden with more than 220 micrograms of alcohol per litre of exhaled air or more than 0.5 mg of alcohol per ml of blood (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, art. 22(2)). Driving under the influence of any substance that leaves the driver unable to drive properly is also forbidden (art. 22(1)), and a driver suspected of drink-driving must take a breath test when ordered (art. 24). Do not drink and drive. Drink-driving is treated as a crime, punishable by detention of up to two months or a fine of up to 5000 guilders (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, art. 119(1)); the statute's guilder was the Netherlands Antillean guilder, which the Caribbean guilder replaced at par on 31 March 2025. A police officer who draws up an official report for an offence under arts. 22 to 24 can demand the driving licence on the spot, and the public prosecutor may keep it until the judgment is final (art. 25); art. 112 lets them take an international driving permit issued abroad in the same way.
• Speed limits: Traffic drives on the right. The speed limit for motor vehicles is 40 km/h in built-up areas and 60 km/h outside them; on motor roads (dual-carriageway roads marked with sign G1) the maximum is 80 km/h and the minimum 40 km/h (Wegenverkeersverordening Curaçao 2000, arts. 46 and 47). Obey posted limits.
• UK government guidance states verbatim: 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Curaçao.' and 'If you still have a paper driving licence, you may need to update it to a photocard licence or get the correct version of the international driving permit (IDP) as well'.
• Hire companies set their own bar; UK government advice says: 'Hire car companies often have stricter requirements for their customers, such as a year of driving experience and a higher minimum age.' Confirm the rental company's requirements before booking.
• UK government advice on taxis: 'Check that a taxi is registered and agree the price before taking the ride. Most taxis do not have meters. Registered taxis have number plates that start with TX'.
• Traffic drives on the right.

Read more about driving in Curacao

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. UK FCDO Curaçao — emergency numbers
3. UN depositary — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic; Netherlands ratification 19 Sep 1952 and Netherlands Antilles territorial extension (9 May 1957)
4. UN depositary — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic; Netherlands accession 8 Nov 2007 declared 'For the Kingdom in Europe' (excludes Curaçao)
5. UK FCDO Curaçao — driving, photocard licence, car hire and taxi guidance
6. Government of Curaçao digital counter — exchanging a foreign driving licence (1949 Geneva Convention countries)
7. Government of Curaçao digital counter — temporary driving permit for temporary residents
8. Government of Curaçao digital counter — first driving licence after the theory and practical exams
9. Publieke Zaken (Kranshi), Afdeling Rijbewijzen (Curaçao civil affairs office, driving licence division) — authorized IDP issuer in Curacao
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic