International Driving Permit in Cyprus

🗓 Facts checked against official government guidance for Cyprus and other official sources. Research last updated: 28 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 Cyprus: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Cyprus?
• What side of the road does Cyprus drive on?
• How long can you drive in Cyprus with a foreign licence?
• Is Cyprus a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Cyprus with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Cyprus? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Cyprus tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Cyprus
• Sources

Driving in Cyprus: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Cyprus?

Cyprus has no single blanket IDP rule. EU licence holders may use their national licence. The current Cyprus Police visitor leaflet gives 16 named non-EU issuers a six-month national-licence period. Other non-European visitors may use their national licence for up to 30 days or use a valid IDP. Cyprus is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention (verified 2026-07-28), so the 1949 IDP is the treaty-backed form; the police leaflet itself says only 'a valid international driving licence' without specifying type. Cyprus's Road Transport Department describes its own outbound IDP as a one-year permit for countries signatory to the Geneva Convention (the page misprints it as the '1948 Geneva Convention'); it is a companion to the valid national licence, not a substitute.

• 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.
• EU / EEA licence holders: no IDP needed — EU/EEA licences are recognized as equivalent.

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

What side of the road does Cyprus drive on?

Cyprus drives on the left-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the right. Drives on the left (former British rule), unlike mainland Europe; applies to the whole island including Northern Cyprus.

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

EU/EEA: national licence while valid under the EU recognition rule. Six-month list: national licence for up to six months. Other non-European visitors: national licence for up to 30 days, or a valid 1949-form IDP route with the supporting national licence. (Cyprus Police, Keep Safe visitor leaflet; Road Transport Department, International Driving Licence)

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

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

Cyprus 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 6 Jul 1962.

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 Cyprus with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Cyprus as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Cyprus uses a layered system: EU/EEA licences are recognized; 16 named non-EU issuers receive six months on the national licence; every other non-European visitor receives 30 days on the national licence or can use the valid 1949 IDP route with the national licence. No origin's licence is refused outright at the visitor stage, so the IDP is conditional (needed mainly beyond 30 days for non-listed origins), not a blanket requirement. 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.
• 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] Cyprus Police, Keep Safe visitor leaflet

[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 Cyprus? Cyprus's official IDPs are issued by Road Transport Department (RTD), Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works. 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 Cyprus? Rules for new residents

The Police leaflet says holders from the named six-month jurisdictions must apply for a Cyprus licence after the six-month period without taking a driving test. The Road Transport Department says holders of licences from countries covered by the notification of the Commissioner are obliged to exchange after a six-month stay in the Republic; EU holders may exchange after a six-month stay if they wish — EU recognition is not converted into a six-month visitor limit. This is a residence clock, distinct from the visitor clocks above: conversion requires proof of normal residence (at least 185 days in Cyprus, plus registration certificate/residence permit for non-EU citizens). Official source.

Driving rules in Cyprus tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat belts are compulsory in front and rear seats. Children under 1.5 m must use a suitable belt or restraint system. The reviewed visitor leaflet does not state a complete mandatory carry-kit list, so confirm the warning triangle and other supplied safety equipment with the rental company.
• Drink-driving: 50 mg alcohol per 100 ml blood, corresponding to 22 micrograms per 100 ml breath, for an ordinary driver. A lower 9-microgram breath (20 mg blood) threshold applies since 6.5.2015 to new drivers (licence under three years), learners, motorcycle/moped riders, lorry >3.5 t, bus, on-duty taxi and dangerous-cargo drivers. For the ordinary 22-microgram threshold, the current table gives EUR 125 at 23-35 micrograms/100 ml, EUR 250 at 36-55, EUR 500 at 56-70, and court above 70; penalty points also apply. Lower-limit drivers use the separate 9-microgram scale (EUR 125 at 9-22, EUR 250 at 23-35, EUR 500 at 36-55, court above 55).
• Speed limits: Unless signed otherwise: 50 km/h in built-up areas, 80 km/h on ordinary inter-urban/rural roads and 100 km/h maximum on motorways, which also have a 65 km/h minimum.
• Drive on the left. On multi-lane roads and highways, vehicles move in the left lane and the right lane is only for overtaking, when the left lane is not free, or when giving priority to a vehicle entering the highway.
• Carry the physical national licence with any IDP. The Road Transport Department's international licence is issued against a Cyprus national licence (form TOM 26A, EUR 30, one-year validity), demonstrating the companion-document structure.

Read more about driving in Cyprus

• Helpful tips for those who travel to Cyprus
• 10 Interesting Facts About Cyprus

Watch what driving in Cyprus looks like

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

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

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Cyprus Police, Keep Safe visitor leaflet; Road Transport Department, International Driving Licence
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Road Transport Department international driving-licence procedure (site presents an incomplete TLS chain; one-year Geneva-form IDP, '1948' sic, TOM 26A, EUR 30, Cypriot licence required)
5. Cyprus Police 2026-hosted Keep Safe visitor leaflet (same licence rules as the 2024-hosted edition; gov.cy blocks ordinary clients with an access check)
6. Road Safety Cyprus photo-enforcement (traffic-camera) FAQ, Greek — includes the 50/65/80/100 km/h speed-limit summary (relabelled: it is the camera-system FAQ, not a dedicated speed-limit FAQ)
7. Road Safety Cyprus alcohol and penalty tables (both breath-alcohol fine scales, speeding per-km fine gradients, Law 86/1972 Art. 20A penalty-point basis)
8. Current government Guide to Cyprus (p. 45 Driving License section; its six-month list diverges from the police leaflet)
9. Cyprus Police / TISPOL 'A guide to driving in Cyprus' — minimum ages (18 / learner 17.5 / motorbike 17), drink-drive thresholds, Motor Vehicles Law 86/1972 Art. 20A (added during verification)
10. Road Transport Department (RTD), Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works — authorized IDP issuer in Cyprus
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic