International Driving Permit in Dominican Republic

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

Driving in Dominican Republic: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Dominican Republic?

No IDP is legally required of a visitor: INTRANT applies a 90-day allowance to a foreign national licence, and UK and French photocard licences are expressly documented as usable for up to three months. The Dominican licensing regulation is wider than the treaty position: alongside 1949 Geneva permits it recognises international permits issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention (and the 1926 Paris Convention) for nationals of states that adhere to those conventions but not to Geneva. The Dominican Republic is itself a 1949 party only, so the 1949 booklet remains the treaty-guaranteed form and is the safest to carry; 1968 acceptance rests on national law, not treaty. Carry an IDP or an official Spanish translation with the original licence if the licence is paper-only, not in the Latin alphabet, or if the rental company or insurer requires it.

• 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: The driver must be in possession of and carry the licence plus any other document needed to drive, all valid and in force, and must show them to officers on request. Carry the original licence, an IDP or Spanish translation where needed, passport and entry evidence, vehicle papers, rental contract and insurance.

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

What side of the road does Dominican Republic drive on?

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

How long can you drive in Dominican Republic with a foreign licence?

90 days (about three months) from entry on the foreign national licence. INTRANT applies a 90-day allowance to foreign visitors; UK and French government guidance independently state that a UK photocard licence and a French licence may be used for up to three months. The allowance ends earlier if immigration permission, the national licence, the rental contract or the insurance expires first. (UK FCDO Dominican Republic travel advice; France Diplomatie Republique dominicaine informations utiles; INTRANT statement reported by Diario Libre (25 June 2024))

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

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

Dominican Republic 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: ratification on 15 Aug 1957.

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 Dominican Republic with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Dominican Republic as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. The Dominican Republic is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention and accepts a foreign national driving licence for about 90 days from entry - INTRANT applies that allowance, and UK and French government guidance confirm a three-month route for their own licences. An IDP is therefore not legally required of a visitor, but it is genuinely useful: it is the practical fix for a paper-only or non-Latin-alphabet licence and is often demanded by rental companies. Dominican licensing rules are wider than the treaty and also recognise 1968 Vienna international permits, although the 1949 form remains the safest to carry. A separate six-month clock, counted from the moment you acquire normal residence, governs anyone settling in the country, after which a Dominican licence must be obtained. Treat the country's high road-casualty rate and the danger of night driving outside cities as central planning factors. 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 recognised — the record shows no route to drive here as a visitor on this licence; ask the local authorities about conversion or a temporary permit. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what stands in the way.
• 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] Inference from Spanish-only administration; no explicit Dominican script rule located

[2] 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

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

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 Dominican Republic? Dominican Republic's official IDPs are issued by Automóvil Club Dominicano (ACD) — 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 Dominican Republic? Rules for new residents

A different clock applies once you stop being a visitor. The licensing regulation gives a foreign licence a maximum of six months counted from the moment the holder acquires normal residence (residencia normal) in the Dominican Republic; after that it ceases to be valid for driving and a Dominican licence must be obtained or the foreign licence exchanged. This six-month residence clock must not be confused with the 90-day visitor allowance. Official source.

Driving rules in Dominican Republic tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Confirm seat belts, child restraints, tyres, lights, brakes, spare wheel, registration and insurance before leaving the rental lot. No verified statutory carry-list of equipment was located.
• Drink-driving: Treat the trip as zero-alcohol. Drink-driving is identified by UK government guidance as a significant road risk in the Dominican Republic, and insurance outcomes after an alcohol-related crash can be severe. No verified statutory BAC threshold or penalty figure. The consolidated text of Ley 63-17 could not be retrieved at verification time, so no number is asserted.
• Speed limits: Traffic drives on the right. Obey posted km/h limits; no verified national default limits are asserted here, and real traffic behaviour and visibility often require much lower speeds than the sign permits.
• The driver must be in possession of and carry the licence plus any other document needed to drive, all valid and in force, and must show them to officers on request. Carry the original licence, an IDP or Spanish translation where needed, passport and entry evidence, vehicle papers, rental contract and insurance.
• Use a reputable rental company and obtain the registration and insurance documents. Traffic fines are paid through the official 'Infracciones de transito' online portal, not in cash to the officer at the roadside.
• There is a high death rate from road traffic accidents, rising around holiday periods. Other drivers often ignore traffic law, weave between lanes and rarely signal; vehicle maintenance and drink-driving are further risks. Main intercity motorways are adequate but driving outside the main cities at night is dangerous because of poor visibility and unlit vehicles.

Read more about driving in Dominican Republic

• 10 Interesting Facts About the Dominican Republic
• Best Places to Visit in Dominican Republic

Watch what driving in Dominican Republic looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. UK FCDO Dominican Republic travel advice; France Diplomatie Republique dominicaine informations utiles; INTRANT statement reported by Diario Libre (25 June 2024)
3. UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic (Geneva 1949) status - Dominican Republic signed 19 Sep 1949, ratified 15 Aug 1957
4. UN Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic (Vienna 1968) status - 91 parties, Dominican Republic not among them
5. Proyecto Reglamento de Licencias de Conducir (official pre-enactment draft of the decree that became Decreto 6-19) - Arts. 2, 3, 4, 7, 13, 14, 18-20 on foreign licences, IDPs, ages and exchange
6. France Diplomatie, Republique dominicaine - informations utiles: 'Le permis de conduire francais permet de conduire en Republique dominicaine pour une periode maximale de 3 mois.' — a French licence may be used for a maximum of three months
7. UK FCDO Dominican Republic emergency services: 'Telephone: 911 (ambulance, fire, police)'; tourist police +1 809 200 3500
8. Diario Libre, 25 June 2024, reporting INTRANT: a foreigner may drive on the licence of their country of origin for the first 90 days of stay
9. Automóvil Club Dominicano (ACD) — authorized IDP issuer in Dominican Republic
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic