International Driving Permit in Faroe Islands

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

Driving in Faroe Islands: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Faroe Islands?

An IDP is not legally required. Under Kunngerð nr. 129 frá 26. september 2018 um koyrikort og koyrifrálæru, § 79, a person who is not normally resident in the Faroe Islands may drive on a valid licence issued in an EU or EEA country or the United Kingdom, or in Greenland since 1995; on any other foreign licence that is written in Latin letters or comes with a translation into Faroese, Danish, English or French made by a public authority or by an organisation authorised to do so in the issuing country; or on an international driving permit issued under the 1926, 1949 or 1968 convention. A licence covers the same categories as in the issuing country, and only from age 18 (§ 79, stk. 2). Official Faroese tourism guidance states verbatim: "If you have a driver's license issued by an EU or Nordic country, you do not need an international driver's license"; for other licences "it is recommended that you acquire an international driver's license in addition to your regular driver's license", and "[a]n international driver's license alone is not sufficient." Carry your national licence together with any IDP. Important treaty note: the Faroe Islands are not covered by the 1968 Vienna Convention — Denmark's 1986 instrument of ratification declared that "until further notice the [Convention] shall not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland", and the 1949 Geneva Convention records no territorial extension to the Faroes either. Do not infer Faroese rules from Denmark's convention membership.

• 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: Several sub-sea tunnels are tolled and are normally billed through the rental company after the fact; check tolls, closures and the weather before each journey.
• EU / EEA licence holders: no IDP needed — A valid licence issued in an EU country, Norway, Iceland, the United Kingdom or another country that applies EU Directive 2006/126/EC is enough on its own (Kunngerð nr. 129/2018, § 79, stk. 1, nr. 1).

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

What side of the road does Faroe Islands drive on?

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

How long can you drive in Faroe Islands with a foreign licence?

The Faroese licence regulation names no visitor period: anyone not normally resident in the Faroe Islands may drive on one of the valid licences or permits it lists (Kunngerð nr. 129/2018, § 79). Once you become normally resident, a licence issued outside the EU, the EEA and the UK may be used for at most 180 days, and one issued inside them for as long as it is valid, but not after the holder turns 75 (§ 83); see the residents section below. (Kunngerð nr. 129 frá 26. september 2018 um koyrikort og koyrifrálæru (as last amended by kunngerð nr. 114 frá 30. juni 2025), § 79 and § 83)

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

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

Faroe Islands 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 Denmark (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 Faroe Islands with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Faroe Islands as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. The Faroe Islands sit outside the EU, the EEA and both road-traffic conventions, and set their own licence rules through Akstovan. Under Faroese law a visitor may drive on a valid licence from the EU, the EEA or the UK, on any other licence written in Latin letters or accompanied by an official translation into Faroese, Danish, English or French, or on an International Driving Permit issued under the 1926, 1949 or 1968 convention (Kunngerð nr. 129/2018, § 79). Official tourism guidance adds that an IDP alone is not sufficient, so carry your national licence as well. 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.
• 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] Kunngerð nr. 129 frá 26. september 2018 um koyrikort og koyrifrálæru, § 79

[2] Kunngerð nr. 129 frá 26. september 2018 um koyrikort og koyrifrálæru, § 79, stk. 1, nr. 4

[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 Faroe Islands? Faroe Islands's official IDPs are issued by Faroe Islands Police (Faroese national police). 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 Faroe Islands? Rules for new residents

A foreign licence may be exchanged for a Faroese licence issued by Akstovan, the Faroese vehicle and driver authority. For UK licences this is confirmed verbatim by the Faroese Government: "UK driving licenses issued by the DVLA can be used in the Faroe Islands, as well as exchanged for a Faroese driving licence issued by Akstovan." Under Kunngerð nr. 129/2018, a licence issued in an EU or EEA country or the UK is exchanged without a test (§ 88, stk. 1), while a licence from any other country is exchanged only after a theory and practical control test (§ 88, stk. 2). Until then, a licence from outside the EU, the EEA and the UK may be used for at most 180 days after you become normally resident, and an EU, EEA or UK licence for as long as it is valid, but not after the holder turns 75 (§ 83). Akstovan charges kr. 550 for the test and kr. 250 for issuing the licence, and asks for a medical certificate no more than 3 months old with a licence from outside the EU, the EEA and the UK. Official source.

Driving rules in Faroe Islands tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry the original licence plus vehicle registration, rental agreement and insurance documents. Everyone in a seat fitted with a seat belt must wear it (Ferðslulógin § 42), a child shorter than 135 cm must use approved safety equipment suited to the child's height and weight (§ 42 a), and dipped headlights must be on in daylight too (§ 35 a).
• Drink-driving: Drink-driving starts above 0.20 per mille of alcohol in the blood or 0.10 mg per litre of exhaled breath (Ferðslulógin § 16, stk. 1). Driving after drinking so much that you cannot drive safely is an offence whatever the reading (§ 16, stk. 2). In practice, do not drink before driving. Drink-driving is punished with a fine set by the driver's income and the alcohol reading; the Act fixes no amounts (Ferðslulógin § 58, stk. 1 and 6). Above 2.00 per mille in the blood or 1.00 mg per litre of breath, and for some repeat offences, the penalty can rise to imprisonment for up to 1 year and 6 months (§ 58, stk. 2). Above 0.50 per mille (0.25 mg per litre of breath) the right to drive is withdrawn unconditionally (§ 59); at or below that level the withdrawal is conditional unless aggravating circumstances apply, such as a repeat offence (§ 59 a). An unconditional withdrawal lasts from 6 months to 10 years, and at least 3 years above 1.20 per mille in the blood or 0.60 mg per litre of breath (§ 59 b).
• Speed limits: The general limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside them (Ferðslulógin § 30 a, stk. 1); a lower or a higher limit can be set for a particular stretch of road (stk. 2 and 3). Posted signs govern, and lower limits apply in tunnels and on single-lane roads.
• The driver must carry the licence and show it to the police on request (Ferðslulógin § 18, stk. 1); a breach is punished with a fine or, in aggravating circumstances, imprisonment of up to 1 year (§ 58, stk. 4). Kunngerð nr. 129/2018, § 79 lists an IDP among the documents a visitor may drive on, but carry your national licence with it. Driving in breach of § 79, without one of the documents it lists, is punished with a fine (Kunngerð nr. 129/2018, § 94). Neither text fixes the amount of the fine. Official Faroese tourism guidance states verbatim: "An international driver's license alone is not sufficient".
• Use dipped headlights at all times and cut speed for wind, fog, rain, free-roaming sheep, single-lane roads and unlit tunnels. UK government advice for the Faroes warns that "[s]maller roads may be unpaved and winding. The weather can change quickly, and you should prepare appropriately for the activity you are planning".
• Several sub-sea tunnels are tolled and are normally billed through the rental company after the fact; check tolls, closures and the weather before each journey.

Read more about driving in Faroe Islands

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Kunngerð nr. 129 frá 26. september 2018 um koyrikort og koyrifrálæru (as last amended by kunngerð nr. 114 frá 30. juni 2025), § 79 and § 83
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Faroese Government (Representation in London) — UK/DVLA licence use and exchange. This is the page's only driving content and it is UK-specific.
5. Visit Faroe Islands (official tourism board) FAQ — EU and Nordic licences need no IDP; for other licences an IDP is recommended in addition to the licence, and an IDP alone is not sufficient.
6. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: Denmark ratified 3 Nov 1986 declaring the Convention "shall not apply to the Faroe Islands and Greenland".
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: full territorial-application table contains no Faroe Islands entry for Denmark.
8. UK FCDO travel advice (Denmark, incl. Faroe Islands road conditions and hire-car age/experience note).
9. Faroe Islands Police — alarm number 112; service number 114, which is also the telephone number of every police station.
10. Faroe Islands Police (Faroese national police) — authorized IDP issuer in Faroe Islands
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic