International Driving Permit in Fiji

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

Driving in Fiji: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Fiji?

No IDP is required by Fiji law. Regulation 21(1) of the Land Transport (Driver) Regulations 2000 says in terms that 'a driver's licence or other authority issued in another country authorises the holder to drive the relevant class of motor vehicle in the Fiji Islands', with no treaty test and no country list. The only IDP provision in the Driver Regulations (reg 22) runs the other way: it empowers the LTA to issue an IDP, to a person aged 18 or over, for driving outside Fiji. Carry the original licence at all times (reg 21(1)(c)); a genuine 1949 IDP is useful only as a translation aid and for rental desks, because the LTA may demand a certified English translation under reg 21(3).

• 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: Carry the original foreign licence on you whenever you drive - reg 21(1)(c) makes that a condition of the entitlement, and failure to comply is TIN code 504. Add a certified English translation or a genuine 1949 IDP if the licence is not in English, plus passport and entry evidence, vehicle registration, rental contract and insurance.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Archived copy of the cited page.

What side of the road does Fiji drive on?

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

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

Six months from the date of the person's arrival in Fiji. Regulation 21(2) also bars driving on the foreign licence if the vehicle is class 3, 4 or 5 (taxis, hire cars, carriers, minibuses, omnibuses), if the driver is disqualified in the issuing country, if the licence has been suspended there, or if the LTA is satisfied the person is not fit to drive. Regulation 21(1) additionally requires that the licence be currently valid, that only the classes it authorises are driven, and that it be carried on the driver's person. (Land Transport (Driver) Regulations 2000, reg 21(1) and 21(2))

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

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

Fiji 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 31 Oct 1972.

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 Fiji with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Fiji as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Fiji is one of the most open jurisdictions in the matrix. Regulation 21 of the Land Transport (Driver) Regulations 2000 recognises a driver's licence issued by any other country - no treaty test, no approved list, no IDP requirement - for the equivalent vehicle class, for six months from the date of arrival. The limits are narrow but real: public-service classes 3, 4 and 5 are off-limits, the licence must be valid and carried on you, and the LTA may demand a certified English translation. Stay past six months and you must convert to a Fiji licence. 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 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] Land Transport (Driver) Regulations 2000, reg 21 (as at 30 January 2026 - unaffected by LN 90 of 2017 and LN 16 of 2026)

[2] Land Transport (Driver) Regulations 2000, reg 21(3)

[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 Fiji? Fiji's official IDPs are issued by Land Transport Authority (LTA). 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 Fiji? Rules for new residents

Fiji's six-month clock is not a tourist-only clock. Regulation 21(2)(b) cuts off every foreign-licence holder six months after arrival, resident or not, so anyone staying longer must hold a Fiji licence by then. Conversion, not a fresh test, is the normal route. Archived copy of the cited page.

Driving rules in Fiji tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Check belts, child restraints, tyres, lights, brakes, spare wheel, warning equipment, registration and insurance before driving - construction and equipment breaches are prosecutable under Land Transport Act 1998 s 50(3) (up to FJD 1,000 or 6 months). The detailed equipment schedule sits in the Land Transport (Vehicles Registration and Construction) Regulations 2000, which was not retrievable online on 29 July 2026.
• Drink-driving: The prescribed limit is 80 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood (0.08%) - Land Transport (Breath Tests and Analyses) Regulations 2000, reg 3(1), made for Land Transport Act 1998 s 103. A zero limit (0.00 g per 100 ml) applies under s 105 to holders of a Fiji learner's permit, provisional licence, heavy goods vehicle licence or public service vehicle licence. Refusing a breath test carries the same penalty as exceeding the limit. Driving or attempting to drive over the limit: first offence up to FJD 2,000 or 2 years' imprisonment plus mandatory disqualification of 3 months to 2 years; second offence up to FJD 5,000 or 5 years plus 6 months to 4 years' disqualification; with two or more prior convictions in the preceding 5 years, up to FJD 10,000 or 10 years plus 12 months to 5 years. Driving while incapable through drink or drugs (s 102) carries up to FJD 5,000 or 5 years and 5 years' disqualification. Expect insurance to be void.
• Speed limits: Drive on the left and obey posted km/h limits. Speeding fixed penalties were reset by the Land Transport (Fees and Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (LN 14 of 2026, made 22 January 2026): FJD 50 for less than 15 km/h over, FJD 75 for 15-29 km/h over, FJD 100 for 30 km/h or more over, with court maxima of FJD 500 or 3 months. Cut speed hard for villages, pedestrians, animals, rain and broken surfaces.
• Carry the original foreign licence on you whenever you drive - reg 21(1)(c) makes that a condition of the entitlement, and failure to comply is TIN code 504. Add a certified English translation or a genuine 1949 IDP if the licence is not in English, plus passport and entry evidence, vehicle registration, rental contract and insurance.
• UK government advice states plainly: 'You can use a UK driving licence to drive in Fiji.' That is the same reg 21 entitlement, not a UK-specific arrangement.
• Drive on the left. Avoid road travel outside urban areas after dark: many roads are in poor condition, street lighting is scarce, pedestrians and stray animals are common, and vehicle-safety rules are rarely enforced.
• Tropical cyclone season runs November to April; cyclones cause flooding and landslides that damage, block or wash away roads. Check weather and disaster-office alerts before setting out.

Read more about driving in Fiji

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

Watch what driving in Fiji looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Land Transport (Driver) Regulations 2000, reg 21(1) and 21(2)
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Land Transport (Breath Tests and Analyses) Regulations 2000, reg 3(1) - prescribed BAC 80 mg per 100 ml (Internet Archive copy of the LTA original)
5. Laws of Fiji portal (Office of the Attorney-General). Consolidated Law > Land Transport Act 1998 (updated 29 June 2026) for ss 56, 103, 105 and the Schedule of Prescribed Penalties; Law as Published > 2017 > LN 90 and > 2026 > LN 14 and LN 16 for the amendments checked
6. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic; Fiji shown as party by succession, 31 Oct 1972
7. UK FCDO Fiji travel advice - 'You can use a UK driving licence to drive in Fiji', road conditions, night driving, cyclone road damage
8. UK FCDO Fiji - emergency numbers 911 (ambulance, fire, police) and 910 (fire)
9. Land Transport Authority (LTA) — authorized IDP issuer in Fiji
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic