International Driving Permit in Georgia

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

Driving in Georgia: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Georgia?

No provision of the Law of Georgia on Traffic requires visiting drivers to hold an IDP; for non-Latin licences the law's remedy is a 'duly certified translation' — an IDP fulfils that role in practice.

• 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: Rental companies may ask for an IDP even when the law does not require one.

What side of the road does Georgia drive on?

Georgia drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Drives on the right, but right-hand-drive Japanese imports are very common on the road.

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

until licence expiry, max 1 year from last entry into Georgia (the clock resets on re-entry) (MIA Order 598 Art 49(1)(a) (foreign citizens), Art 48(1)(a) (Georgian citizens))

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

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

Georgia is a Contracting Party to both United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic — the Geneva Convention of 19 September 1949 and the Vienna Convention of 8 November 1968. International Driving Permits of both the 1949 and the 1968 type are therefore issued against its framework; which types Georgia accepts from visitors is shown in the table above.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: accession on 23 Jul 1993.
• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: accession on 23 Jul 1993.

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 Georgia with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Georgia as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Georgia recognizes any foreign state-issued licence for driving — no road-traffic-convention membership is required: MIA Order No 598, Art 49(1)(a) grants the right to drive until the licence expires, capped at 1 year from your last entry into Georgia (the clock resets when you re-enter). A certified translation (an IDP serves this purpose) is required only when the licence data are not in the Georgian or Latin alphabet (Law on Traffic, Art 21(17)). 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] MIA Order No 598 (consolidated), Art 49(1)(a)

[2] Law of Georgia on Traffic, Art 21(17)(b), Art 21(18)(b)

[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 Georgia? Georgia's official IDPs are issued by LEPL Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA Service Agency). 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 Georgia? Rules for new residents

Same-day exchange via MIA Service Agency; foreign confirmation document must be apostilled/legalized and not older than 90 days (MIA Order 598 Art 3(7)); Georgian citizens: 185-day residence rule in issuing country (EU-issued exempt); no hard statutory exchange deadline located. Official source.

Driving rules in Georgia tourists get fined for

• Rental companies may ask for an IDP even when the law does not require one.

Read more about driving in Georgia

• A car trip to Georgia
• 10 Interesting Facts About Georgia
• Best places to visit in Georgia
• What is Georgia Famous For?

Watch what driving in Georgia looks like

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

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Sources

1. MIA Order 598 Art 49(1)(a) (foreign citizens), Art 48(1)(a) (Georgian citizens)
2. Law of Georgia on Traffic, Art 21(17)(b), Art 21(18)(b)
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. LEPL Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia (MIA Service Agency) — authorized IDP issuer in Georgia
5. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
6. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic