International Driving Permit in Guernsey

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

Driving in Guernsey: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Guernsey?

No IDP is required to drive in Guernsey. The States of Guernsey Driver and Vehicle Licensing service publishes only one licence rule for incomers: 'You can drive on a full overseas licence upon arrival in Guernsey, but for a maximum period of one year only' (that one-year cap is the residence clock). An IDP is nevertheless worth carrying if your licence is not in the Latin alphabet or carries no photograph, purely to smooth police checks and car hire. The Bailiwick of Guernsey is covered by the UK's extension of the 1949 Geneva Convention (28 May 1958) and of the 1968 Vienna Convention (notified 26 February 1919 — read: 26 February 2019, in force 30 days later), so both IDP types are honoured.

• 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 licence itself plus rental and insurance documents, and confirm the hire company's own age and licence-held minimums before booking.
• EU / EEA licence holders: no IDP needed — EU/EEA licences are accepted in Guernsey — but not because of EU law.

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

What side of the road does Guernsey drive on?

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

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

No visitor-specific time limit is published. A valid full overseas driving licence covers an ordinary holiday or business visit to Guernsey. Do not read the 12-month figure as a tourist clock: it is a residence clock that starts when you take up residence in the Bailiwick (Driving Licences (Guernsey) Ordinance, 1995, s.3 — 'A person who becomes resident in the Island shall during the period of one year after he becomes so resident be treated ... as the holder of a full licence'). (Driving Licences (Guernsey) Ordinance, 1995, s.3; States of Guernsey Driving Licence FAQs)

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

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

Guernsey 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 Guernsey accepts from visitors is shown in the table above.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: applies via United Kingdom (territorial application).
• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: applies via United Kingdom (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 Guernsey with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Guernsey as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Guernsey is a Crown Dependency with its own driving law — not the UK, not the EU. In practice you drive on your own valid full national licence: the States of Guernsey licence rules speak simply of a 'full overseas licence', with no convention list and no approved-country list attached, and no IDP is required. Carry an IDP anyway if your licence is not in the Latin alphabet. The 12-month figure you will see quoted is a residence deadline, not a tourist allowance: it starts when you move to the Bailiwick, and by then you must have exchanged your licence for a Guernsey one. 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] Driving Licences (Guernsey) Ordinance, 1995, s.3 (consolidated text) + States of Guernsey DVL new-resident and exchange guidance

[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 Guernsey? Guernsey's official IDPs are issued by Driver and Vehicle Licensing, States of Guernsey (DVL). 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 Guernsey? Rules for new residents

Anyone moving permanently to the Bailiwick of Guernsey may drive on a valid full foreign licence for one year from taking up residence, and must exchange it for a Guernsey licence within that year. States of Guernsey DVL: 'A new resident to Guernsey or Alderney can drive for up to one year using a valid full foreign driving licence.' After 12 months the holder is not covered to drive on the foreign licence at all until the exchange is done. Official source.

Driving rules in Guernsey tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry your driving licence, and the rental, registration and insurance documents. Seat belts and approved child restraints are compulsory (Guernsey has its own seat-belt law, enforced by Guernsey Police). Vehicles parked at night must show lights unless in a disc zone or approved parking place; single parking lights are not allowed and you must not park facing oncoming traffic.
• Drink-driving: Guernsey enforces its own drink-driving law — the Road Traffic (Drink Driving) (Guernsey) Law, 1989, as amended — and the police do make random checks. The current prescribed breath/blood/urine limits could not be verified from the consolidated text on 29 July 2026; do not publish a number until it is confirmed with Guernsey Police or the consolidated 1989 Law. Conviction carries court penalties including disqualification, with criminal-record and motor-insurance consequences. Specific tariff bands unverified.
• Speed limits: The maximum speed limit in the island is 35 mph (56 km/h). In and around St Peter Port it is 25 mph (40 km/h), and lower limits are signed in some areas. These are maxima, not recommended speeds — the lanes routinely demand much less.
• Drive on the left. 'Filter in turn' junctions are a Guernsey speciality: where the words are on a sign and painted on the road, all directions have equal priority and vehicles enter strictly one at a time — and because these are usually box junctions you must not enter unless your exit is clear.
• A yellow line across the exit of a minor road means stop and give way to the major road (a yellow arrow painted on the road warns of one ahead). A single yellow line along the side of the road means no stopping for any reason other than to avoid an accident.
• Parking is free but clock-controlled. Most on-street bays and car parks are 'disc zones': you must display an approved parking clock showing your arrival time, day or night. Clocks cost about £5.70 from Driver & Vehicle Licensing or the Police Station and are also sold on the ferry and at the Guernsey Information Centre. Having left a disc zone you must not re-park in the same zone for 30 minutes.
• Accidents causing personal injury or serious damage must be reported to the police within 24 hours. Minor damage-only accidents need not be reported provided names and addresses are exchanged.
• Roads are exceptionally narrow, walled or hedged lanes with poor visibility; few junctions away from the primary routes are signposted, and the convex mirrors at some junctions make approaching vehicles look further away than they are. Expect horses, cattle, cyclists and pedestrians.
• Bringing your own car: a vehicle imported by someone moving to the island may be driven for only 14 days after arrival, after which it must stay off the public highway until registered in Guernsey. Guernsey Police announced enforcement action against unregistered on-island vehicles in June 2025.
• Carry the licence itself plus rental and insurance documents, and confirm the hire company's own age and licence-held minimums before booking.

Read more about driving in Guernsey

Watch what driving in Guernsey looks like

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Driving Licences (Guernsey) Ordinance, 1995, s.3; States of Guernsey Driving Licence FAQs
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. States of Guernsey DVL — 'Exchange of foreign driving licences' country table (last updated 12/2023)
5. Driving Licences (Guernsey) Ordinance, 1995 (consolidated text) — s.3 residence clock, s.12 + Sch.6A minimum ages
6. States of Guernsey — 'Driving in Guernsey is different' leaflet (V052022): 35 mph maximum, filter in turn, disc parking
7. States of Guernsey — 'Advice and information for new Guernsey residents' ('You can drive on a full overseas licence upon arrival in Guernsey, but for a maximum period of one year only')
8. Guernsey Police — 999 emergency / 222222 non-emergency
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: UK notification of 26 February 2019 extending it to the Bailiwick of Guernsey
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: UK extension to Guernsey, 28 May 1958
11. States of Guernsey — Driving abroad / International Driving Permits (confirms Guernsey issues 1926, 1949 and 1968 permits and sought Vienna extension in Dec 2018)
12. Driver and Vehicle Licensing, States of Guernsey (DVL) — authorized IDP issuer in Guernsey
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
14. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic