International Driving Permit in Haiti

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

Driving in Haiti: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Haiti?

Haiti acceded to the 1949 Geneva Convention on 12 February 1958 and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the 1949 IDP is the only form Haiti is treaty-bound to accept. For a short visit an IDP is not a legal precondition: current UK FCDO guidance states verbatim that 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Haiti for up to 90 days' and 'After 90 days you'll need an IDP.' The IDP never replaces the national licence - carry both, plus your passport and entry stamp.

• 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: If you drive despite the warning, carry the original national licence, a genuine 1949 IDP where required, passport and entry evidence, vehicle registration, rental contract and proof of insurance. Paper-only licences should be upgraded to a photocard or paired with an IDP.

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

What side of the road does Haiti drive on?

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

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

Up to 90 days driving on your own national licence; after 90 days a 1949 IDP is required alongside it. This 90-day figure is documented by UK FCDO guidance for UK photocard holders; Haiti's own consolidated law was not located, and immigration status, licence validity, rental terms and insurance can end your authority to drive sooner. (UK FCDO Haiti travel advice, Safety and security - Road travel (verbatim: 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Haiti for up to 90 days ... After 90 days you'll need an IDP.'), last updated 10 December 2025)

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

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

Haiti 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: accession on 12 Feb 1958.

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 Haiti with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Haiti as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Haiti has been a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention since 1958 and is not a 1968 party, so the 1949 IDP is the only form it is bound to accept. A national licence from a 1949 contracting state is recognised in its own right - UK guidance documents 90 days on the licence alone, with an IDP needed after that. The overriding issue is safety: current advice warns against all travel, and road and emergency conditions can make self-driving untenable. 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] 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, Art. 24(2) and Annex 9 para. 3

[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 Haiti? Haiti's official IDPs are issued by Direction de la Circulation et de la Police Routiere (DCPR).
• 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 Haiti? Rules for new residents

Anyone staying beyond the visitor window should obtain a Haitian licence rather than renewing IDPs indefinitely. Driving licences are issued by the Direction de la Circulation et de la Police Routiere (DCPR) of the Police Nationale d'Haiti under the 2006 Decret relatif a l'immatriculation et a la circulation des vehicules - not by the MTPTC, whose site carries no licensing service. Secondary source.

Driving rules in Haiti tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: No verified official mandatory-equipment list was located. If travel is unavoidable, use a professionally assessed vehicle with sound tyres, lights and brakes, plus fuel reserve, communications, medical supplies and confirmed insurance.
• Drink-driving: Treat the limit as zero. No current official public Haitian BAC figure was located. No official penalty figure located. Impaired driving can lead to arrest, prosecution and voided insurance in an already severe security environment.
• Speed limits: Traffic drives on the right. Obey posted km/h limits; no consolidated official national speed-limit table was located, and road and security conditions routinely make posted limits irrelevant.
• UK FCDO advises against all travel to Haiti. Verbatim from the road-travel section: 'Road travel is highly dangerous. Armed carjacking is common and criminal groups often use improvised road blocks to extort or kidnap motorists.' There are no British consular officials in-country.
• If you drive despite the warning, carry the original national licence, a genuine 1949 IDP where required, passport and entry evidence, vehicle registration, rental contract and proof of insurance. Paper-only licences should be upgraded to a photocard or paired with an IDP.
• Use professional security and transport arrangements, monitor conditions continuously, and plan for fuel, communications, medical and evacuation contingencies. Self-driving is frequently not a realistic option regardless of paperwork.

Read more about driving in Haiti

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

Watch what driving in Haiti looks like

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

Open the video on YouTube if the player does not load.

Sources

1. UK FCDO Haiti travel advice, Safety and security - Road travel (verbatim: 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Haiti for up to 90 days ... After 90 days you'll need an IDP.'), last updated 10 December 2025
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. UK FCDO advises against all travel to Haiti (last updated 10 December 2025)
4. Haiti emergency numbers 116/115/122 and emergency-response limitations
5. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Convention on Road Traffic: Haiti accession 12 Feb 1958
6. UN Treaty Collection - 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: Haiti not a participant
7. 1949 Convention full text - Art. 24 recognition norm, Annex 8 minimum age 18, Annex 9 Latin-script model permit
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic