International Driving Permit in Hong Kong

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

Driving in Hong Kong: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Hong Kong?

An IDP is not legally required in Hong Kong. Regulation 37 of the Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations (Cap. 374B) lets a visitor drive on 'a valid international driving permit OR a domestic driving licence issued in a place outside Hong Kong' — the two routes are alternatives, so a valid national licence from any country is sufficient on its own. Hong Kong-issued IDPs are issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention; the regulation's wording is not expressly limited to one convention, but the safe course for a 1968 Vienna IDP holder is simply to carry the national licence, which is independently sufficient. Car hire companies commonly demand an IDP regardless of the law.

• 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 valid domestic licence at all times — the Road Users' Code states you must 'hold a valid driving licence which you must have with you whenever you are driving'. Also carry your passport (to evidence the date of last entry), the rental agreement and insurance documents, and track that entry date because the 12-month clock runs from it.

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

What side of the road does Hong Kong drive on?

Hong Kong drives on the left-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the right. Drives on the left, unlike mainland China (right); side switches at cross-boundary bridges/crossings.

How long can you drive in Hong Kong with a foreign licence?

Up to 12 months following the date of the visitor's last entry into Hong Kong. The clock resets on each new entry. 'Visitor' means any person who arrives in Hong Kong other than to take up residence for a period exceeding 12 months (Cap. 374B reg 2, by reference to Cap. 374E reg 2). (Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations, Cap. 374B, regs 2 and 37)

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

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

Hong Kong 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: 1949 Geneva continued application to Hong Kong SAR; HK issues 1949 IDPs.

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 Hong Kong with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Hong Kong as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Hong Kong lets any visitor drive on their own national driving licence — from any country, with no international permit and no translation required — for up to 12 months after their last entry. An International Driving Permit is an accepted alternative, not a requirement, though car hire firms often insist on 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] Cap. 374B reg 37(1)(b) — 'a domestic driving licence issued in a place outside Hong Kong', no convention gate and no approved-country list

[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 Hong Kong? Hong Kong's official IDPs are issued by Transport Department (TD) — applications are accepted online. 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 Hong Kong? Rules for new residents

A person who arrives to take up residence for more than 12 months is not a 'visitor' and cannot rely on regulation 37 at all — they need a Hong Kong full or temporary driving licence. Note the two clocks are different: the visitor clock runs 12 months from last entry, while the temporary-licence clock runs 12 months from the date of arrival to take up residence (or the expiry of the overseas licence, whichever is first). Official source.

Driving rules in Hong Kong tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry the original licence, passport, rental agreement and insurance documents. Seat belts must be worn where fitted; in a private car the driver is legally responsible for making sure all passengers wear seat belts, and a child under 3 in a front seat must be secured in an approved child restraint. Two or more people must never share one belt.
• Drink-driving: The prescribed limit is 22 micrograms of alcohol per 100 ml of breath, 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or 67 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine. Police may demand a screening breath test from any driver stopped at random, and refusing without reasonable excuse to provide a breath, blood or urine specimen is itself an offence. Drink driving is a criminal offence. 'Any driver of motor vehicle found exceeding the prescribed limit will face prosecution under the law. If the proportion of alcohol far exceeds the prescribed limit, the penalty will be more severe.' The exact fine bands, disqualification periods and driving-offence points for each alcohol tier were not confirmed against a primary source on 29 July 2026; conviction also carries disqualification, driving-offence points and rental/insurance consequences.
• Speed limits: 'The speed limit for all roads is 50 km/h unless signed otherwise. On roads with faster traffic, the speed limit may be 70 km/h, 80 km/h, 100 km/h or 110 km/h.' Speed-limit signs mark the start of a change and are repeated along the road; a 50 km/h sign marks the end of a higher limit. Probationary drivers must not exceed 70 km/h.
• Carry the original valid domestic licence at all times — the Road Users' Code states you must 'hold a valid driving licence which you must have with you whenever you are driving'. Also carry your passport (to evidence the date of last entry), the rental agreement and insurance documents, and track that entry date because the 12-month clock runs from it.
• You may only drive vehicle classes your foreign licence itself authorises, and you must not be disqualified from holding or obtaining a driving licence — both are express conditions of regulation 37, not just good practice.
• Check the rental contract before travelling: 'Hire car companies often have stricter requirements for their customers, such as a year of driving experience, a higher minimum age and holding an international driving permit' — stricter than Hong Kong law requires.
• Drive on the left — the Road Users' Code instructs drivers to 'keep to the left except when traffic signs or road markings indicate you may do otherwise'. Expect dense urban traffic, heavy camera and speed enforcement, extensive tunnel and lane controls, and follow police or Transport Department instructions during typhoon and rainstorm warnings.

Read more about driving in Hong Kong

Watch what driving in Hong Kong looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. Transport and Logistics Bureau, IBC Paper 05/2024 — Information Note on Foreign Nationals Driving in Hong Kong and Guangdong (Nov 2024): reproduces reg 37, reg 7 age rule, the 1949-Convention IDP footnote and the Fourth Schedule annex. Government-authored paper, hosted on the NZ Chamber of Commerce HK site
4. Transport Department — Road Users' Code (2020 edition): prescribed alcohol limits, speed limits, seat belts, minimum age 18, dial 999
5. UK FCDO Hong Kong travel advice — 12-month visitor driving and stricter car-hire requirements
6. Community Legal Information Centre (HKU) — foreign licences in Hong Kong; corroborates reg 37(1)(b), reg 11(3) and reg 13
7. Transport Department (TD) — authorized IDP issuer in Hong Kong
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic