International Driving Permit in Iceland

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

Driving in Iceland: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Iceland?

An IDP is not a blanket legal requirement. Regulation 830/2011, Article 29, recognizes a valid non-EEA national licence for up to 12 months and expressly treats a foreign international permit as a licence: 'Með ökuskírteini í þessari grein er einnig, eftir því sem við á, átt við erlent alþjóðlegt ökuskírteini.' A non-EEA licence must use Latin letters or be accompanied by a translation into Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or English — an IDP satisfies this in practice as the standardized companion document. Iceland is a contracting party to the 1949 Geneva Convention and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the 1949 IDP is the applicable type (per UN treaty status, not just the supplied treaty profile). Official guidance (island.is international-driving-licence page) states an IDP 'is not valid on its own and must be presented alongside a valid driving licence' — always carry the original national licence.

• 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.
• EU / EEA licence holders: no IDP needed — Translation: a licence issued in an EEA state or the Faroe Islands entitles the holder to drive the same AM, A1, A2, A and B vehicles in Iceland during its validity, though not beyond the holder's 70th birthday.

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

What side of the road does Iceland drive on?

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

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

Up to 12 months on a valid non-EEA licence. EEA and Faroe Islands licences follow the separate validity rule in Article 29 para 1 (valid for the licence's own validity, up to age 70). Permanent residents encounter an earlier 6-month conversion clock in official service guidance — a different clock from the visitor rule. (Regulation 830/2011, Article 29, para 2)

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

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

Iceland 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 22 Jul 1983.

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 Iceland with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Iceland as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Iceland recognizes a valid national licence from any foreign state. Non-EEA licences are usable for up to 12 months, but they must use Latin letters or travel with a translation into Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or English — a 1949 IDP counts as such a companion document. An IDP is optional rather than universal, and it never replaces the national 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] Regulation 830/2011, Article 29, para 2

[2] Regulation 830/2011, Article 29, para 7

[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 Iceland? Iceland's official IDPs are issued by District Commissioners (Syslumenn) and the Icelandic Automobile Association (FIB). 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 Iceland? Rules for new residents

Official service guidance says a holder from outside the EEA, UK or Japan must apply for an Icelandic licence after 6 months of permanent residence and take both the theory and practical tests ('You cannot apply for an exchange until after 6 months of permanent residence, but after that you have to exchange'). EEA, UK, Switzerland and Japan licence holders can exchange after 6 months of permanent residence without retaking a test. This 6-month residence clock is distinct from the 12-month visitor recognition clock in Regulation 830/2011 Art 29. Official source.

Driving rules in Iceland tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Driving lights (headlights or daytime running lights plus rear lights) must always be on when a vehicle is in use on public roads ('traffic laws require that vehicle driving lights ... must always be used and turned on when a car is in use on public roads' — island.is). Seat belts are compulsory; use the appropriate child restraint. Off-road driving is prohibited, and a rental vehicle must be suitable for any permitted highland road.
• Drink-driving: The Traffic Act (77/2019) Article 49(2) treats a driver as unable to drive safely from 0.20 per mille blood alcohol or 0.10 mg/l breath ('Ef vínandamagn í blóði ökumanns nemur 0,20‰ ... telst hann ekki geta stjórnað ökutæki örugglega' — in the current consolidated text, as amended by L. 92/2024); official visitor material therefore advises no alcohol before driving. The fixed-fine schedule (Regulation 1240/2019, Annex II) starts at 0.50 per mille blood / 0.25 mg/l breath: first offence ISK 90,000 plus a 2-month disqualification, escalating with the measured level (up to ISK 270,000 and 3.5-year bans; repeat offences ISK 240,000-350,000 with 3-5-year bans). Driving at or above the Act's 0.20 per mille impairment threshold is nonetheless an offence. Refusal to test is punishable. Note: the island.is English service page states only the 0.5 per mille fine threshold — do not read it as the legal limit.
• Speed limits: Common limits are 30-50 km/h in urban areas, 80 km/h on gravel roads and 90 km/h on paved roads outside urban areas, unless signs set another limit (island.is speed-limits page).
• Carry the physical national licence. If it is not in Latin letters, carry the required-language translation; an IDP can serve as the standardized companion document but is not valid by itself ('an international driving license is not valid on its own and must be presented alongside a valid driving licence' — island.is).
• A foreign licence does not authorize commercial passenger or goods transport merely because it covers the vehicle category ('Erlent ökuskírteini veitir ekki rétt til farþega- og vöruflutninga í atvinnuskyni'), with carve-outs only for EEA/EU-directive states.
• Check road and weather conditions before departure; gravel, one-lane bridges, strong wind and rapidly changing conditions can make a legal speed unsafe.

Read more about driving in Iceland

• 10 Interesting Facts About Iceland
• On Wheels: A Report from the Transport Museum in Iceland
• What is Iceland famous for?

Watch what driving in Iceland looks like

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

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

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Regulation 830/2011, Article 29, para 2
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Iceland.is international driving licence guidance (confirms an IDP 'is not valid on its own')
5. Official category-B minimum-age guidance ('The age for driving a license is 17 years')
6. Official Iceland speed limits (30-50 urban / 80 gravel / 90 paved)
7. Official alcohol and drug driving guidance — caution: page states the 0.5 per mille fine-schedule threshold; the Traffic Act Art 49(2) impairment limit is 0.20 per mille
8. Official vehicle-light rule (driving lights always on when in use on public roads)
9. Icelandic Transport Authority visitor-driving guide (URL live; PDF content not machine-verified)
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic