International Driving Permit in Latvia

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

Driving in Latvia: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Latvia?

A 1968 IDP is optional, not required. By law (Road Traffic Law, Section 47) Latvia accepts EU/EFTA/UK licences, any licence showing the 1968-Convention categories and, for any other licence, category B if the home licence permits driving a car. Latvia is not a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention, so only the 1968-type IDP has treaty status here — but drivers from 1949-only countries can still drive on their national licence under the category rules. If licence entries are not in Latin letters, carry a notarised Latvian translation.

• 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 — Licences issued by an EU Member State, an EFTA state or the United Kingdom are valid by law and are exempt from the one-year exchange requirement.

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

What side of the road does Latvia drive on?

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

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

A licence issued outside the EU/EFTA/UK may be used for up to 1 year from the moment of arrival in Latvia; a stay of more than one year triggers mandatory exchange (diplomats exempt). EU/EFTA/UK licences remain valid until their own expiry. (Latvian Road Traffic Law, Section 47(2); Road Traffic Safety Directorate, Change of a driving licence issued abroad)

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

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

Latvia is a Contracting Party to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, but not to the 1949 Geneva Convention.

• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: accession on 19 Oct 1992.

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 Latvia with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Latvia as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Latvia recognizes essentially any valid foreign licence for up to one year after arrival: EU/EFTA/UK licences by right, licences showing the 1968-Convention categories in full, and any other licence for category B cars. A 1968 IDP is optional; licences with non-Latin entries need a notarised Latvian translation (an IDP is advised). Longer-stay non-EU/EFTA/UK drivers must exchange, with a driving test. 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] Latvian Road Traffic Law, Section 47(1)-(2); Road Traffic Safety Directorate, Recognition of driving licences issued outside the EU

[2] Latvian Road Traffic Law, Section 47(1)(3)-(4); Road Traffic Safety Directorate, Recognition of driving licences issued outside the EU

[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 Latvia? Latvia's official IDPs are issued by Road Traffic Safety Directorate (CSDD) — 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 Latvia? Rules for new residents

A non-EU/EFTA/UK licence must be exchanged if the holder stays in Latvia for more than one year after arrival (persons with diplomatic or consular immunities are exempt). EU/EFTA/UK licences remain valid until expiry and can be exchanged without a special reason. Official source.

Driving rules in Latvia tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Emergency warning triangle, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher. Daytime running lights are mandatory. Winter tyres are mandatory from 1 December through 1 March.
• Drink-driving: The general BAC limit is 0.5 g/l. Drivers with less than two years' experience and professional drivers are subject to 0.2 g/l. Sanctions vary by the measured level, repeat history and whether the conduct crosses a criminal threshold; no single amount is stated here.
• Speed limits: Typical passenger-car limits are 50 km/h urban and 90 km/h outside built-up areas, with 80 km/h on gravel roads unless signs provide otherwise.
• Carry the original licence and identity document (warning or EUR 10 fine otherwise). Add the notarised Latvian translation when the licence entries are not in Latin letters; carry the IDP as a companion, not as a substitute for the national licence.
• Daytime running lights are mandatory. Winter tyres are mandatory from 1 December through 1 March.
• A car should carry an emergency warning triangle, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher. Seat belts and appropriate child restraints are mandatory.

Read more about driving in Latvia

• 10 Interesting Facts About Latvia
• Best places to visit in Latvia
• How to Get a Driver’s License in Latvia
• What is Latvia famous for?

Watch what driving in Latvia looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Latvian Road Traffic Law, Section 47(2); Road Traffic Safety Directorate, Change of a driving licence issued abroad
3. CSDD recognition rules for licences issued outside the EU
4. CSDD 1968 international driving permit guidance
5. CSDD list of states parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention
6. Law on Administrative Liability, Section 16(2): one fine unit = EUR 5
7. CSDD category B minimum age (Latvian)
8. Latvia road-safety rules supplied by national authorities (Your Europe)
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic