International Driving Permit in Marshall Islands

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

Driving in Marshall Islands: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Marshall Islands?

The Marshall Islands is not a party to the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna road-traffic conventions, so an IDP has no legal status there and no Marshall Islands law mentions one. A non-resident over 18 who is duly licensed in his home state, territory or country and has that licence in immediate possession may drive for 30 days from entry on the home licence alone (13 MIRC Ch.1 s.112(2)). After 30 days a Marshall Islands operator's licence is required, though no examination is imposed on this non-resident route. An IDP is never a substitute for the home licence and never extends the 30 days; it is only useful as an informal translation aid.

• 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: Third-party motor insurance of USD 25,000 is compulsory and is a condition of registration; operating or letting someone operate an uninsured vehicle carries a fine of USD 100 to USD 500. Rental vehicles should already be covered, but confirm this with the renter.

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

What side of the road does Marshall Islands drive on?

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

How long can you drive in Marshall Islands with a foreign licence?

30 days from the time of entry into the Republic, driving on the valid home licence. (Motor Traffic Act 1986, 13 MIRC Ch.1 s.112(2))

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

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

Marshall Islands is party to neither the 1949 Geneva Convention nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. An official convention IDP cannot be issued in Marshall Islands, and convention rules do not bind it — licence acceptance is governed purely by local law and bilateral arrangements.

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 Marshall Islands with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Marshall Islands as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. The Marshall Islands is outside both road-traffic conventions, so an IDP carries no legal weight there. Instead, national law lets any visitor over 18 drive on a valid home-country licence for 30 days from entry. Past 30 days a local operator's licence is required, but the driving examination is waived on that route. 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] Motor Traffic Act 1986, 13 MIRC Ch.1 s.112(2) (current consolidation)

[2] Motor Traffic Act 1986, 13 MIRC Ch.1 s.112(2) (no language clause); practical inference, no published police policy located

[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 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 Marshall Islands? Rules for new residents

Once 30 days from entry have elapsed, a non-resident must hold a Marshall Islands operator's licence. Section 112(2) waives the driving examination for this route, so it functions as a straight conversion of the home licence rather than a re-test. Official source.

Driving rules in Marshall Islands tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat belts are mandatory for the driver and each front-seat passenger, with an approved restraining device for infants under 3; the penalty is a USD 50 fine, up to 3 months' imprisonment, or both. Carry the licence on you and the registration card in the vehicle. All vehicles are subject to safety inspection and certification before use on public roads.
• Drink-driving: 0.10 percent alcohol by weight in blood, measured by blood or breath test, is the statutory offence threshold; it is separately an offence to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs to a degree that removes the caution of a sober person. A breath test is compulsory on lawful arrest with reasonable grounds, and refusal costs the licence for six months. First conviction: at least 3 days and up to 1 year in jail, a fine of USD 100 to USD 1,000, and licence withdrawal of 30 days to 6 months. Second or later conviction within 5 years: at least 20 days and up to 1 year in jail, USD 200 to USD 1,000, licence 60 days to 6 months. Where serious injury is caused: 1 to 3 years in jail, USD 200 to USD 2,000, licence 90 days to 2 years. Minimums are mandatory; community service may replace the fine only.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right. Statutory limits unless signs say otherwise: 25 mph in any business or residential area, 40 mph outside them, and 15 mph passing schools at opening, closing or recess, churches on Sunday mornings, and public processions. The Commissioner may set higher or lower posted limits by regulation.
• Carry the valid home licence for the first 30 days, then the Marshall Islands operator's licence. A licence must be in immediate possession while driving (s.119), and the vehicle's registration card must be carried in the vehicle at all times while it is on a highway (s.107(2)).
• Drive on the right: the operator must keep to the right half of the highway except when overtaking or where the right half is impassable.
• Third-party motor insurance of USD 25,000 is compulsory and is a condition of registration; operating or letting someone operate an uninsured vehicle carries a fine of USD 100 to USD 500. Rental vehicles should already be covered, but confirm this with the renter.
• Road conditions on Majuro and Ebeye are widely described as a single main paved road with few signs, no traffic lights, tidal flooding and poor night visibility, with pedestrians, children and animals on the carriageway. This is unverified for this revision: the cited US State Department page was not serving content on 2026-07-29 and the UK FCDO advice has no road-travel section. Treat as background, not as a sourced statement.

Read more about driving in Marshall Islands

• Best Places to Visit in the Marshall Islands

Watch what driving in Marshall Islands looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Driving Under the Influence Act, 13 MIRC Ch.3 (P.L. 1993-46) - BAC threshold, implied consent and penalties
3. RMI Parliament - index of principal legislation (used to confirm which consolidation is current)
4. UK FCDO - Marshall Islands emergency numbers
5. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Convention on Road Traffic participants (Marshall Islands absent)
6. UN Treaty Collection - 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic participants (Marshall Islands absent)
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic