International Driving Permit in Mauritius

🗓 Facts checked against official government guidance for Mauritius and other official sources. Research last updated: 30 October 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 Mauritius: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Mauritius?
• What side of the road does Mauritius drive on?
• How long can you drive in Mauritius with a foreign licence?
• Is Mauritius a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Mauritius with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Mauritius? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Mauritius tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Mauritius
• Sources

Driving in Mauritius: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Mauritius?

The Road Traffic Act requires a Mauritian driving licence to drive (section 40(1)) but exempts the holder of an international driving permit (section 40(3)(a)); it names no convention, model, issuer or time limit for that permit, and the Police Traffic Branch's published pages name no IDP model either, so which IDP edition is accepted is not established. The Act counts a licence issued abroad as such a permit only where regulations give it effect in Mauritius (section 2), and those regulations are not published, so whether your own licence is enough without an IDP is not established either. The Mauritius High Commission in London says visitors with a driving licence issued by a competent authority in their own country may drive during their stay, which is more than the Act itself settles: check with the Police Traffic Branch before you travel. Other governments' advice: UK guidance states 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Mauritius'; Canadian guidance allows a valid Canadian licence for up to four weeks; Dutch guidance states that a Dutch licence is valid in Mauritius ('Uw Nederlandse rijbewijs is geldig in Mauritius'). The United Kingdom extended the 1949 Geneva Convention to Mauritius on 13 May 1959, before independence, and the UN treaty record lists no accession or succession by Mauritius itself. Car hire firms routinely impose their own IDP, higher minimum age and one-year-experience conditions regardless of the legal position. The Police Traffic Branch's International Driving Permit counter issues the IDP for a fee of Rs 800 to holders of a Mauritian driving licence travelling abroad; it asks for a National Identity Card and a valid Mauritian driving licence, so it is not a permit visitors obtain locally.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: The Road Traffic Act lets the holder of an international driving permit drive without a Mauritian licence, naming no model, issuer or time limit; whether a home licence alone is enough is left to regulations that are not published. Check with the authorities before you travel; the answer below says what is known.

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

What side of the road does Mauritius drive on?

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

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

Neither the Road Traffic Act nor the Police Traffic Branch names a visitor period; Canadian government guidance allows a valid Canadian driver's licence for up to four weeks. The Act leaves which foreign licences have effect, and on what conditions, to regulations (sections 2 and 190(4)(zd)); the Mauritius High Commission in London says visitors with a driving licence issued by a competent authority in their own country may drive during their stay, without naming a period. UK and Dutch guidance accept their national licences without naming one either. Treat four weeks as the planning assumption and arrange conversion or take local advice for a longer stay. (Government of Canada travel advice for Mauritius: 'You can drive in Mauritius with a valid Canadian driver's licence for up to four weeks.')

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

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

Mauritius is party to neither the 1949 Geneva Convention nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. An official convention IDP cannot be issued in Mauritius, 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 Mauritius with your country's licence?

This answer is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Mauritius as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. The Road Traffic Act lets the holder of an international driving permit drive without a Mauritian driving licence, but it names no IDP model or time limit, and it leaves to regulations that are not published whether a licence issued abroad is enough on its own, so every row below reads Not established. The Mauritius High Commission in London says visitors may drive during their stay on a licence issued by a competent authority in their own country, which is more than the Act itself settles, and UK, Canadian and Dutch government advice accepts those countries' own licences (Canada's for up to four weeks): check with the Police Traffic Branch before you travel. The 1949 Geneva Convention was extended to Mauritius in 1959, before independence, but the UN treaty record lists no accession or succession by Mauritius itself, and Mauritius is not a 1968 Vienna party. Driving is on the left, the drink-drive threshold is among the strictest anywhere (9 microgrammes per 100 ml of breath) and penalties run to imprisonment. Residents have a separate published police conversion route requiring a residence, work or occupation permit valid for at least six months. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: October 2026.

Legend: "1949" — Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (IDP valid up to 1 year); "1968" — Vienna Convention (IDP valid up to 3 years).

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 answer below says what could not be confirmed.

What you need to carry — Check with local authorities before travel

Why — The Road Traffic Act lets the holder of an international driving permit drive without a Mauritian licence, naming no model, issuer or time limit; whether a home licence alone is enough is left to regulations that are not published [1]

Sources and notes for the answer above

[1] Road Traffic Act 1962, ss. 2, 40(3) and 190(4)(zd)

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 Mauritius? Mauritius's IDPs are issued by Traffic Branch, Mauritius Police Force. Official site. Mauritius is party to neither road-traffic convention, so the permit is issued outside the UN convention framework and is not an official convention IDP — check that your destination accepts it.
• 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 Mauritius? Rules for new residents

Residents of Mauritius, including holders of a residence, work or occupation permit, can apply to convert an eligible foreign licence into a Mauritian driving licence through the Mauritius Police Force Traffic Branch Licensing Office. This is a residence-based route, separate from the visitor rule: its six-month condition is the validity the residence, work or occupation permit must have from the date of application, not a period during which a visitor may drive. Official source.

Driving rules in Mauritius tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry your licence and identification, plus rental and insurance paperwork if you have hired the car. Use seat belts and appropriate child restraints.
• Drink-driving: The prescribed limit published by the Mauritius Police Force is 9 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of breath, or 20 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 ml of blood. That blood figure is exactly one quarter of the England and Wales limit of 80 mg/100 ml, which corroborates UK guidance describing the Mauritian threshold as a quarter of England's legal limit. Canadian guidance describes the country as operating a zero-tolerance policy in practice. The only safe rule is no alcohol at all before driving. First conviction: fine of not less than Rs 20,000 and not more than Rs 50,000, imprisonment of up to 5 years, and disqualification from driving for at least 12 months. Subsequent conviction: fine of Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000, imprisonment of not less than 12 months and not more than 8 years, and cancellation of the licence for at least 24 months.
• Speed limits: The Police enforcement page publishes penalties rather than the general limits: Rs 2,500 for exceeding the limit by not more than 15 km/h, Rs 5,000 for more than 15 but not more than 25 km/h, and Rs 10,000 for more than 25 km/h. Obey posted limits and slow down on narrow, unlit or rain-affected roads.
• Traffic drives on the left.
• Carry your driving licence with you when driving. Local authorities may ask to see identification at any time, so carry valid ID or a photocopy.
• Accidents are common. Motorbikes are slow and often do not use headlights at night. Some roads are narrow and do not have pavements.
• During a cyclone you are not allowed to leave your accommodation, and car insurance policies often become invalid.
• Hire car companies often have stricter requirements than the law: a year of driving experience, a higher minimum age and holding an IDP.

Read more about driving in Mauritius

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Government of Canada travel advice for Mauritius: 'You can drive in Mauritius with a valid Canadian driver's licence for up to four weeks.'
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. UN Treaty Collection - 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: extended to Mauritius by the United Kingdom on 13 May 1959; Mauritius not among the parties
5. UN Treaty Collection - 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (Mauritius absent from participant list)
6. UK FCDO Mauritius - photocard accepted, hire-car conditions, road and cyclone warnings, alcohol
7. Mauritius Police - speeding penalty bands
8. UK FCDO Mauritius - emergency service numbers
9. Netherlands government travel advice - Dutch licence valid in Mauritius
10. Road Traffic Act 1962, MauritiusLII consolidation to 30 June 2017 - sections 2 and 40(3) (international driving permit) and 190(4)(zd) (foreign licences given effect by regulations); no visitor period
11. Mauritius High Commission, London - visitors may drive on a licence issued in their own country during their stay; no period named
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic