International Driving Permit in Mongolia

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

Driving in Mongolia: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Mongolia?

Article 17.3 lets a foreign citizen drive for 1 year after entry on a national licence issued by a 1968 Vienna Convention member state, or on a driving licence/IDP compliant with that Convention — so an IDP is not legally mandatory when the national licence itself qualifies. Article 17.4 expressly prohibits driving on an IDP issued by a non-Vienna state: a 1949 IDP from a 1949-only country (e.g. USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, India) does not work at all. UK government advice confirms in practice: 'You need a 1968 international driving permit (IDP)' and 'The 1949 IDP is not accepted any more.'

• 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.

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

What side of the road does Mongolia drive on?

Mongolia drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Many imported used cars are right-hand drive (from Japan) despite right-side traffic.

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

A qualifying foreign citizen may drive the relevant vehicle category for one year after entering Mongolia. (Mongolian Road Traffic Safety Law, Article 17.3)

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

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

Mongolia 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 Dec 1997.

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 Mongolia with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Mongolia as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Mongolia is a strict 1968-only Vienna Convention destination. A national licence from a 1968 Vienna member state supports driving for one year after entry, ideally accompanied by a 1968 IDP. IDPs issued by non-Vienna states — including every 1949 IDP (USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, India and other 1949-only countries) — are expressly prohibited, so those travellers cannot rely on an IDP at all. After the one-year period, exchange for a Mongolian 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.
• Not recognised — the record shows no route to drive here as a visitor on this licence; ask the local authorities about conversion or a temporary permit. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what stands in the way.
• 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.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] UN Treaty Collection, Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General — status of the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-1) and of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-19) — XI-B-1, XI-B-19

[a] Licence categories do not follow the convention A–E scheme — rental staff may ask for an IDP to map them.

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 Mongolia? Mongolia's official IDPs are issued by Traffic Police of the National Police Agency (+ authorised driving schools).
• 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 Mongolia? Rules for new residents

The foreign-licence visitor permission ends one year after entry (same entry-based clock as the visitor rule). A holder of a Convention-compliant licence from a 1968 member state can exchange it for a Mongolian licence without the traffic-law test; a holder from a non-party state must pass a 20-question test. Official source.

Driving rules in Mongolia tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat belts are required for front and rear occupants, motorcycle helmets for drivers and passengers, and hand-held phone use is banned. Carry a warning triangle, first-aid kit, fire extinguisher and robust breakdown supplies for remote travel, while confirming the exact compulsory inventory with the rental operator.
• Drink-driving: Mongolian law sets no permitted blood-alcohol level. The traffic rules prohibit driving after consuming any alcohol, and a joint Health and Justice ministerial order treats a driver as having consumed alcohol at 0.20 per mille in breath or 0.5 per mille in blood. WHO’s 2023 legislative review records 0.04 g/dl, which no Mongolian instrument states. Plan on zero. Current sanctions were not safely reduced to one amount. Do not drink before driving; alcohol-related cases can lead to loss of driving rights and, since recent Criminal Law amendments, criminal liability.
• Speed limits: Maximums in the current traffic rules are 60 km/h in settlements, 80 km/h outside settlements and 100 km/h on expressways, unless a sign sets another limit.
• Carry the original valid national licence, any 1968 IDP used, passport and entry evidence, registration and insurance. The vehicle category must match. A 1949-only licence or IDP does not satisfy Article 17.
• Traffic keeps to the right. The current traffic rules set maximum passenger-car limits of 60 km/h in settlements, 80 km/h outside settlements and 100 km/h on expressways; posted signs govern.
• Driving outside Ulaanbaatar can involve long unpaved stretches (only about 10% of roads are tarmacked), minimal signposting, severe weather and large areas without mobile coverage. Carry water, provisions and backup communications, share the route, and avoid remote solo driving.

Read more about driving in Mongolia

• A car trip across Mongolia
• The World’s Most Scenic Routes: A Road Trip Guide to Breathtaking Highways
• 10 Interesting Facts About Mongolia
• Best Places to Visit in Mongolia

Watch what driving in Mongolia looks like

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

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

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Mongolian Road Traffic Safety Law, Article 17.3
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. National Police Agency minimum-age and licence-issuance guidance
5. Current Mongolian Traffic Rules, Government Resolution 2018 No. 239, amended incl. 2025 No. 263
6. WHO 2023 road-safety legislative profile (BAC 0.04, speed limits, belt/helmet/phone laws)
7. UK government travel advice — 1968 IDP requirement ('1949 IDP is not accepted any more') and road conditions
8. Police emergency-line call statistics confirming 101/102/103/105 in service
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic status (91 state parties)
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic