International Driving Permit in Norway

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

Driving in Norway: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Norway?

An IDP is not universally required. Norway accepts a valid national licence from a 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Convention state when the licence is issued to a Convention model or to the EU/EEA model. A Convention-state licence on a purely national model is accepted only with an authorised translation into Norwegian - a Geneva or Vienna IDP satisfies this. An IDP is also needed if the licence has no photograph, if the information is written in an alphabet other than the Latin alphabet (Arabic, Cyrillic, Japanese and similar), or if the categories differ from the international Geneva/Vienna categories. An IDP is only ever accepted together with the valid national licence (Førerkortforskriften section 8-2 fifth paragraph); it never replaces it.

• 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: Carry the original valid national licence plus any required IDP or approved translation, and your passport, rental papers and insurance. Section 24 of the Road Traffic Act requires the licence to be carried while driving. An IDP is only valid together with the national licence, never instead of it.
• EU / EEA licence holders: no IDP needed — A licence issued in another EEA state is valid in Norway in accordance with its content, with no three-month visitor cap, subject to Norwegian age rules.

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

What side of the road does Norway drive on?

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

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

Non-EU/EEA visitors: normally three months from arrival in Norway. Up to six months if you hold a Norwegian residence permit valid for more than three months plus a current employment contract - both documents must be carried while driving. Special rule the official English page omits: a driver of a foreign-registered vehicle may use the foreign licence for up to one year, provided the vehicle is only temporarily in Norway and the driver is not permanently resident in Norway. If you take up normal residence, the three months instead run from the date of registration in the National Population Register, regardless of any earlier temporary stay. EU/EEA, UK and Swiss licences are not subject to the three-month cap at all. (Førerkortforskriften section 8-2 second paragraph; Norwegian Public Roads Administration non-EU/EEA page)

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

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

Norway is a Contracting Party to both United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic — the Geneva Convention of 19 September 1949 and the Vienna Convention of 8 November 1968. International Driving Permits of both the 1949 and the 1968 type are therefore issued against its framework; which types Norway accepts from visitors is shown in the table above.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: ratification on 11 Apr 1957.
• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: ratification on 1 Apr 1985.

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 Norway with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Norway as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Norway accepts both 1949 Geneva and 1968 Vienna IDPs, but an IDP is not usually required on its own. EU/EEA, UK and Swiss licences are valid without any time cap. Licences from other Convention states are valid for three months from arrival when issued to a Convention or EU/EEA model; a national-model licence needs an authorised Norwegian translation or an IDP. An IDP is required if the licence has no photo, is in a non-Latin alphabet, or uses non-standard categories. Six months applies with a residence permit plus employment contract, and one year when driving a foreign-registered vehicle. Svalbard has its own, more generous rules. 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 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] Norwegian Public Roads Administration, 'Using a driving licence from a non-EU/EEA country in Norway'

[2] 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 Norway? Norway's official IDPs are issued by Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF); also KNA (Royal Norwegian Automobile Club) and MA - Rusfri Trafikk — 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 Norway? Rules for new residents

Two different clocks. Visitors get three months from arrival (six with a permit plus employment contract, one year when driving a foreign-registered vehicle). A person who takes up normal residence gets three months from the date of registration in the National Population Register, and that period is not extended by any earlier tourist stay. After that the licence must be exchanged where exchange is permitted, or a Norwegian licence obtained through the ordinary training-and-test route. Official source.

Driving rules in Norway tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Headlights (or daytime running lights) must be on at all times, day and night, all year. Seat belts are compulsory for all occupants. A warning triangle and a high-visibility vest should be carried and reachable from inside the vehicle. Tyres: minimum tread 1.6 mm in summer and 3 mm in winter. The winter 3 mm requirement runs 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday inclusive, and 16 October to 30 April in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark. Studded tyres are allowed only within those same windows (longer if conditions require) and must be fitted on all wheels.
• Drink-driving: The legal limit is 0.2 per mille (0.02 g/dl) blood alcohol, or 0.1 milligram per litre of breath - one of the strictest in Europe. The only safe rule is no alcohol before driving. Statutory bands under Road Traffic Act section 31 second paragraph: as a rule a fine up to and including 0.5 per mille; a fine plus suspended or immediate imprisonment above 0.5 up to and including 1.2 per mille; a fine plus immediate imprisonment above 1.2 per mille. Loss of licence normally follows. Fine amounts are commonly assessed against gross income, so no single figure applies.
• Speed limits: 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside built-up areas unless a sign sets another limit. Motorway and local limits are signed. Speed enforcement includes fixed and average-speed cameras.
• Carry the original valid national licence plus any required IDP or approved translation, and your passport, rental papers and insurance. Section 24 of the Road Traffic Act requires the licence to be carried while driving. An IDP is only valid together with the national licence, never instead of it.
• Traffic keeps to the right. Unless a sign says otherwise the limit is 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside built-up areas. Conditions - ice, darkness, fog, animals - can legally require a much lower speed, because the Act obliges you to adapt speed to place, road, visibility and traffic.
• Weather, darkness, mountain passes, ferries and rapidly changing winter conditions materially affect journey times and road access. Check official traffic information before departure and make sure the tyres are legal and appropriate for the season and region.
• Svalbard follows different driving-licence rules from mainland Norway - if the trip includes Longyearbyen, read the dedicated Svalbard page rather than assuming the mainland three-month rule.

Read more about driving in Norway

• Getting a driver’s license in Norway
• 10 Interesting Facts About Norway
• Best places to visit in Norway
• What is Norway famous for?

Watch what driving in Norway looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Førerkortforskriften section 8-2 second paragraph; Norwegian Public Roads Administration non-EU/EEA page
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Førerkortforskriften Chapter 8 - recognition of foreign licences, temporary stay (sections 8-1 to 8-6), consolidated text
5. Førerkortforskriften Chapter 9 - recognition of foreign licences, normal residence (sections 9-1 to 9-7)
6. Official Svalbard driving-licence regime (separate from mainland Norway)
7. Official EU/EEA exchange guidance
8. Official category B minimum-age guidance
9. Official tyre tread-depth and studded-tyre season requirements
10. Official medical emergency and 116 117 guidance (content not re-read on 29 July 2026)
11. Norwegian Automobile Federation (NAF); also KNA (Royal Norwegian Automobile Club) and MA - Rusfri Trafikk — authorized IDP issuer in Norway
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic