International Driving Permit in Palau

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

Driving in Palau: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Palau?

No IDP format is designated for Palau: Palau is absent from the GOV.UK list of countries requiring a 1926, 1949 or 1968 IDP, and no evidence was found that Palau is a contracting party to either road-traffic convention. Government advice is nevertheless split. The US State Department says only that 'Palau accepts a driver's license issued by a U.S. state or military authority for up to 30 days' and never mentions an IDP. GOV.UK says 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Palau for up to 30 days' and adds that paper-licence holders 'may need to update it to a photocard licence or get the correct version of the international driving permit (IDP) as well'. Australia's Smartraveller goes further and states as a requirement: 'To drive in Palau for up to 30 days, you need both: an International Driving Permit (IDP), a valid Australian driver's licence. You must get your IDP before you arrive.' Because no Palauan statute or Bureau of Public Safety rule could be located online, treat an IDP as strongly advisable (and, for Australians, as required by their own government's advice) rather than as a verified Palauan legal requirement, and confirm with the Bureau of Public Safety on (680) 488-2423.

• 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: Traffic drives on the right, but most cars are imported from Japan and are built for left-hand traffic, so right-hand-drive controls are common in rentals. Both configurations are legal. Check the controls and sight lines before you drive away.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Foreign-government travel advice.

What side of the road does Palau drive on?

Palau drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Drives on the right, but many imported cars are right-hand drive (from Japan).

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

Up to 30 days from arrival on the home-country licence. After 30 days any foreign driver must obtain a Palauan driving licence. Australians are told by their own government to carry an IDP alongside the licence for that 30-day window. (US State Department, GOV.UK and Smartraveller all state 30 days)

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

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

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

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Palau as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Palau lets visitors drive on their home-country licence for up to 30 days, after which a Palauan licence is compulsory for any foreign driver. Palau belongs to no road-traffic convention and designates no IDP format, but Australia's government tells its citizens an IDP is required and the UK points paper-licence holders to one, so an IDP is a sensible companion document, especially if your licence is not readable in English. 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] US Department of State ('Palau accepts a driver's license issued by a U.S. state or military authority for up to 30 days. After 30 days in Palau, any foreign driver must obtain a Palauan driver license.'); GOV.UK Palau travel advice; Smartraveller Palau

[2] Inference from Palau's official languages plus the absence of any published Palauan translation rule

[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 Palau? Rules for new residents

There is no separate resident clock. The same 30-day limit that ends the visitor's foreign-licence period is the point at which anyone staying on must hold a Palauan licence. Official source.

Driving rules in Palau tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Drivers and passengers must wear seat belts. Mobile-phone use while driving is not currently restricted by law but is inadvisable. Carrying the original licence with rental and insurance paperwork is normal practice; no statutory carry-list was found.
• Drink-driving: It is unlawful to drive under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs, but no numeric BAC limit is published in any accessible official source. Treat the safe limit as zero. The State Department notes that 'Fatalities caused by driving under the influence are frequent' and the UK notes drink-driving is a common cause of accidents. No official penalty figure for drink-driving in Palau was located. Expect criminal exposure and licence consequences; confirm locally rather than relying on any published number.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right. The national speed limit is 25 mph (about 40 km/h); Smartraveller states it as 40 km/h. Passing slow-moving vehicles is illegal everywhere. There are no traffic lights in Palau.
• Passing slow-moving vehicles is illegal in Palau, and the national speed limit is 25 mph (about 40 km/h). Drivers routinely ignore the limit on good rural roads, and UK advice warns that people overtake anyway, with poor safety awareness.
• Traffic drives on the right, but most cars are imported from Japan and are built for left-hand traffic, so right-hand-drive controls are common in rentals. Both configurations are legal. Check the controls and sight lines before you drive away.
• There are no traffic lights anywhere in Palau, and roads on the outer islands are often unsealed and impassable after rain without a suitable vehicle.
• Avoid driving after dark. Roads are unlit, rural signage and hazard warnings are limited, inland roads can be narrow and flood-damaged in the summer, and you could hit people or livestock. Drink-driving is a common cause of accidents, especially at night and at weekends.

Read more about driving in Palau

• Palau Digital Residency Program
• Best Places to Visit in Palau

Watch what driving in Palau looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. US State Department, GOV.UK and Smartraveller all state 30 days
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Smartraveller Palau - Driving permit: IDP plus Australian licence required for 30 days, obtain IDP before arrival, 40 km/h national limit, overtaking illegal, emergency 911
5. GOV.UK Palau - Emergency services: 'Telephone: 911 (ambulance, fire, police)'
6. GOV.UK IDP country lists (1926 / 1949 / 1968) - Palau does not appear on any of them
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic