International Driving Permit in Palestine Autonomous

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

Driving in Palestine: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Palestine?

Palestine's Traffic Law and its Executive Regulation differ on who may drive on a foreign licence. Traffic Law No. 5 of 2000 says that no one may drive without a valid licence issued under the Law (Article 26) and allows the holder of an international driving licence issued by a foreign authority to drive while it is valid, provided their stay in Palestine is lawful and on condition of reciprocity (Article 30); it names no state that meets that condition and no route for a home licence. The Executive Regulation of the Traffic Law (Cabinet Decision No. 393 of 2005), Article 343, exempts a visitor who does not hold a Palestinian identity card and holds an international driving licence or a licence issued in their own country from obtaining a Palestinian licence, provided they have reached the minimum age for that class of licence (17 and a half for a car), and sets no reciprocity condition. Neither text says which of the two governs a visitor, so whether you may drive on your home licence, or on an IDP, is not established: check with the Palestinian Ministry of Transport and Communications before you travel. Palestine acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic on 11 November 2019 and is not a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention; the Regulation defines an international driving licence by Annex 7 of the convention, the 1968 model. UK FCDO advice tells UK licence holders to carry both the 1968 IDP and their UK licence in the car, in wording it also uses for Israel. Which authority enforces these rules differs between Palestinian Authority areas, Israeli-controlled areas, East Jerusalem and Gaza.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: The Traffic Law admits a foreign international licence on condition of reciprocity and names no state that meets it; the Executive Regulation also exempts a visitor with a home licence, with no such condition. Neither says which governs. Check with the authorities before you travel; the answer below says what is known.
• Car renters: Carry your licence, passport and entry permission, the rental agreement and vehicle registration in the car. FCDO states: "You'll need to have both the 1968 version of the international driving permit (IDP) and your UK driving licence with you in the car" and "You must carry a green card to prove you have the minimum insurance cover." Neither Israel nor Palestine is on the Council of Bureaux list of Green Card countries, so carry proof of motor insurance valid for each area you drive in.

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

What side of the road does Palestine drive on?

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

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

Palestinian law names no visitor period: Traffic Law Article 30 admits an international licence issued abroad while it is valid and the holder's stay is lawful, on condition of reciprocity. In practice the stay is set by the entry permission issued at the Israeli-controlled crossing that every visitor must pass through. A home licence used under Executive Regulation Article 343 must stay valid; a 1968 IDP runs no more than three years from issue or until the underlying national licence expires, whichever is earlier. Re-check your entry permission before travel. (Traffic Law No. 5 of 2000, Article 30; FCDO Palestine travel advice (West Bank entry via Israeli military checkpoint); 1968 Vienna Convention, Annex 7)

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

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

Palestine 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 11 Nov 2019.

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 Palestine with your country's licence?

This answer is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Palestine as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Palestine acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic on 11 November 2019 and is not a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention. Its Traffic Law lets a visitor drive on an international driving licence issued abroad on condition of reciprocity, naming no state that meets that condition (Article 30), while its Executive Regulation also exempts a visitor who holds no Palestinian identity card and has a licence from their own country, with no such condition (Executive Regulation of the Traffic Law, Article 343). Neither text says which governs, so whether a given licence is recognised is not established for any country of issue: check with the Ministry of Transport and Communications before you travel. Treat the territories area by area: licensing authority, insurance validity, checkpoints, conflict risk and emergency access all change between Palestinian Authority areas, Israeli-controlled areas, East Jerusalem and Gaza. 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 Traffic Law admits a foreign international licence on condition of reciprocity and names no state that meets it; the Executive Regulation also exempts a visitor with a home licence, with no such condition. Neither says which governs. [1]

Sources and notes for the answer above

[1] Traffic Law No. 5 of 2000, Articles 26 and 30; Executive Regulation of the Traffic Law (Cabinet Decision No. 393 of 2005), Article 343

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 Palestine? Palestine's official IDPs are issued by Palestinian Motorsport and Motorcycle Federation (PMMF).
• 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 Palestine? Rules for new residents

Residents must obtain the licence required by the authority controlling their place of residence and the roads they use, which differs between Palestinian Authority areas, Israeli-controlled areas of the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza. Under Traffic Law Article 31, a foreign licence may be exchanged for a Palestinian licence of the same class, on condition of reciprocity. Foreign-government travel advice.

Driving rules in Palestine tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Original national licence, the 1968 IDP that UK government advice asks UK licence holders to carry, passport and entry permission, vehicle registration, rental agreement, and a green card or other proof of insurance valid for every area entered. Carry drinking water and a charged mobile phone.
• Drink-driving: Palestinian law sets no numeric blood-alcohol limit: it forbids driving under the influence of intoxicants or drugs (Traffic Law, Article 36; Executive Regulation, Article 175), so treat the limit as zero. Do not drink before driving; the applicable threshold and the enforcing authority can both change between Palestinian Authority areas, Israeli-controlled areas and East Jerusalem. The 2009 fines list puts driving under the influence of intoxicants or drugs in its top grade, a fine of 750 shekels (Cabinet Decision No. 3 of 2009, Articles 3 and 4). The Traffic Law also lets the police arrest such a driver without a warrant and bring them before a court within 24 hours (Article 96); a conviction carries three months to two years in prison, a fine of 180 dinars or its equivalent in the currency in circulation, or both, the maximum doubled for a repeat within two years (Article 110), and a ban on holding a licence for at least two months (Article 103). Expect police action, fines, licence and vehicle consequences, possible criminal liability and voided insurance.
• Speed limits: The Executive Regulation, Article 203, limits cars and other ordinary vehicles to 50 km/h inside city limits, 80 km/h outside them and 110 km/h on expressways; buses carrying more than 12 passengers to 50, 80 and 100 km/h; commercial vehicles over 12,000 kg to 50, 80 and 90 km/h; and every vehicle to 25 km/h on a mixed street used by drivers, cyclists and pedestrians. Exceeding a limit by up to 30 km/h is fined 300 shekels under the 2009 fines list; more than 30 km/h over brings a court summons (Traffic Law, Article 98), and a conviction carries two months to one year in prison, a fine of 120 dinars or its equivalent, or both (Article 111), and a licence ban of at least two months (Article 103). Obey posted limits and checkpoint instructions; police use radar traps and impose heavy fines for speeding. Road closures, checkpoints and security conditions override normal route planning.
• Carry your licence, passport and entry permission, the rental agreement and vehicle registration in the car. FCDO states: "You'll need to have both the 1968 version of the international driving permit (IDP) and your UK driving licence with you in the car" and "You must carry a green card to prove you have the minimum insurance cover." Neither Israel nor Palestine is on the Council of Bureaux list of Green Card countries, so carry proof of motor insurance valid for each area you drive in.
• Many hire companies exclude the West Bank. FCDO: "check your insurance will cover you there. Some hire companies do not insure vehicles taken there", and it "may be easier to hire a fully insured car from a company in East Jerusalem". Get territorial cover confirmed in writing before you drive.
• FCDO: "You cannot travel into or out of the West Bank without passing through at least one Israeli military checkpoint"; "Road closures can occur with little notice"; "Expect road closures and numerous checkpoints across the West Bank." Checkpoints may close during Jewish high holidays, Israeli public holidays and periods of increased instability.
• FCDO names specific hazardous arterial routes: "Incidents have also occurred along Route 60 (especially junctions near Nablus), Route 443 and other West Bank arterial roads used by both Palestinians and Israelis." It also advises "not to use taxis in the West Bank, because of their involvement in a significant number of accidents".
• Avoid driving into ultra-Orthodox Jewish areas of Jerusalem during Shabbat (Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall); FCDO warns that "local residents may throw stones at your car".
• Travel advisory levels are area-specific and drive insurance validity: FCDO "advises against all travel to Gaza", against all travel to "Tulkarm Governorate, Jenin Governorate, and Tubas Governorate except Route 90", and against all but essential travel to "The rest of the West Bank", except East Jerusalem, Bethlehem Governorate, Ramallah Municipality, Jericho municipality and all areas south of it (including the Allenby crossing), Highway 1 between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv with the areas south and west of it (including Highway 3), and Route 443 and Highway 45. FCDO's words do not say whether the Route 90 exception covers all three governorates or Tubas Governorate alone, so check FCDO's current advice and its map before you drive there. Travel insurance "could be invalidated if you travel against advice".

Read more about driving in Palestine

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Traffic Law No. 5 of 2000, Article 30; FCDO Palestine travel advice (West Bank entry via Israeli military checkpoint); 1968 Vienna Convention, Annex 7
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: State of Palestine acceded 11 Nov 2019
5. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: State of Palestine absent from the participant list
6. FCDO Palestine — 1968 IDP, green card and car-hire wording (shared with the FCDO Israel page)
7. FCDO Palestine — area-specific advisory levels and insurance invalidation
8. FCDO Palestine — emergency numbers 101 / 102 / 100
9. Executive Regulation of the Traffic Law, Cabinet Decision No. 393 of 2005, full text (Al-Muqtafi, Birzeit University)
10. Cabinet Decision No. 2 of 2009 amending the Executive Regulation: licence classes and the minimum age for each (Al-Muqtafi, Birzeit University)
11. Cabinet Decision No. 3 of 2009, the traffic fines list (Al-Muqtafi, Birzeit University)
12. Council of Bureaux — member countries of the Green Card motor-insurance system
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
14. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic