International Driving Permit in Reunion

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

Driving in Reunion: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Reunion?

Reunion is a French overseas department, so French licensing law applies in full. For a short stay any valid foreign national licence may be used, but a non-EU/EEA licence must either be written in French, or be accompanied by an International Driving Permit, or by an official French translation. France is party to both the 1949 Geneva and 1968 Vienna Conventions, so either IDP type is accepted. An IDP is therefore not a standalone legal requirement in itself - it is one of the two ways to satisfy France's French-language condition, the other being a sworn translation. British licences are expressly exempt from the IDP requirement. EU/EEA licences are outside this rule entirely.

• 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 non-exempt licences that is an IDP.
• Car renters: Carry the original valid licence plus, where required, the IDP or the official French translation, together with passport, rental agreement, vehicle registration and insurance documents. A photocopy of the licence is not accepted.
• EU / EEA licence holders: no IDP needed — An EU or EEA licence is valid in Reunion with no IDP and no translation.

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

What side of the road does Reunion drive on?

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

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

A short stay of less than 185 days (6 months) in France, Reunion included. Beyond 185 days you are deemed to have acquired normal residence in France and the resident rules - not the visitor rules - apply. The licence must remain valid throughout and any medical restrictions endorsed on it must be observed. (Service-Public F1459, 'Conduire en France avec un permis etranger pendant un court sejour ou la duree des etudes' (updated 1 June 2026))

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

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

Reunion 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 Reunion accepts from visitors is shown in the table above.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: applies via France (territorial application).
• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: applies via France (territorial application).

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 Reunion with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Reunion as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Reunion is a French overseas department and an EU outermost region, so French licensing law applies unchanged. Any valid foreign national licence may be used for a short stay of under 185 days (6 months). EU and EEA licences are accepted as they are. A licence from anywhere else must be written in French, or be accompanied by an International Driving Permit (1949 or 1968), or by an official French translation prepared by a sworn translator or an embassy and legalised or apostilled if made abroad; British licences are exempt from the IDP requirement. Stay 185 days or more and you acquire normal residence, at which point a separate and much stricter resident exchange regime takes over. 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.
• Treaty recognises licence — IDP advised — the 1949 Geneva Convention obliges this destination to recognise your national licence, and separately allows a destination to require a 1949-type IDP; this row states the treaty position and does not settle which of the two this destination chose, so carrying an IDP is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis.
• Treaty recognises licence + IDP — advised — the 1968 Vienna Convention obliges this destination to recognise a national licence conforming to Annex 6 of that Convention, and separately an IDP presented together with the national licence it belongs to; this row does not record whether your own licence conforms to Annex 6, and the licence-and-IDP pair is recognised either way, so carrying both is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis.
• 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

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 Reunion? Reunion's official IDPs are issued by France Titres / ANTS (Agence nationale des titres securises) — 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 Reunion? Rules for new residents

Once you have normal residence in France (in practice, a stay of 185 days or more), a licence issued by a non-European country is valid for only 1 year from the acquisition of normal residence. Within that year it must be exchanged for a French licence, otherwise you must sit the French driving test. Official source.

Driving rules in Reunion tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry the licence and supporting documents; seat belts are compulsory for all occupants and approved child restraints are required. France additionally requires a warning triangle and a high-visibility vest to be carried and reachable from inside the vehicle - rental cars are normally supplied with both, but this equipment rule was not re-verified on 29 July 2026.
• Drink-driving: France's general blood-alcohol limit is 0.5 g/L, reduced to 0.2 g/L for probationary/novice licence holders and for bus and coach drivers. Not re-verified against a primary source on 29 July 2026. Fines, licence-point loss, suspension, criminal prosecution and loss of insurance cover can follow. Exact current figures not verified.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right and obey the posted limits. Do not assume metropolitan French figures apply: Reunion's expressways such as the Route des Tamarins and the Nouvelle Route du Littoral carry their own posted limits set locally, and limits are frequently lowered temporarily for weather, rockfall or roadworks. Built-up areas are signed at the standard French urban limit. Exact Reunion limit figures were not verified on 29 July 2026 and are listed as an open question.
• Carry the original valid licence plus, where required, the IDP or the official French translation, together with passport, rental agreement, vehicle registration and insurance documents. A photocopy of the licence is not accepted.
• Mountain and cirque roads serving Cilaos, Salazie and the Plaine-des-Cafres are steep, narrow, winding and exposed to rockfall; allow far more time than the distance suggests and never pass a barrier onto a closed volcanic or flood-affected route.
• Drive on the right and follow French signs, priority and roundabout rules. Monitor prefecture alerts for cyclones, heavy rain, Piton de la Fournaise eruptions and coastal swell, which routinely close roads at short notice.

Read more about driving in Reunion

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. Official reciprocity list for licence exchange, version at 1 May 2026 - applies to residents converting a licence, not to visitor recognition.
4. Service-Public - 'Le 0 800 112 112 : un numero qui vous rappelle en cas d'urgence' (updated 18 October 2024), listing the 12 free emergency numbers. National page; it does not mention overseas departments.
5. Prefecture of La Reunion - road closures, cyclone and volcanic alerts. Domain was not reachable on the date checked; retained as a plausible official source but unverified.
6. France Titres / ANTS (Agence nationale des titres securises) — authorized IDP issuer in Reunion
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic