International Driving Permit in Turkmenistan

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

Driving in Turkmenistan: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Turkmenistan?

Turkmenistan is a party only to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (acceded 14 June 1993) and is not a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention. Only a 1968-format IDP has treaty standing there, so the 1949-format IDP issued in the USA, Japan, Ireland, Australia and around forty other states does not cover you. Carry the original domestic licence together with the 1968 IDP in the car, and obtain the IDP in your own country before travel - it cannot be issued abroad. Whether Turkmen national law also accepts a certified Turkmen or Russian translation instead of an IDP (the alternative allowed by Vienna Convention Article 41) could not be confirmed: the Turkmen legal database was not reachable, and every accessible official source instructs drivers to carry the 1968 IDP.

• 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: Always carry your passport; police carry out identity-document checks. Keep the original licence and the 1968 IDP in the car, along with the vehicle, insurance and rental paperwork.

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 Turkmenistan drive on?

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

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

No visitor driving-day cap could be verified in any accessible source - the previous claim that guidance 'states no separate fixed driving-day cap' is not supported by the cited page, which is simply silent. In practice driving is bounded by the validity of the visa and of the licence/IDP. Turkmen visas are short and route-bound; UK guidance notes transit visas of under 5 days and that you must enter and leave using the border crossings named on the letter of invitation. (UK FCDO travel advice, Turkmenistan - Entry requirements (fetched 2026-07-29): "must enter and leave Turkmenistan using the border crossings you included on the letter of invitation.")

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

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

Turkmenistan 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 14 Jun 1993.

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 Turkmenistan with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Turkmenistan as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Turkmenistan is a party only to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (acceded 14 June 1993) and not to the 1949 Geneva Convention, so only a 1968-format IDP has any standing there. UK government guidance tells drivers to keep the 1968 IDP and the original licence in the car. No separate visitor driving-day cap could be verified in any official source: driving is bounded by visa validity, and Turkmen visas are short and tied to named border crossings. Strict document checks, unsigned speed cameras and restricted routes make complete paperwork essential. 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] 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, Art. 41; UN Treaty Collection ch. XI-B-19 status page (Turkmenistan, accession 14 June 1993), fetched 2026-07-29

[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 Turkmenistan? Turkmenistan's official IDPs are issued by State Road Police under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkmenistan (Polisiýanyň ýol gözegçilik gullugy (PÝGG)).
• 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 Turkmenistan? Rules for new residents

A person who becomes resident in Turkmenistan is expected to obtain a Turkmen driving licence through the state traffic authority. No official page describing the exchange or conversion procedure could be located. Official source.

Driving rules in Turkmenistan tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: No official mandatory in-car equipment list for Turkmenistan could be sourced. Wear seat belts and, as prudence rather than as a confirmed legal duty, carry a warning triangle, first-aid kit and full vehicle documents. Long desert stretches make spare fuel, water and a working phone genuinely important.
• Drink-driving: No official Turkmen blood-alcohol limit could be sourced. Assume zero tolerance and do not drink at all before driving. Note separately that UK guidance confirms it is illegal to drink alcohol in communal public spaces in Turkmenistan, with a 100-manat fine. No verified drink-driving penalty tariff. Detention and licence consequences are plausible but unconfirmed; check locally.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right. Much of Ashgabat has a 60 km/h limit enforced by static speed cameras and by police with mobile cameras, and there are no signs warning of speed cameras. Open-road and highway limits could not be verified from an official source.
• Always carry your passport; police carry out identity-document checks. Keep the original licence and the 1968 IDP in the car, along with the vehicle, insurance and rental paperwork.
• Driving standards are poor, and road travel at night outside cities is particularly dangerous because of the condition of the roads.
• Land border crossings can close without notice, and the borders with Afghanistan and Iran are especially sensitive, with access to nearby areas tightly restricted. Entry from Iran requires special authorisation from the Turkmen government plus confirmation of an onward flight.
• Bringing your own car into Turkmenistan by land or sea is charged - up to 150 US dollars.

Read more about driving in Turkmenistan

• 10 Interesting Facts About Turkmenistan
• Best Places to Visit in Turkmenistan

Watch what driving in Turkmenistan looks like

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

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

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. UK FCDO travel advice, Turkmenistan - Entry requirements (fetched 2026-07-29): "must enter and leave Turkmenistan using the border crossings you included on the letter of invitation."
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. UK official IDP table - line "Turkmenistan | 1968 |"
5. UK FCDO - Turkmenistan emergency numbers
6. UN Treaty Collection ch. XI-B-19 - 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: Turkmenistan accession 14 June 1993; 91 parties as at 29 July 2026
7. UN Treaty Collection ch. XI-B-1 - 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: 103 parties, Turkmenistan not listed
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic