International Driving Permit in Uruguay

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

Driving in Uruguay: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Uruguay?

Per the UN depositary, Uruguay acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic on 8 April 1981 and does not appear among the parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention, so the 1968 booklet is the only IDP type that fits. No Uruguayan statute obliges a visitor to carry an IDP: Ley 18.191 art. 26 says only that 'Todo conductor de un vehiculo automotor debe ser titular de una licencia habilitante que le sera expedida por la autoridad de transito competente en cada departamento' and that the holder must carry it and show it on demand; the law contains no article at all on foreign licences. In practice a 1968 IDP (or a certified Spanish translation) is how a non-Spanish licence is made presentable at a roadside check, and hire companies frequently insist on one. The IDP is never valid alone - it must be shown with the home licence - and it does not extend how long you may drive as a visitor.

• 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 home licence at all times - Ley 18.191 art. 26 requires the driver to carry the licence and produce it on demand - together with the 1968 IDP or a Spanish translation where the licence is not in Spanish, plus passport with the entry stamp, vehicle registration, and rental and insurance papers.

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

What side of the road does Uruguay drive on?

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

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

No Uruguayan-published, licence-specific time limit for visitors could be located. Foreign-government guidance conflicts: the UK FCDO says 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Uruguay for the first 90 days after you arrive' and 'After 90 days, you must get a Uruguayan driving licence', while the Government of Canada says 'You may drive in Uruguay with your valid Canadian driver's licence for up to 6 months.' Both figures track the authorised tourist stay rather than any traffic-law rule, so treat 90 days as the prudent planning figure and confirm locally for longer stays. Practical catch: the Uruguayan licence is obtained by homologacion at an intendencia, whose counter requires an Uruguayan cedula de identidad or Uruguayan passport - it is a residents' route, not something a tourist can complete. (UK FCDO Uruguay travel advice (90 days) vs Government of Canada travel advice (6 months))

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

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

Uruguay 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 8 Apr 1981.

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 Uruguay with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Uruguay as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Uruguay is a 1968 Vienna Convention state (acceded 8 April 1981) and not a 1949 Geneva party, so the 1968 IDP is the type that fits. Its traffic law, Ley 18.191, requires every driver to hold and carry a licence but says nothing about foreign licences: visitors drive on the home licence for the length of an ordinary tourist stay, with a 1968 IDP or a certified Spanish translation as the practical support for a non-Spanish document. Guidance on how long that lasts conflicts - the UK says 90 days, Canada says six months - and the Uruguayan licence that would replace it is issued only by homologacion at an intendencia against an Uruguayan cedula or passport, so it is a residents' route. Alcohol is zero tolerance at 0.0 g/l by statute. 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] Ley 18.191 art. 26 (no foreign-licence provision); Intendencia de Montevideo and Intendencia de Canelones homologacion/revalida pages requiring traduccion publica

[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 Uruguay? Uruguay's official IDPs are issued by Automóvil Club del Uruguay (ACU). 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 Uruguay? Rules for new residents

Anyone settling in Uruguay converts the foreign licence by homologacion (Montevideo) or revalida (Canelones and other departments) at the intendencia of the department of residence. The counter asks for an Uruguayan cedula de identidad or Uruguayan passport, so the route is closed to tourists - which is why the 'get a Uruguayan licence after 90 days' advice cannot be followed on a tourist stamp. Official source.

Driving rules in Uruguay tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Permanent dipped headlights (or factory DRL), seat belts front and rear, certified motorcycle helmets, child restraints for 0-12 year-olds in the rear seats, a first-aid and road-safety kit, and a reflective vest or reflective bands.
• Drink-driving: 0.0 g/l - absolute zero tolerance. Ley 18.191 art. 45 (as amended by Ley 19.360): a driver is disqualified whenever blood alcohol, or its breath-test equivalent, exceeds 0.0 grams per litre. Ley 18.191 art. 46: suspension of the driving entitlement of six months to one year for a first positive test, up to two years on repeat and cancellation on further reoffending; refusing the test means licence retention, a fine of up to 100 UR and a presumption of guilt. UK FCDO adds that a fine, possible imprisonment or a community work order may follow.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right. Ley 18.191 art. 15 states only the general rule - no driver may exceed the permitted speed and speed must suit the circumstances; the numeric urban/rural limits are set by regulation and by each intendencia and are not fixed in the national statute, so obey posted signs (commonly 45 km/h urban, 90 km/h on single-carriageway national routes, 110 km/h on dual carriageway - posted values govern).
• Carry the original home licence at all times - Ley 18.191 art. 26 requires the driver to carry the licence and produce it on demand - together with the 1968 IDP or a Spanish translation where the licence is not in Spanish, plus passport with the entry stamp, vehicle registration, and rental and insurance papers.
• Dipped headlights must be on permanently on every public road: Ley 18.191 art. 30, as amended by Ley 19.824 of 18 September 2019, which allows factory daytime running lights as a substitute. Art. 4 makes this apply to all urban, suburban and rural public roads, not just highways.
• Seat belts are compulsory front and rear (Ley 18.191 art. 31). Children aged 0-12 must travel in the rear seats in an approved restraint, and adolescents up to 18 shorter than 1.50 m must use the same systems (Ley 19.061 art. 1). Carrying children or adolescents of any age on mopeds and motorcycles is prohibited (Ley 19.061 art. 2). Certified helmets are compulsory for motorcyclists (Ley 18.191 art. 33).
• Four-wheel-and-over vehicles must carry a case of first-aid and road-safety items ('maletin con elementos de primeros auxilios y seguridad vial') (Ley 19.061 art. 15) and reflective jacket/vest or reflective bands (art. 7). Canadian government advice adds pylons, flares and a fire extinguisher and notes these are normally supplied with rental cars - check the boot before leaving the depot.
• Motorway and bridge tolls are electronic-tag-only; rental cars carry a tag, so confirm with the hire firm how tolls are billed back to you. Canadian advice also flags that turning right on a red light is illegal, and that unlit, unmarked and poorly maintained rural roads plus low compliance with traffic rules raise the crash risk after dark.

Read more about driving in Uruguay

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

Watch what driving in Uruguay looks like

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

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

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. UK FCDO Uruguay travel advice (90 days) vs Government of Canada travel advice (6 months)
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. UN depositary status list, 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic - 'Uruguay ... 8 Apr 1981 a'
5. UN depositary status list, 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic - Uruguay absent (confirms 1968-only)
6. Ley 18.191 art. 26 - licence must be issued by the departmental transit authority, carried and produced on demand
7. Ley 18.191 art. 46 - alcohol testing, suspensions, refusal fine up to 100 UR
8. Ley 18.191 art. 30 (amended by Ley 19.824/2019) - permanent dipped headlights / DRL
9. Ley 19.061 - child restraints (art. 1), no children on motorcycles (art. 2), reflective vest (art. 7), first-aid and road-safety kit (art. 15)
10. Intendencia de Canelones - revalida of a foreign driving permit; public translation and psychophysical certificate required
11. Government of Canada Uruguay - 'up to 6 months' on a Canadian licence, no right turn on red, safety equipment, 911/105/104
12. UK IDP table - Uruguay listed as 1968
13. UK FCDO - 'Telephone: 911 (ambulance, fire, police)'
14. Automóvil Club del Uruguay (ACU) — authorized IDP issuer in Uruguay
15. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
16. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic