International Driving Permit in Uzbekistan

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

Driving in Uzbekistan: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Uzbekistan?

Uzbekistan's own recognition norm (Regulation annexed to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 408 of 31.05.2018, pt. 74) makes both international driving permits and national driving licences that meet the requirements of the 1968 Vienna Convention valid on Uzbek territory — so a Vienna-conforming national licence is legally sufficient on its own and an IDP is not a blanket statutory requirement. UK government advice tells British drivers to carry both the 1968 IDP and the UK licence in the car, and notes that hire car companies often require an IDP. Uzbekistan acceded only to the 1968 Vienna Convention (17 January 1995) and is not a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention, so a 1968 IDP is the type to carry. For drivers from countries party only to the 1949 Geneva Convention (United States of America, Japan, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Ireland), whose authorities issue only a 1949 IDP, the answer is not established: point 74 does not settle which edition of the international permit it accepts, or whether a licence from a country outside the 1968 Convention meets its requirements. Check with the Uzbek authorities before you travel.

• 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.

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

What side of the road does Uzbekistan drive on?

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

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

The Regulation annexed to CM Resolution No. 408 (point 74) names no visitor period for driving on a foreign licence. UK government advice is that UK licence holders can drive for 30 days, with a 1968 IDP, and that UK visitors may stay up to 30 days without a visa. Check with the authorities before you travel how long your licence may be used. (UK FCDO Uzbekistan, Safety and security (30-day driving sentence for UK licence holders) and Entry requirements (30-day visa-free stay); the Regulation annexed to CM Resolution No. 408, point 74, names no visitor period)

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

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

Uzbekistan 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 17 Jan 1995.

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 Uzbekistan with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Uzbekistan as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Uzbekistan recognises foreign driving on a convention-conformity test, not on nationality: point 74 of the Regulation annexed to CM Resolution No. 408 makes valid international driving permits and national licences that meet the requirements of the 1968 Vienna Convention. It does not settle which edition of the permit it accepts, or whether a licence from a country outside the 1968 Convention meets that test, so for drivers from those countries, including those party only to the 1949 Geneva Convention, the answer is not established: check with the authorities before you travel. Uzbekistan is a 1968 Vienna party and not a 1949 Geneva party, and UK government advice is to carry a 1968 IDP with your licence. The Regulation names no visitor period; UK government advice gives a UK licence 30 days. UK government advice also recommends a Russian or Uzbek translation, which it says is not a legal requirement, and says a foreign car may stay 90 days without import duties. 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).

What the Status column means on this page:

• 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] Regulation annexed to Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 408 of 31.05.2018 (annex 2), point 74

[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

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 Uzbekistan? Rules for new residents

Point 74 of the Regulation annexed to CM Resolution No. 408 makes only Uzbek licences valid for Uzbek citizens. For foreign nationals the Regulation names no visitor period and no point at which a resident must exchange a foreign licence, so check with the authorities before a long stay. Separately, UK government advice is that every arrival must register with the local OVIR within 3 days (hotels register their guests), an immigration duty, not a driving one. Secondary source.

Driving rules in Uzbekistan tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: The Road Traffic Rules require the driver and front-seat passengers to wear seat belts where they are fitted (point 9) and forbid using a phone while driving unless it is hands-free (point 12). A car must carry a first-aid kit, a fire extinguisher, a warning triangle (or a flashing red lamp) and a reflective vest: Annex 3 lists their absence among the conditions under which a vehicle may not be used.
• Drink-driving: Uzbekistan is not zero-tolerance: intoxication is recorded from 0.135 mg/l of alcohol in exhaled air on a roadside breath test, or from 0.3‰ in blood on a medical examination. These are the two thresholds the regulation publishes, one for each procedure. The joint regulation setting those procedures was registered with the Ministry of Justice as No. 3099 on 14 December 2018, in force the next day, and was made by the Ministries of Internal Affairs and of Health together with the Supreme Court and the Prosecutor General's Office; the offence itself is art. 131 of the Code of Administrative Liability. The margin is narrow and roadside testing is routine, so the only safe practice is not to drink at all before driving. Penalties for driving under the influence are reported as severe and can include licence consequences. No current tariff figure was verified; confirm locally.
• Speed limits: Traffic keeps to the right and limits are posted in km/h. The general built-up-area limit is 70 km/h, but 60 km/h applies in Tashkent, Nukus, the provincial and district centres and other cities — the lower city limit has been in force since April 2023 and is the one most visitors meet. Outside built-up areas the limit for a car is 100 km/h. Within 300 m of a school or nursery, where signed, it is 30 km/h, and in residential courtyards 20 km/h. The Rules have a motorway chapter but set no higher limit for motorways; its only speed figure is the 40 km/h floor below which a vehicle may not use one. Signs always control.
• The Road Traffic Rules (point 10) require a foreign driver to carry a driving licence that meets the requirements of the Convention on Road Traffic and the vehicle's registration documents, with the registration plate and the distinguishing sign of the country where it is registered on the vehicle. UK government advice adds a 1968 IDP and insurance for driving in Uzbekistan, and says carrying your passport at all times is a legal requirement that police often check, with a fine or arrest for failing to do so.
• UK government advice is to have your licence and IDP translated into Russian or Uzbek to make dealing with local authorities and traffic police easier, and it says this is not a legal requirement.
• UK government advice: "Foreign nationals can drive their own car into Uzbekistan without paying import duties and taxes for up to 90 days. After the 90 days, daily fees will be applied." It says the car must be declared at the point of entry. This 90-day customs clock is independent of the driver's licence question.
• UK government advice: "Roads often have poor surfaces and bad lighting. Driving standards are below those in the UK and can be erratic." It adds that many buses and taxis run on compressed natural gas, that safety regulations on these vehicles are often not followed, and that modern vehicles are the better choice where possible.
• UK government advice is that you must register with the local district OVIR within 3 days of arrival (hotel staff do this; a private host registers you, or you register through the Emehmon system), and that missing or late registration can bring a fine for each day and possibly deportation.

Read more about driving in Uzbekistan

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

Watch what driving in Uzbekistan looks like

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Sources

1. UK FCDO Uzbekistan, Safety and security (30-day driving sentence for UK licence holders) and Entry requirements (30-day visa-free stay); the Regulation annexed to CM Resolution No. 408, point 74, names no visitor period
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. UK FCDO Uzbekistan — 30-day visa-free stay and 3-day OVIR registration
4. UK FCDO Uzbekistan — emergency numbers 103/101/102, unified 112 (2024), Safe Tourism 1173
5. Ministry of Justice explanation on foreign-issued licences, citing points 74 and 76 of the Regulation to CM Resolution No. 408 — verification via MFA, theory and practical tests (the medical examination it also names was dropped from point 76 by CM Resolution No. 11 of 20 January 2026)
6. lex.uz — CM Resolution No. 408 of 31.05.2018 with annexed Regulation (consolidated text, including points 74 to 76 on foreign driving licences)
7. lex.uz — Road Traffic Rules, CM Resolution No. 172 of 12.04.2022, adopted in accordance with the 1968 Vienna Convention
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic; Uzbekistan accession 17 January 1995 (91 parties)
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic; Uzbekistan does not appear in the participants list
10. Uzbek breath and blood intoxication thresholds — 0.135 mg/l in exhaled air and 0.3‰ in blood, joint regulation registered with the Ministry of Justice as No. 3099 on 14 December 2018, in force the next day
11. lex.uz — CM Resolution No. 140 of 03.04.2023 amending point 78 of the Road Traffic Rules, which lowered the built-up-area limit in Tashkent, Nukus, the provincial and district centres and other cities to 60 km/h
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic