Driving Abroad

It depends on the licence and the destination. EU and EEA licences are valid across the EU/EEA with no IDP. Outside the EU, the answer comes from two treaties: the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. The US, Japan, and Australia accept the 1949 IDP; most of continental Europe, Brazil, and South Korea accept the 1968 IDP. China accepts neither and requires a temporary Chinese permit. The UK AA and Spanish DGT both publish current country-by-country tables — check those before you fly. The IDP is only valid alongside your original national licence.

Yes. Article 2 of Directive 2006/126/EC requires mutual recognition of driving licences issued by EU and EEA member states. You may drive anywhere in the EU/EEA on your national licence with no exchange, no IDP, and no additional permit. If you take up residence in another EU country, you keep using your licence until it expires; at renewal you apply through the host country's authority (Article 7(1)(e)). The UK is no longer part of this scheme since 1 January 2021. UK licence holders driving in the EU rely on the 1968 Vienna Convention and do not need an IDP for tourist visits.

Visitors with a non-EU licence may drive in most European countries on their national licence plus an IDP for stays up to six months. In Spain the limit is six months from entry (DGT, Reglamento General de Conductores Article 21); in Germany it is six months (FeV §29); in France it is one year from residency (Service-Public.fr, foreign licence exchange). The UK accepts non-British licences for 12 months for visitors (DVLA INF38). Once you become resident, you must exchange — Spain, Germany, and France maintain bilateral exchange lists and will require a full theory and practical test if your country is not on the list. Carry the original licence and the IDP together.

Standard rental requirements across Europe: a full driving licence held for at least one year (two years for premium categories), a credit card in the main driver's name for the deposit (often €200–€2,000 pre-authorisation), a passport or national ID, and the booking confirmation. Minimum age is usually 21 with a young-driver surcharge under 25; some companies set 23 or 25 as the floor. Non-EU licence holders normally need an IDP — Avis, Hertz, Sixt, and Europcar all state this in their terms. Check the fuel policy (full-to-full is cheapest), cross-border permission (often excluded for Eastern Europe), and the CDW excess before signing.

Compulsory motor third-party liability follows your vehicle across the EU under the Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC (codified from the 1972 Green Card Directive), so the legal minimum is covered automatically in all EU/EEA states. Comprehensive cover does not always travel — many UK and continental policies drop to third-party only once you cross the border, or cap foreign use at 30, 60, or 90 days. Ask your insurer in writing and request a Green Card if driving outside the EU (Albania, Türkiye, Morocco, Ukraine). For hire cars, the Collision Damage Waiver excess often runs €1,000–€2,500; a standalone excess-reimbursement policy is usually cheaper than the rental desk's upgrade.

Drive slowly for the first hour and keep the road's centre line near your right shoulder when driving on the left (UK, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus), or near your left shoulder when driving on the right (continental Europe). At junctions, look right-then-left in the UK and left-then-right in the EU. Roundabouts run clockwise in the UK and anticlockwise in the EU — give way to traffic already on the roundabout (Highway Code Rule 185 in the UK; Article 9 of the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic for most of continental Europe). Hiring a left-hand-drive car in left-hand-drive countries makes lane positioning and overtaking far easier.

Read the destination authority's English-language summary before you leave: Sécurité Routière in France, DGT in Spain, ADAC and the BMDV in Germany, ANWB in the Netherlands, ACI in Italy. Compulsory in-car kit differs sharply — France requires a hi-vis vest plus warning triangle (Code de la route R416-19), Spain adds an emergency V16 light from 1 January 2026 replacing the triangle, Italy requires reflective vests for occupants exiting on motorways, and Austria requires a first-aid kit. Headlight use during the day is mandatory in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and the Czech Republic. Drink-drive limits vary: 0.5 g/L in most EU states, 0.2 g/L for novices in Germany and Spain, 0.0 g/L in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Romania.

Call 112, the single European emergency number established by Council Decision 91/396/EEC and now mandatory in all EU/EEA states plus the UK and Switzerland. Operators answer in the local language and usually English. In Spain, accidents involving injury must be reported to the Guardia Civil or local police (Reglamento General de Circulación, Article 129). In France, the formulaire de constat amiable is the standard accident form. In Germany, you must summon police for any injury (StVO §34). Keep your rental contract, breakdown number, insurance Green Card, and passport with you at all times.