Driving Abroad from the UK: International Driving Permits, Licence Translations and Exporting Your Car with the V5C

Japan wants the 1949 International Driving Permit, Thailand and Turkey the 1968 one, and Mexico, from anyone still holding a paper licence, the 1926 version. All three are sold at PayPoint shops for £5.50, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) repeats one warning in country after country: "You cannot buy an IDP outside the UK."

The permit is a translation of your licence in a format fixed by international convention, which is why a translation company's certificate rarely replaces it. Below: which permit you need, where a translated or notarised licence helps, what to carry in your own car, and how to export it with the V5C.

Do I need an International Driving Permit to drive abroad?

Not in most of Europe. GOV.UK says you do not need an IDP "to drive in the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein if you have a photocard driving licence issued in the UK". If you still have a paper licence, or a licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, you might need one in some EU countries and Norway.

Elsewhere it depends on the country and how long you stay. The three permits are named after the road traffic conventions behind them, and a trip through several countries can need more than one. Examples from GOV.UK's table and the FCDO's travel advice:

Hire companies add their own rules: for every EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the US, GOV.UK's note says to "check if the car hire company says you need an IDP".

Where do I get an IDP, and how long does it last?

In person, at a shop with PayPoint. The provider changed on 1 April 2024; before that, IDPs came from Post Office branches. The permit costs £5.50 and you must:

• live in Great Britain or Northern Ireland
• have a full UK driving licence
• be 18 or over

A 1926 or 1949 permit lasts 12 months. A 1968 permit lasts 3 years or until your UK licence expires, whichever comes first. You must always carry your licence as well as the permit.

An IDP is for visits. "Do not apply for an IDP if you're moving abroad," GOV.UK says; residents exchange their licence, as our guide to exchanging a UK driving licence abroad explains.

Can a translated driving licence replace an IDP?

Only where the country says so. Valid permits, Northern Ireland's nidirect guidance says, "must keep to the formats prescribed in international legislation", with "white inside pages translated into multiple languages". A certified translation is a private document and does not stand in for a permit that local law requires.

The FCDO's country advice shows where a translation matters:

• Turkey: you need "a 1968 international driving permit (IDP) or a UK driving licence notarised in Turkish". If you take the translation route, ask the hire company or the Turkish authorities which notarisation they accept; the IDP avoids the question.
• Uzbekistan and Tajikistan: a UK licence plus the 1968 IDP for up to 30 days. The FCDO recommends a Russian, Uzbek or Tajik translation of both, while noting it is not a legal requirement.
• Senegal: a UK licence for up to 6 months; the 1968 IDP "may be helpful in offering a translation for traffic officials".

Otherwise, a licence translation mainly helps whoever must read it on paper. For a foreign licence used in the UK, see our DVLA licence translation guide.

What do I need to take my own car abroad for less than 12 months?

Your V5C log book and your insurance certificate. GOV.UK says you "must take your vehicle log book (V5C)" and that it "must show your most recent address in the UK"; getting or updating one can take up to 5 to 7 working days online, or 4 to 6 weeks by post. The car stays under UK law, so it must be taxed, have a current MOT and have UK insurance.

Then check:

• Proof of insurance. No green card is needed in the EU (including Ireland), Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia or Switzerland. You may need one in countries including Albania, Moldova, Turkey, Ukraine and Morocco; insurers can take up to 6 weeks to post one.
• The UK identifier. A plate showing the UK identifier with the Union flag needs no sticker; otherwise display a UK sticker, and in Spain, Cyprus or Malta display one "no matter what is on your number plate".
• A hired or leased car needs a VE103 vehicle on hire certificate, sold by the AA, the BVRLA, the RAC and the Road Haulage Association.
• Liechtenstein, Mexico or Somalia also require an International Certificate for Motor Vehicles (ICMV), which the DVLA issues free.
• Someone else's car. For Moldova, the FCDO says you need "permission from the owner, translated and notarised".

How do I export a car permanently with the V5C?

Taking a vehicle out of the UK for 12 months or more counts as permanent export, and that includes the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man and Ireland. GOV.UK sets the order:

1. Fill in the "permanent export" section of the V5C, detach it and keep the rest of the log book: "you'll need the rest to register your vehicle in the country you're taking it to."
2. Send the section to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD, with a letter giving your new address if it has changed, so any vehicle tax refund reaches you. Refunds usually take 4 to 6 weeks.
3. Transfer or retain a personalised registration first, or you lose the right to it.
4. Update the address on your driving licence if you are moving.

Sort the log book out before you leave, because "DVLA cannot send a vehicle log book to an address outside the UK." If you buy a car to take abroad, the seller must give you "the full log book (V5C) - not just the new keeper slip".

Which documents do foreign registration offices want, and do they need translating?

Each country sets its own list, deadline and language rules. Four examples:

Portugal's exemption file shows how much paper can be involved: the V5C plus evidence of UK residence, such as "rent receipts, utility bills, salary slips, proof of pension payments or national insurance contributions".

Our certified translations cover the V5C, purchase invoices and residence evidence. Where a destination wants a notarised or apostilled translation, the certified translation can be notarised and apostilled through our apostille service. Where it insists on its own sworn translator, or on a translation certified in that country, arrange that there.

What should a V5C translation show?

GOV.UK says the V5C shows "the vehicle's registration number", "the vehicle keeper's name and address" and details such as the make, the vehicle identification number (VIN) and the number of previous keepers. In the translation:

• Registration number and VIN: copied character for character, never transliterated or "corrected".
• The keeper: name and address exactly as printed, with "registered keeper" kept as keeper rather than recast as owner.
• Dates: as printed, day before month, with the format stated once.
• Technical entries: fuel type, engine capacity, mass and emissions with units unchanged.
• Document details: the reference number and date of issue, which identify the latest V5C.
• Missing parts: a note that the permanent export section has been detached, if it has.

Translate after detaching the export section, so the translation matches what the foreign office sees.

Common mistakes when driving or moving a car abroad

• No IDP on arrival. It cannot be bought abroad.
• The wrong convention, such as a 1949 permit for Turkey.
• A hired or leased car without a VE103.
• The whole V5C posted to the DVLA, leaving nothing to register the car with.
• Missed deadlines: 1 month in France, 90 days in Italy.

Checklist: before you drive or ship a car abroad

Questions people ask