Foreign driving licenses in Iceland: what's accepted, country by country

The rule: Icelandic law and our rental terms

Icelandic law (Regulation No. 830/2011, article 29, in Icelandic): a foreign license lets you drive in Iceland the same vehicles as in the country that issued it. Licenses from EEA countries are valid for as long as they are valid at home (for cars, not beyond the holder's 70th birthday). Licenses from outside the EEA are valid for at least 6 months: the Icelandic Transport Authority says 6 months, and the regulation, as amended in 2026, says up to 12. Either way, that is longer than any rental with us, which lasts at most 30 days. A license issued outside the EEA must be printed in Latin letters or come with a translation into Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish or English.

Our rental terms go further than the law:

• The physical card, with your photo: no digital licenses, screenshots or scans, except an Icelandic digital license checked live through Ísland.is.
• Held for at least one year, without major endorsements or penalty points.
• An IDP or a formal translation: the law accepts a translation without saying who makes it; we ask for an IDP or, where your country issues none, a certified, sworn or officially authorized translation, or a TIDL, with your passport.

Age, card and pickup rules: What you need to rent a car in Iceland.

Country by country at a glance

Every driver also shows a passport or national ID card (rental terms 4); with a translation instead of an IDP, it must be the passport (rental terms 3).

Mainland China: no IDP, so bring a translation

Mainland China is not a party to the 1949 Geneva or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (UN Treaty Collection: 1949, 1968) and issues no International Driving Permit. To rent with us, bring:

• your original Chinese license (机动车驾驶证), valid for the whole rental;
• one of these: a certified translation, a TIDL, or a sworn or officially authorized translation;
• your passport (rental terms 3 and 4).

A booking platform's translation: if the translation a booking platform gives you is a TIDL, it fits rental terms 3. A notarized translation (公证件)? Email us at info@ringroadcars.is before you book to check.

Held for at least one year: the date of first issue on your license (初次领证日期) shows how long you have held it.

C2 means automatic only: C2 is the automatic transmission license (as the Shanghai government puts it), and a foreign license lets you drive in Iceland only what it allows at home. Book an automatic: Automatic cars. Our automatics are for drivers aged 25 or over; at our discretion, drivers aged 20–24 can rent them for a young driver fee of €15 per day (rental terms 2).

Taiwan: your license plus a Taiwan IDP

Taiwan issues international driving permits through its motor vehicle offices. Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications says the permit is valid for three years from the date you apply, or until your Taiwan license expires if that comes first, must be used together with your Taiwan license, and can be used only in countries that have reciprocity with Taiwan. Email us at info@ringroadcars.is before you book to confirm what to bring; then bring both, and your passport, and check that the license is valid for the whole rental.

Hong Kong: English on the license, but no photo

The Transport Department's sample of the Hong Kong license shows the holder's name in English as well as Chinese, with English labels, so it is readable in the Latin alphabet. It shows no photo, though, and our terms ask for a license with a photograph (rental terms 3). If you hold a Hong Kong license, email us at info@ringroadcars.is before you book to check what to bring.

• International Driving Permit: the Transport Department issues it under the 1949 Geneva Convention, valid for one year, and advises checking the rules of the place you will drive in before you go.
• Electronic driving license (eDL): the Transport Department says you may still need the physical license when driving overseas, and we accept only the physical card, so pack it.
• An “A” after a class number (for example 1A) stands for vehicles with automatic transmission, as the back of the license explains: book an automatic (Automatic cars).
• You drive on the left at home (Road Users' Code): read the tips for driving on the right below.

Singapore and Malaysia: bring the card, not the app

A license printed in English or Malay is in the Latin alphabet, so you need no IDP to rent with us. You do need the physical card: we don't accept digital licenses (rental terms 3).

• Singapore: the Singapore Police Force issues a Digital Driving Licence in the Singpass app, but says you may still be asked for your photocard license, for example when driving overseas. Bring the photocard.
• Malaysia: your license can be shown in the MyJPJ app (Malaysian government), but bring the physical card. JPJ issues IDPs, valid for one year; you don't need one to rent with us.
• Both drive on the left (LTA, JPJ): read the tips for driving on the right below.

Japan and South Korea

Both countries issue IDPs under the 1949 Geneva Convention: in Japan, the prefectural public safety commission (National Police Agency); in South Korea, the provincial police agencies and the Korea Road Traffic Authority, valid for one year (Korean government, which also says to carry your Korean license and passport with it). If your license is not in the Latin alphabet, bring the IDP with the original license.

Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile and the rest of Latin America

Latin American licenses are printed in the Latin alphabet, so Icelandic law asks for no translation and you need no IDP to rent with us, even if a website selling permits says otherwise. Bring the physical card, valid for the whole rental and held for at least one year.

Mi Argentina: Argentina's government says the digital license is valid throughout Argentina, with the physical card optional at extra cost (argentina.gob.ar), and its migration authority says the physical card is essential to drive abroad (argentina.gob.ar). We accept only the physical card, so order it before you travel.

The UK: photocard yes, paper license no

• Photocard license: printed in the Latin alphabet, with your photo, so it is all you need. The UK government's travel advice says you can drive in Iceland on it for up to 30 days; the Icelandic Transport Authority says licenses from outside the EEA are valid for 6 months. Either way, it covers a rental with us, which lasts at most 30 days.
• Paper license: it has no photo, and our terms ask for a license with a photograph (rental terms 3). The same travel advice says you may need to update a paper license to a photocard.
• You drive on the left at home (Highway Code, rule 160): read the tips for driving on the right below.

EEA and Swiss licenses, and digital licenses

EEA licenses are valid in Iceland for as long as they are valid at home; for cars, the regulation stops at the holder's 70th birthday, so drivers aged 70 or over should check with the Icelandic Transport Authority. Swiss licenses count as licenses from outside the EEA: they are printed in Latin letters and valid for at least 6 months. A license in Latin letters, from the EEA or Switzerland, needs no IDP to rent with us.

Digital licenses are not accepted, wherever they come from: bring the physical card (rental terms 3). The only exception is an Icelandic digital license checked live through Ísland.is, and the Icelandic Transport Authority says only Icelandic electronic licenses are valid in Iceland. What the issuers say:

• France Identité: the official site says the digital license does not replace the physical license.
• IO / IT-Wallet (Italy): the official announcement says the digital license can be used in Italy, to show police that you may drive.
• miDGT (Spain): the DGT says it is valid only in Spain, and abroad you need the physical document.
• Mi Argentina, Singpass, MyJPJ and Hong Kong's eDL: see the sections above.

The US and Canada

US and Canadian licenses are printed in the Latin alphabet, so you need no IDP to rent with us. Mobile driver's licenses are not accepted: bring the card. Everything else, from km/h to right turns on red: Driving in Iceland with a US or Canadian license.

Used to driving on the left? Tips for the right

In Iceland you drive on the right and overtake on the left. If you drive on the left at home, as in the UK, Hong Kong, Singapore or Malaysia, these habits help:

• Turns and junctions: take extra care when you turn and when you pull out of a parking area or a fuel station, and check that you end up on the right-hand side of the road. A passenger saying “keep right” helps.
• Roundabouts: traffic already in the roundabout has priority. In a two-lane roundabout, use the outer (right) lane only for the first exit and otherwise the inner (left) lane. Don't change lanes inside, and give way to a car leaving from the inner lane: it has the right of way. Signal when you exit (Safetravel, Vegagerðin).
• Overtaking: on the left, and only where you can see far enough ahead; never near a blind hill (sign: Blindhæð), where you keep to the far right and slow down.
• Single-lane bridges (sign: Einbreið brú): the car that reaches the bridge first crosses first, so slow down early.
• Rest first: don't start a long drive straight after a long-haul flight. Safetravel says: do not drive when tired.
• An automatic leaves one less thing to think about: Automatic cars.

More road rules: Driving in Iceland and Road signs.

If your license isn't accepted at pickup

At pickup, every driver shows their license and a passport or ID card. If a driver's documents don't meet rental terms 2–4, we may refuse that driver or the whole rental (rental terms 4). A refused rental counts as a no-show: it is not refunded, and a pay-on-arrival booking may still be charged (rental terms 8). Only drivers named on the rental agreement may drive, and no cover option applies to damage while an unauthorized or unlicensed driver is driving (rental terms 15 and 36).

Questions about foreign driving licenses in Iceland