Worked example
A Japanese licence, a Melbourne hire car, and no permit
Two weeks in Victoria, a car booked at the airport, and a licence written in Japanese. (Illustrative example. The people and the job are made up, to show how the published rules apply. It is not a customer story and not a testimonial.)
Published 4 September 2026 · Official Translation
Hiring a car on an overseas licence?
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The situation
Picture a couple flying to Melbourne in a few days for a fortnight of driving through the Great Ocean Road and the Grampians, with a car booked for the morning after they land. Neither has heard of an International Driving Permit until a friend mentions it while they are packing, and there is no longer time to arrange one in Japan before they fly.
The licence is a standard Japanese card: the name and address in Japanese, the categories in a table on the front, dates that carry the Japanese era year, and a handwritten change of address stamped on the back.
What the rules say
Victoria is the straightforward part. VicRoads tells visitors that if the licence is not in English “you’ll also need to carry either: an English translation of your licence, or an international driving permit in English”. Either one. With the permit out of reach before they fly, the translation is the document still open to them. What goes into one is on our driver licence translation page.
The hire company’s terms ask for a licence “accompanied by a certified English translation”. Nothing about which body, nothing about format. VicRoads is more specific: its convert-overseas-licence page, which also covers stays of less than six months, says that if a licence is not in English “you must have it translated by any NAATI accredited translator or the country’s consulate in Australia”. So the NAATI option is the one to choose. Other companies’ exact wording is on our page on what each hire company asks for.
Sources: VicRoads, driving with your overseas licence and VicRoads, convert an overseas licence (no date shown on either page; checked 18 September 2026)
What we would translate
Both sides. The era dates converted to Western dates with the originals kept beside them, because a Reiwa year means nothing to a desk in Tullamarine. The family name kept before the given name as the licence has it, with the passport’s romanisation used so the booking, the passport and the translation match letter for letter. The category table written out in English, including a note such as a licence covering automatic vehicles only, which is exactly the kind of condition a hire desk would rather see than discover.
The note on the back would be translated too, with its date, because the address printed on the front is no longer the current one.
What the translation has to do at the desk
A visitor in this position would pick a speed that fits the days left before the pick-up, and would order as early as possible: our delivery windows are estimates, and the fastest one depends on a translator for that language being free. They would print the PDF and carry it with the card.
What the translation can do is answer the desk’s three questions, is it current, what class, whose name, without the clerk having to ask. Both sides, converted dates, passport spelling, conditions written out.
The rules for Victoria, quoted: driving in Victoria on an overseas licence. Japanese documents: Japanese to English translation.