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Hiring a car at the airport on a non-English licence: what to have ready

You land at Melbourne Airport or Sydney Airport with a car booked and a licence that is not in English. Here is what the desk is matching, what the hire companies and the two states say, and what to have in your hand before you reach the counter. Landing in Brisbane? Translation services in Brisbane covers the Queensland side.

Published 4 September 2026 · Official Translation

Hiring a car on an overseas licence?

Answer a few quick questions about your state and your licence and get your answer in 1 second.

Check your licence

What does the desk need to see?

Three things, read together: the licence card itself, an International Driving Permit or an English translation beside it, and a name that reads the same on both and on the booking. A translation sits next to the licence rather than replacing it, and so does a permit.

Austroads, the association of Australia’s road transport agencies, puts the rule in one line: “While driving in Australia a visiting driver must carry their overseas licence with them at all times together with either an international driving permit OR an English translation if the overseas licence is not written in English.” Budget says it from the hire side: “An International Driving Permit is not a stand-alone document and must be carried with your valid domestic drivers licence.” Whichever document you bring beside the card, the card comes too.

If you already hold a permit from home, you may not need us at all. Four of the six companies below name it and both states do; the two whose quoted terms name only a translation are the reason to read on.

What do the hire companies say, in their own words?

Hertz’s rental terms accept a licence that “is in English or, if not in English, is accompanied by a certified English translation”. The terms do not define certified. Thrifty’s rental terms read the same way, a licence in English or accompanied by a certified English translation, with certified undefined and no mention of a permit. Hertz’s terms carry a separate rule for licences issued in the People’s Republic of China, naming a China Notarial Certificate or Hertz’s own translation certification, so if yours is a Chinese licence, read that part of Hertz’s terms, or ask Hertz, before you order from us.

SIXT’s FAQ covers two situations at once: “Should the valid driver’s licence be in another language or have no photo SIXT will accept a certified translation in English or an International driver’s permit. Should the licence not have a photo, an International Driving Permit must accompany it.” If your card carries no photo, that second sentence is the one to plan around; see a licence with no photo or a paper licence.

Europcar’s rental terms, effective 1 May 2024, accept either a valid International Driving Permit issued in the same country as the licence, or an English translation the terms describe as issued by NAATI, one that fully explains any licence conditions and the vehicle category. NAATI itself says it certifies translators, not translations, so where a company names NAATI we suggest the NAATI certification option, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator. Standard, our other option, carries no certification and is not the one for a hire desk; where a company’s terms say certified, the NAATI certification option is the certified form we offer. Europcar’s FAQ adds a condition no translation can fix: a licence “held for at least 1 YEAR prior to the commencement of the rental”.

Budget’s FAQ says a licence not in English “must be accompanied by an approved translation such as an International Driving Permit”, but the same FAQ also carries a line saying that if the licence is not in English, an International Drivers Licence is required. Avis’s FAQ is unsettled in the same way: one line asks for an English translation, another for an approved translation such as an International Driver Permit, and another says an International Drivers Licence is required. We cannot tell you which of those lines either desk will apply, so ask Budget and Avis before you book.

Which state’s rule applies once you drive off?

Melbourne Airport is in Victoria and Sydney Airport in New South Wales, and each state has its own line. VicRoads says: “If your 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.” It adds: “You should always have your overseas licence with you when you drive.”

The NSW Government’s wording: “If your licence is not written in English, you must also carry an English translation, or an International Driving Permit. This is issued by the motoring association or embassy of the country that you are licensed to drive in.” Both states name the pair the desk is looking at, and neither treats a translation as a substitute for the licence.

How much time do you have before you fly?

A permit is only an option while you are still in your own country. The Australian Automobile Association, asked whether an overseas licence holder can apply for one in Australia, says no: “If you hold an overseas driver licence you must apply for a permit in the country that issued your licence.” That door is open until you board and closed after.

A translation has no such cut-off. It can be ordered from anywhere and arrives by email as a PDF, so, ordered in time, it is on your phone before you land. Our page on driver licence translation into English says what the translation carries; the order page shows the full price in Australian dollars before you pay, and we add nothing at checkout. Paying from overseas? Stripe may show the price already converted into your own currency, and a converted price includes Stripe’s own conversion fee; you can switch back to Australian dollars on that page before you pay.

Three delivery windows are offered: Within 3 days, 12–24 hours, and Within 4 hours where available. The last depends on a translator in your language being free at that moment; if it cannot be met you are contacted straight away. We do not deliver on Sundays: a delivery that would fall on a Sunday arrives on the Monday.

On the day: what should be in your hand at the counter?

The PDF on your phone and a colour printout in your bag. A screen can be read across a desk, but a printout can be laid beside the card; where a printout plainly fits is in PDF or hard copy, where a printed translation is enough.

Both sides of the card translated. The back carries the categories, codes and conditions that Europcar’s terms ask a translation to explain; why a licence translation must show both sides of the card covers what is lost without it. A licence is two pages for us, the front and the back, and the order page sets that when you choose Driver’s licence.

The name matching your passport. Where a licence is not in Latin letters a spelling has to be chosen, and the desk is matching that name to the booking; which spelling of your name goes on the translation says how to send us the passport spelling before the translation begins. Book the car in that spelling too.

One more thing. Each company works to its own terms, so read the licence section of the company you book with before you pay for the car. If those terms name a permit only, arrange it at home; if they name a translation, or either document, one ordered in time is in your hand before you reach the counter.

Ready to order? Order a licence translation online. What the counter checks beyond the licence itself: what the hire desk checks when your licence is not in English. The version of this page to read a fortnight out: before you fly, the short checklist for driving in Australia on a non-English licence. Every company’s licence wording and every state’s carry rule on one page: renting a car in Australia with an overseas licence.

Sources, checked on the date shown: