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Before you fly: the short checklist for driving in Australia on a non-English licence

You land next month and want to drive from the airport. Here is what to settle while you are still at home, in the order it matters, with the source behind each line.

Published 4 September 2026 · Official Translation

Driving in Australia on an overseas licence?

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

Check your licence

If you can get a permit at home in time, you may not need us

The honest answer comes before the list. If you can get an International Driving Permit before you fly, NSW, Victoria and South Australia each name it as one of the two documents to carry beside your licence, and so do most of the hire companies; Hertz’s and Thrifty’s general licence wording names only a certified English translation, so read the terms of the company you book with.

Hertz’s terms also have their own 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.

The licence itself always travels with the permit: the Australian Automobile Association says a permit “is only valid if you carry your domestic driver licence photo card”. In that case you do not need a translation from us, and we would rather say so now than after you have paid.

The catch is where a permit comes from. The AAA, asked whether an overseas licence holder can apply for one here, answers: “No. Only Australian driver licence holders can apply for an IDP in Australia. If you hold an overseas driver licence you must apply for a permit in the country that issued your licence.” Both sides of that choice are set out in permit or translation, answered by where you are standing.

So the permit is a decision that closes when you board. A translation is the option that stays open after you land, and it can be ordered from anywhere, which is why both are on the list below. Our driver’s licence translation page shows what a translation covers.

The checklist: what to settle while you are still at home

Every line below is tied to a source, or to a page of ours that quotes one. Start it a fortnight out rather than the night before, because the permit in the first item can only be arranged from home.

  • Decide between permit and translation while you are still at home. The permit is only available from your own country, so this choice closes when you board.
  • If the Northern Territory is on your route, the permit is the answer, and it comes from home. The NT’s own page says “you must apply for an international driving permit if: your overseas licence is not written in English”, and a translation for the Territory is not something we can provide.
  • Read your hire company’s own licence terms, not a summary of them. Europcar’s FAQ asks for a licence “held for at least 1 YEAR prior to the commencement of the rental”, and SIXT’s FAQ has a rule for a licence with no photo: “Should the licence not have a photo, an International Driving Permit must accompany it.”
  • Photograph both sides of the licence now, in colour and in good light. What a usable photo looks like is in photographing a document for translation, and why a licence translation must show both sides explains why the back of the card is not optional.
  • Check how your name is romanised on the licence against your passport. The desk matches the name on the licence to the booking and the card, so read which spelling of your name goes on the translation before you order rather than after.
  • Learn the carry rule for the state you will drive in. NSW says “If your licence is not written in English, you must also carry an English translation, or an International Driving Permit”, Victoria says “You should always have your overseas licence with you when you drive”, and every state’s own wording is on our page on renting a car in Australia with an overseas licence.
  • Print the translation and keep the PDF on your phone as well. We deliver a PDF by email; where a printout plainly fits, which counters say originals only and where to ask first is set out in PDF or hard copy, where a printed translation is enough.
  • Carry the licence itself, every time, whatever sits beside it. Budget says a permit “is not a stand-alone document and must be carried with your valid domestic drivers licence”, and South Australia says “An IDP is valid for 12 months, and you must also carry your driver’s licence from your home country.”
  • If you might stay in Victoria longer than six months, converting your licence has its own rules. VicRoads says “If you’re moving to Victoria and plan to live here for more than 6 months, you must convert your overseas driver licence or learner permit to a Victorian one”, and what that asks of a translation is on our Victoria licence translation page; a NSW licence transfer is not something we can help with, and our NSW licence translation page says who Transport for NSW does accept.

If you go the translation route, this is what the order page asks of you

First choose Standard or the NAATI certification option. For driving or hiring a car, choose the NAATI certification option; Europcar’s rental terms, for one, name NAATI and describe an English translation that fully explains any licence conditions and the vehicle category, which is why we translate both sides of the card in full.

Austroads, the association of Australia’s road transport agencies, says the same from the road’s side: “visiting drivers can only drive vehicles which their overseas licence authorises them to drive and they must drive according to any conditions on their overseas licence.” A NAATI-certified translator prepares it and applies their own stamp, and their digital stamp carries a QR code the desk can scan.

Then add one clear photo of each side of the card. If your licence is in a script other than Latin letters, send the passport spelling of your name through the contact page with your order number before the translation begins. Pick a delivery window that leaves some room before your hire date, and if the pick-up time is fixed, tell us before you order; what moves each window is in how long a certified translation takes.

The full price is on screen 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.

The PDF arrives by email, so as long as you order in time, it is on your phone before you land and in your bag if you print it. And if the permit is in your hand before you fly, keep it with the licence and skip the order page altogether; the carry rules on this list apply to a permit just as much as to a translation.

Ready to order? Order a licence translation online. Every source on the permit question on one page: International Driving Permit or translation in Australia. How long each state lets a visitor drive on an overseas licence: how long you can drive on an overseas licence. Whether one translation serves every state on your route: does one licence translation work in every state.

Sources, checked on the date shown: