Guide
Why we translate both sides of your licence, every time
A licence translation that covers only the front of the card leaves out the categories, codes and conditions that live on the back. Here is what is on there, and who reads it.
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.
The front is the identity. The back is the permission.
Look at almost any licence in the world and the front tells you who the driver is: name, photo, date of birth, licence number, expiry. The back tells you what they are allowed to drive: the vehicle categories, often as pictograms with a code next to them, and the conditions. Glasses required. Automatic only. Probationary until a date. A restriction to vehicles under a certain weight.
A hire desk cares about the second half at least as much as the first. They are handing you a van or a people-mover and they want to see the category that covers it. Europcar’s rental terms go further than most and describe the translation they accept as one that fully explains any conditions on the licence and the vehicle category it covers. If the translation stops at the front, there is nothing to explain.
Codes are not self-explanatory, even to us
A code like B1 or 01 or a small symbol of a pair of glasses means something specific in the country that issued the licence, and something different, or nothing, here. We do not skip a code. Where the card spells out what a category, code or symbol means, that wording is translated in full; where the card shows only a code, the code is carried across as printed, and a note may be added in square brackets where its meaning can be confirmed. The translation follows the layout of the card as closely as practical, so each entry stays with the line it belongs to. One card worked through, classes and conditions included: Korean licence translation.
The same goes for the stamps that live on the back of older licences: a renewal stamp, an office stamp, a handwritten date. On some cards the only sign that the licence is still valid is a renewal stamp or sticker on the back. A front-only translation of a card like that would show an expired licence.
What both sides, in full means in practice
Every field, both faces of the card, with the layout of the original followed as closely as practical so a reader can find each line. Names spelt the way your passport spells them, because that is the document the desk matches you against. Dates converted, with the original kept beside them where a calendar differs. Categories and conditions carried across as the card prints them. The wording on stamps is translated; a seal with no words, or a signature, is marked in square brackets.
It is two pages, the front and the back, and the order page sets that for you. It means the person reading it has the categories and conditions in front of them, not just your name.
The whole service, with each state’s rule on one page: driver licence translation into English. Ready to send yours? Order online and photograph both sides when it asks.
Sources, checked on the date shown:
- Europcar Australia, licence requirements FAQ (checked 3 September 2026), with Europcar’s rental terms effective 1 May 2024 paraphrased above (checked 3 September 2026)