NAATI, certified or official: what each state and hire desk actually asks for

The road authorities mostly ask for “an English translation”. A few go further and say who may make it. South Australia lists the sources it accepts, including what it calls a “(NAATI) approved translator”. The ACT names “A translator who is certified by NAATI” alongside embassies, consulates and the Department of Home Affairs. Tasmania wants “a person accredited to translate”, and Queensland points visitors to NAATI’s list. The Northern Territory wants an International Driving Permit instead.

“Certified” is mostly the hire companies’ word. Hertz, Thrifty and SIXT use it for the translation. No state page asks for a “certified translation”; the ACT’s uses the word for the translator. Europcar names NAATI in full, and SIXT’s rental terms ask for a “NATII certified translation”, which looks like a misspelling of NAATI. Avis and Budget use the same FAQ wording, which asks for “an English translation” in one line and says a permit “is required” in the next.

For driving or hiring a car, choose a translation by a NAATI-certified translator. It fits the most specific translation wording in the table below: South Australia’s, the ACT’s, and Europcar’s and SIXT’s rental terms. It doesn’t cover everything. The Northern Territory wants a permit or a translator authorised there, and Avis and Budget also say a permit “is required”.

Hertz’s and Thrifty’s terms and SIXT’s FAQ say “certified” without saying who does the certifying. In Australia, the credential for translators is NAATI’s. NAATI is the national body that certifies translators and interpreters. It certifies people, not companies, and it describes its stamp plainly: “A NAATI translator stamp is used by translators to certify their translations.” So a “certified translation” here is one prepared by a translator who holds that credential, with their statement, stamp and credential number. NAATI’s digital stamp carries a QR code anyone can scan to check it.

Europcar and SIXT spell it out in their rental terms. Europcar’s ask for a translation “issued by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)”, or a permit from the country that issued your licence. SIXT’s accept a licence “with a NATII certified translation”, which looks like a misspelling of NAATI, or an International Driver Permit. NAATI itself doesn’t translate anything, so in practice both point to a translation by a NAATI-certified translator.

Hertz and Thrifty say “certified” in one clause and just “a translation” a page later, and their terms don’t mention a permit at all. We’d read that as: bring a certified translation and you’ve met the stricter of the two lines.

Avis and Budget are the ones to watch. Their shared FAQ accepts “an English translation” in one line and says a permit “is required” in the next, and it gives a permit as its example of “an approved translation”. If you rent from either without a permit, ask the branch what it accepts before you arrive.

“Official”, the word Tasmania, the ACT and the Northern Territory use, needs the rest of the page to mean anything. The ACT lists who may translate, including “A translator who is certified by NAATI”; it’s the only state page that uses “certified” about who translates. Tasmania asks for “a person accredited to translate” without naming NAATI, and the Northern Territory wants “an authorised translator in the NT”. For what “approved” and “accredited” mean on these pages, see NAATI accredited or certified?

Everything above is about driving on your overseas licence as a visitor. Swapping it for an Australian licence is a separate transaction, and the three states below are more specific about the translator.

Victoria: “If your driver licence or learner permit is not in English, you must have it translated by any NAATI accredited translator or the country’s consulate in Australia.” On VicRoads’ convert page that line sits directly under the one for people staying less than six months, so it may apply to visitors too.

Queensland asks for “a recognised English translation provided by” a translator accredited with NAATI, Multicultural NSW, or a Consul-General on official letterhead with the consulate’s stamp. Its transfer page also says “All documents must be originals—photocopies and certified copies are not acceptable.” It doesn’t say how that applies to a translation delivered as a PDF, so ask Transport and Main Roads before you order for a Queensland transfer.

New South Wales is the strict one. For a licence transfer, Service NSW accepts translations from a short list of named organisations only: Multicultural NSW, the Department of Home Affairs, the Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea for licences issued there, and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office for licences issued in Taiwan. An independent translator isn’t on that list, and that includes us.

If you’re staying a while, this matters sooner than you might think. NSW says temporary visitors who arrived on or after 1 July 2023 and plan to live there for more than six months need a NSW licence within six months to keep driving.

We re-read every page for this guide on 19 September 2026. Several of them show a 2026 date. If an older article quotes different wording, go by the page itself.

• South Australia (last updated 3 March 2026) accepts a NAATI translation with either a stamp and signature or NAATI’s digital stamp and QR code.
• Tasmania (last updated 21 July 2026) applies its rule to temporary visa holders as well as visitors.
• Service NSW (last published 16 September 2026) still accepts transfer translations only from its short list of named organisations.
• Queensland’s transfer page (last updated 13 April 2026) asks for original documents: “photocopies and certified copies are not acceptable”.
• SIXT’s rental terms (effective September 2026) accept a foreign photo licence “with a NATII certified translation”.

We translate both sides of your licence card into English and email it to you as a PDF, with the full price on screen before you order. The NAATI option is prepared by a NAATI-certified translator and carries their certification statement, stamp and credential number. What the finished translation looks like, and the price: NAATI driver licence translation.