Rent a car in Australia with an overseas licence

Not with every company, so check the one you book. Hertz’s and Thrifty’s terms ask for a certified English translation. Europcar and SIXT accept a translation or a permit, though SIXT wants a permit beside a licence with no photo. Budget and Avis are the two to ask before you pay: their FAQs mention an English translation and give a permit as an example of an approved translation, but each also says an “International Drivers Licence” is required when the licence is not in English. Booking Budget or Avis from home? A permit is the safer document to arrange; permit or translation, by where you are standing.

Not on a permit or a translation alone. Budget and Avis both say an International Driving Permit is not a stand-alone document and must be carried with your domestic licence, and a translation from us works the same way: it sits beside the card and never replaces it. A photo will not do either, as both say a screenshot or photo of a licence is not acceptable. Their digital licence policy lists some issuers, among them China, India and Singapore, whose digital licences may be accepted after a live check, but both say they can reject one. Pack the card itself.

The document most road authorities and hire desks name is an International Driving Permit, issued in the country that issued your licence. The Australian Automobile Association warns that scammers offer an “International Driving Licence” or “International Driver’s Licence”, and that these are not legitimate documents. It also says the United Nations 1949 Convention sets the permit format: a physical book, with no digital version. Budget’s FAQ describes a permit issued in accordance with the UN Convention on road traffic, and Europcar’s terms want one issued in the same country as the licence. Either way, carry your licence card with the permit.

Each hire company sets its own list. Budget and Avis ask for a current, full licence and a physical credit or debit card, both in the driver’s name, not a card on a phone or watch. Both want the licence held for at least 12 consecutive months, not a learner, provisional or restricted one, set a minimum age of 21 and limit drivers under 25 to certain vehicle groups. Europcar asks for a licence held at least a year. If the licence is not in English, add the permit or translation your company names, and book in your name as your passport spells it: which name spelling to use.

Yes, on a current licence from home, with a permit or translation if it is not in English, subject to the hire company’s licence and age rules. How long you may drive on it depends on the state. New South Wales allows tourists and temporary overseas visitors up to six months, Victoria’s visitor page covers stays of less than six months, and the Northern Territory allows up to three months. Austroads reads the other states as letting a visitor drive on a current overseas licence with no fixed end date. On a long working holiday, check before month six: how long you can drive on an overseas licence.

Austroads, the association of Australia’s road transport agencies, sums them up: carry your overseas licence at all times, with an International Driving Permit or an English translation if the licence is not in English. You may drive only the vehicles your licence authorises and must follow any conditions on it, which is why a translation covers both sides of the card. South Australia adds that police can ask for your licence documents and passport. The Northern Territory is the exception: it tells visitors with a non-English licence to apply for a permit, and we cannot supply a translation for use there.

Yes, if you are visiting. Queensland’s page says a visitor can drive on a valid overseas licence and sets no time limit for visitors; its three-month limits apply to Australian citizens and permanent or special category visa holders living there. Drive only the class of vehicle your licence allows, follow its conditions and, if it is not in English, carry a recognised English translation to show police with the licence. The page points to NAATI’s list of translators without defining recognised, so we suggest the NAATI certification option. Your hire company’s own terms still apply at the desk: driving in Queensland as a visitor.

Yes, while you are visiting. VicRoads’ visitor page covers stays of less than six months, and its conversion page says that if you move to Victoria planning to live there for more than six months, you must convert to a Victorian licence. If your licence is not in English, carry an English translation or an international driving permit in English with the card.

VicRoads names no body for a visitor’s translation, though its conversion page adds, straight after its sentence about staying less than 6 months, “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.” Melbourne hire desks apply their own terms as well, so we point hire customers to the NAATI certification option. Landing at Melbourne Airport? See what to have ready at the airport hire desk.

The 2026 date on the NSW Government’s overseas driver page concerns licence conversion. From 1 February 2026, Hong Kong (SAR) is on the non-recognised country list, as China is, so those holders must complete the knowledge and practical driving tests for a NSW licence. Service NSW’s media release of 1 February 2026 adds that “a further group of overseas drivers and riders aged 25 years and over from a broader selection of countries will now be required to pass a knowledge test and a driving test before converting their overseas licence to a NSW licence”.

For visitors, it lets tourists drive on a current overseas licence for up to six months, carrying an English translation or International Driving Permit if it is not in English. Temporary visitors who arrived from 1 July 2023 and intend to live in NSW over six months need a NSW licence within six months. We cannot help with a NSW transfer: who Transport for NSW accepts.

$199.96 with the NAATI certification option or $79.98 for Standard, because a licence counts as two pages, the front and the back. Standard carries no certification statement and no stamp. For a hire car, choose the NAATI option: Hertz’s and Thrifty’s terms say certified, and Europcar’s and SIXT’s name NAATI. Faster delivery is charged once per order, not per page: Urgent adds $49 and ASAP, where available, $99. Normal delivery is included, and the full price is on the order page before you pay.

With ASAP it can be within 4 hours, where a translator for your language is free. Urgent is 12–24 hours and Normal within 3 days, all counted from when you order and all estimates rather than fixed arrival times. We do not deliver on Sundays: a delivery that would fall on a Sunday arrives on the Monday. With a pick-up booked for a set time, use the contact page before you order, so we can tell you honestly whether we can meet it: a deadline you did not mention is not one we commit to. A blurred photo pauses the clock, so photograph both sides clearly. If a faster speed you paid for is going to be missed, we tell you as soon as we know.

Not in the form most hire companies describe. Hertz and Thrifty ask for a certified English translation, SIXT’s terms name a NAATI-certified translation, and Europcar’s describe one issued by NAATI. A translation you type yourself, or run through an app, has no translator’s statement or credential behind it, so it matches none of those wordings. Budget and Avis give a permit as their example of an approved translation and do not say who else may prepare one, so ask them. An app is fine for reading your own card. The NAATI certification option carries a translator’s statement and stamp: what a certified translation looks like.

Often, yes, as long as your licence card has not changed: the translation has no expiry date of its own. It describes one card, though. Once your licence is renewed or replaced, the new card shows different dates and may carry a new number, so the old translation no longer matches what the desk is holding and you need a fresh one. Read the hire company’s licence terms again before each trip. A permit runs on its own clock: South Australia says an IDP is valid for 12 months.

Not through the government’s Free Translating Service: TIS National says tourist visa holders and working holiday visa holders are not eligible. The service is for permanent residents and eligible visa holders who are in Australia. For them, TIS says most translations come as an extract summary of up to 100 words, available within 30 calendar days of approval, which is a long wait if a pick-up date is close. If you hold a different visa, the four eligibility tests show whether the free service is open to you.