Renting a Car in Dubai with a Foreign Licence and IDP

Yes, you can rent a car in Dubai on a foreign driving licence. At ALKA, visitors whose licence was issued outside the GCC (for example in the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey or the United States) present their home-country licence together with a valid International Driving Permit (IDP). Visitors holding a GCC licence do not need an IDP.

This guide looks at the rule from the side of the licence you hold: which case applies to you, what to check before you fly, and how it works when more than one person will drive. For the complete document list for every tier, including UAE residents, see our guide to the documents needed to rent a car in Dubai.

Which licences need an International Driving Permit

What decides it is where your driving licence was issued. For visitors, ALKA's rental terms set out two cases:

• Licence issued in a GCC country (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar or Saudi Arabia): you may drive on that licence, without an IDP.
• Licence issued anywhere else, for example in the United Kingdom, Germany or another EU country, Turkey or the United States: you present your home-country licence together with a valid IDP.

The countries named above illustrate the rule. They are not a list of exceptions. Among visitors, only those holding a GCC licence rent without an IDP. UAE residents are a separate case: they drive on their UAE licence, together with their Emirates ID and residence visa, so they do not need an IDP.

If your case is less simple, for instance your passport and your licence come from different countries, mention it when you first contact us. The concierge can confirm which case applies to you before you travel, rather than at handover.

The IDP travels with your licence, not instead of it

An International Driving Permit is presented together with your original home-country licence. It does not replace the licence, so you need both documents with you. The rental terms also require the licence to be valid and in the correct category, and the IDP to be valid.

A few practical checks before you fly:

• Your licence and your IDP are both valid for the dates of your rental.
• Your licence is in the correct category for the car you are renting.
• The name on your passport, licence and booking is the same. A booking may be cancelled where the documents presented do not match it.
• Your passport and your UAE entry visa or entry stamp are ready to present alongside the two licence documents.

Checking your licence before you arrive

Most ALKA clients book from outside the UAE, and a foreign licence does not change that. Identity documents, your licence and IDP among them, are uploaded for remote verification before the rental, with no office visit. A booking may be cancelled where identity verification fails, so it is better to settle any question about your licence or IDP while you are still at home. Our guide on how to rent a luxury car in Dubai before you arrive walks through the full sequence, from first message to handover.

Two other checks apply to every licence, wherever it was issued. First, tell us the date your licence was issued when you book: if it was issued less than six months before the rental, the insurer applies reduced cover and some vehicle classes are not released to newly licensed drivers at all. The documents guide linked above explains what reduced cover means in an at-fault accident. Second, age is checked alongside the licence. The base minimum driver age is 23 and some vehicle classes require a higher minimum; our guide to the minimum age to rent a supercar in Dubai explains how this works.

When more than one person will drive

The licence rule is applied to each driver on their own licence. Only drivers named on the rental agreement may drive the car, and every driver must meet the same conditions as the renter before handover. In practice:

• A second driver whose licence was issued outside the GCC also needs their home-country licence and a valid IDP.
• In a mixed party, a driver with a GCC licence needs no IDP, while a companion driving on, say, a UK or Turkish licence does.
• Additional drivers are added for a fee, at the start of the rental only. A driver cannot be added once the rental has begun.

So decide who will drive before you travel, and make sure each person has the right documents for their own licence.

If you are unsure how the rule applies to your licence, or to someone travelling with you, send your dates and the country that issued each driver's licence through our contact page or to reservations@alkarentacar.com. The concierge will confirm what applies to your rental before you travel. The complete conditions are in our rental terms.