Driving Permit for Maldives

The Maldives is one of the few destinations where most visitors never sit behind a wheel: resort islands are car-free, and travel between atolls happens by speedboat, ferry or seaplane. Driving only really matters in the Greater Malé region — the capital, the airport island of Hulhulé and planned Hulhumalé, all joined by the Sinamalé Bridge — and on the long inter-island link roads of Addu City in the far south. Traffic drives on the left, as in neighbouring Sri Lanka and India, and scooters far outnumber cars.

For foreign visitors, the Maldives recognises the International Driving Permit in its 1949 Geneva-convention format, and official UK government travel advice tells drivers to carry both the correct version of the IDP and their original national licence in the vehicle. There are no major international car-hire chains; rentals are mostly scooters and motorbikes from local operators in Hulhumalé, Addu and Fuvahmulah, and rental desks want a licence they can actually read — an IDP or certified translation is the practical key to renting and to passing a police licence check. Hire companies frequently add their own conditions, such as a minimum age of about 20-21 and at least a year of driving experience. Long-term residents are expected to convert to a Maldivian licence.

Local rules mirror local conditions. Speed limits are low by international standards, Malé's streets are narrow, one-way and heavily congested, and helmet requirements apply to motorcyclists on the Sinamalé Bridge highway link. Alcohol is prohibited outside licensed resort islands, so drink-driving is effectively a zero-tolerance matter. In Malé itself, parking is extremely scarce on the two-square-kilometre capital island — most visitors are better off walking or taking a taxi and saving the driving for Hulhumalé or Addu.