Driving Permit for Malta

Malta is one of only four European countries where traffic drives on the left — a legacy of British rule, which ended with independence in 1964. Licences issued in the EU or EEA are accepted outright with no extra paperwork. Visitors from outside the EU can drive on their home-country licence for up to 12 months, but an International Driving Permit is strongly recommended — and effectively essential if your licence isn't printed in English or Latin script, since it serves as the official translation for rental agents and police. Note that Malta is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic rather than the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the 1949-format IDP is the one recognised.

At the rental desk, expect a minimum age of 21 with most companies (the legal driving age is 18), and young-driver surcharges are common under 25. EU and English-language licences are generally accepted on their own, while agents routinely ask for an IDP alongside licences in other scripts. Hire cars are right-hand drive, and roundabouts, narrow village streets and busy local traffic take some adjustment. Whoever checks your documents — police or rental staff — will want the original licence too: an IDP is never valid on its own.

Speed limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h outside them, and there are no motorways anywhere on the islands. Seatbelts are mandatory, handheld phone use is banned, and the EU's Your Europe portal lists the blood-alcohol limit at 0.5 g/l for ordinary drivers (zero for professional drivers). Hired cars must carry a warning triangle, fire extinguisher and first-aid kit. Malta doesn't issue on-the-spot fines — serious offences bring a court summons instead — and driving into central Valletta incurs an access charge, so many visitors use the park-and-ride on the outskirts.