Driving Permit for Nepal

Nepal expects foreign visitors to carry an International Driving Permit alongside their original national licence, and the format matters more here than in most countries: current UK government guidance specifies the 1968-format IDP and states that the older 1949-format permit is no longer accepted in Nepal. Because some countries — including the United States — issue only 1949-format IDPs, check which convention format your issuing body provides before you travel. Whatever the paperwork, an IDP is only a companion document: your home licence must remain valid and be carried with it, and anyone settling in Nepal long term is expected to obtain a local licence from the Department of Transport Management.

Traffic drives on the left, as in neighbouring India, and vehicles are right-hand drive. On the ground, the rental market shapes the experience as much as the rules do: self-drive car hire is rare, and most cars are rented with a local driver included. Tourists who drive themselves overwhelmingly do so on rented motorcycles and scooters in Kathmandu and Pokhara, where shops may not always ask to see an IDP — but traffic police at checkpoints can, and riding without proper documents risks fines and voided insurance.

A few local rules are worth knowing. By law, only the driver of a car must wear a seatbelt and only the rider of a motorbike must wear a helmet — passengers are exempt, though rental shops will provide passenger helmets on request. Drink-driving enforcement is strict, with an effectively zero-tolerance approach and frequent evening checkpoints in the Kathmandu Valley. Road conditions are poor by international standards, especially during the June–September monsoon and on mountain roads, and road accidents are a major cause of death and injury in Nepal — drive defensively and avoid driving at night outside the cities.