The international driving permit in Armenia: how to get one and where it works

An international driving permit is issued in Armenia on the basis of your national driver's license, within one working day, and you do not have to sit any exam for it (Decision No. 385-N, Annex 1, point 83). You submit four things: an identity document, the receipt for the state duty for issuing a driving license, your national license itself (not required if all you hold is a digital license), and one color photograph 3 x 4 cm (point 84 of the same annex; Annex 2, items 1, 4 and 6). The permit is issued for up to three years, but never beyond the validity of your national license (point 5 of the same annex); the Law "On Ensuring Road Traffic Safety", Article 27, part 8, adds your medical accreditation certificate to that ceiling.

The most important and least expected rule: an international permit issued by Armenia's competent bodies is treated as not valid for driving inside Armenia (the same Article 27, part 5, point 1). It is a travel document, not an upgraded Armenian license.

What the document actually is

The form is set by Annex 4 of Decision No. 385-N itself, and the cover carries the line "Convention on Road Traffic, 8 November 1968" — the convention signed in Vienna. It is a booklet of 7 pages measuring 148 x 105 mm, with a grey watermarked cover and white leaves. The number consists of two Latin letters and six digits. Pages 1–7 repeat the same content, each page in a different language, in this order: Armenian, English, Spanish, Russian, Turkish, Georgian and Persian; the last inner face of the cover is in French (Annex 4, items 1, 2, 5 and 11).

Inside, besides your details, every page carries the table of categories and subcategories — codes A, B, C, D, BE, CE, DE and AM, A1, B1, C1, D1, C1E, D1E — and below it a line for "conditions restricting use", for example "drive with glasses only" (item 12). The categories you may actually drive are marked with a stamp at the back of the booklet, in the matching fields on the additional face of the cover (item 14). Your photograph is sealed so that part of the seal falls on the picture, and you sign below it (item 15).

Two sentences printed on the reverse of the cover explain the whole logic of the document. First: the permit is not valid in the territory of the Contracting Party where its holder normally resides, and is valid in all the other Contracting Parties on production of the corresponding national driving license. Second: it ceases to be valid in the country that becomes the holder's main place of residence (Annex 4, items 9 and 10). In short, an international permit never works on its own — it always travels with your national license.

How to get one

The documents go to the exam body — an MIA registration and examination unit (addresses on the MIA's official website, roadpolice.am). The permit is signed by the head of the unit and sealed with the seal used to confirm international-traffic documents; the permitted categories are marked with a stamp (form No. 7, point 86).

Your identity document and your national license are returned to you with the international permit: only copies stay in the file. Where the case is handled electronically, the duty receipt comes back too, stamped "USED" (point 87). If the permit is lost or exchanged, a duplicate is issued under the same points 83 and 84 (point 85).

On booking: the MIA notice of 7 September 2026 says registration and examination services can be booked in advance on roadpolice.am — choose the unit, the day and the time, and a four-digit code arrives by email; then turn up 15 minutes early and enter the code at the terminal. Most services are also available in a live queue. The notice does not list which, so check at the unit whether the international permit can be booked online.

What it costs

To be straight about it: the Law "On State Duty" sets no separate duty for an international driving permit — there is no such line anywhere in the act. Point 84 of Annex 1 to Decision No. 385-N requires the receipt under item 4 of Annex 2, and that item is the duty for "issuing a driving license" — twelve times the base duty under Article 20, item 1 of the same law, that is 12,000 AMD (Article 8: the base duty is 1,000 AMD). The FAQ on roadpolice.am lists the payments for getting a driving license and names no separate amount for the international permit, so confirm the payable sum at the unit. The other exam-related payments are covered in a separate article.

The age limit may not match your national license

International permits for categories A and B and subcategories AM, A1 and B1 are issued from 18, and those for categories C, D, BE, CE and DE and subcategories C1, D1, C1E and D1E from 21 (Law, Article 27, part 7).

Worth remembering: you can hold a national category C license from 18 (the same article, part 3, point 1), but an international permit for that same category C only from 21. Categories and subcategories belong to Group 2 of the question bank and do come up in the tests — you can practice that group.

Driving in Armenia on a foreign license

Three rules people mix up most often. First: non-citizens may drive here on an international permit only if they also hold a national driving license (Article 27, part 16). Second: licenses obtained abroad by Armenian citizens, dual citizens included, that meet the Vienna Convention's requirements are valid in Armenia for three months from the moment of entry (Article 27, part 5, point 2). Third: it is prohibited to carry on business or employment in Armenia directly connected with driving on a foreign national or international license, except international carriage; on the basis of reciprocity the ban does not apply to citizens of the Eurasian Economic Union member states (Article 27, part 17).

Note also that no Armenian national or international license is issued in place of a lost or stolen foreign one — except for licenses issued by the competent bodies of the USSR states before 21 February 1992 (Article 27, part 14). If your goal is not a trip abroad but driving in Armenia, what you need is not an international permit but an exchange of your foreign license.

Can I drive in Armenia with a US/UK/EU licence?

No list of countries is published, so a US, UK or EU licence is treated like any other foreign one: what matters is whether it meets the requirements of the 1968 Vienna Convention. The MIA registration and examination unit assesses the document itself.

If you are not an Armenian citizen, you may drive on an international permit only if you also hold your national licence. A permit issued by Armenia is not valid inside Armenia. The law names a three-month limit from the date of entry for Armenian and dual citizens; for other foreigners we could not find the period, so check it with the MIA unit before you drive. If the issuing country has no road-safety treaty with Armenia, the licence is valid here, on a reciprocity basis, only with a notarized Armenian translation, unless all its entries are in Latin letters.

Employment or business directly connected with driving on a foreign licence is prohibited, except for international carriage. If you are staying, a Convention-compliant licence can be exchanged without exams.

Where it is accepted

By the wording printed on its own cover, the permit is valid in the territory of all the other Contracting Parties to the Vienna Convention, on production of the national license (Annex 4, item 9). Which country accepts an Armenian permit today is settled neither by Decision No. 385-N nor by Armenian law — that is a question of convention membership. Check your destination country's official source before you travel, especially if you plan to rent a car.

If you do not have a national license yet, the international one is not your next step: start with the steps to getting a driver's license and the exam simulation built on the official question bank. Other common questions are answered in the FAQ.

Can I drive in Armenia with a US/UK/EU licence?

No list of countries is published, so a US, UK or EU licence is treated like any other foreign one: what matters is whether it meets the requirements of the 1968 Vienna Convention. The MIA registration and examination unit assesses the document itself.

If you are not an Armenian citizen, you may drive on an international permit only if you also hold your national licence. A permit issued by Armenia is not valid inside Armenia. The law names a three-month limit from the date of entry for Armenian and dual citizens; for other foreigners we could not find the period, so check it with the MIA unit before you drive. If the issuing country has no road-safety treaty with Armenia, the licence is valid here, on a reciprocity basis, only with a notarized Armenian translation, unless all its entries are in Latin letters.

Employment or business directly connected with driving on a foreign licence is prohibited, except for international carriage. If you are staying, a Convention-compliant licence can be exchanged without exams. More on the rules for foreigners: driving licence in Armenia for foreigners and Russians.