Anguilla on a British Licence — Valid, Same Side, but Buy the Local Permit First

Anguilla is about as gentle an introduction to overseas driving as a British visitor will find. The island is small, flat and quiet — and crucially, it drives on the same side you already do.

Can you drive here on a UK licence?

Yes. Your British licence is accepted, but Anguilla runs a local permit system: before you can legally drive a hire car, the rental company issues a temporary Anguillian driving permit against your UK licence, usually for a small fee handled at the desk. This is the step visitors forget, and it is the one that actually matters here — far more than any international paperwork. Bring your photocard licence and passport; an IDP does no harm but the local permit is the document that counts.

The side of the road is the easy part

Anguilla drives on the left, exactly like the UK, so there is nothing to relearn at junctions or roundabouts. That removes the hazard that catches British drivers in most of the Caribbean and the Americas. What is left is the informal feel of the roads: limits are low and inconsistently posted, goats and the odd loose animal wander onto the carriageway, and many junctions have no markings or priority signs. Treat every junction as give-way and keep your speed down — the island is small enough that you are never in a hurry.

What the data does and doesn’t tell us

Anguilla does not publish a clear set of national speed limits or a documented alcohol limit, so this page will not invent one. The honest guidance is simple: drive slowly, drive sober, and drive to what you can see. The emergency number is 911.

Before you travel, confirm the permit and licence position with the Driving Permit Checker, browse the wider rules in our driving guides, and if you are island-hopping afterwards it is worth seeing how penalties differ region to region in our guide to driving fines abroad.