Czech Roads on an Indian Licence 2026: IDP and Zero Alcohol

Prague, Český Krumlov and the Moravian wine villages sit within an easy day’s drive of each other, which makes Czechia a natural first European road trip for Indian travellers. Four rules shape it: the permit, the side of the road, alcohol and the motorway toll.

Bring the 1949 permit

Czech road law (Act 361/2000, §104) recognises driving licences and international permits issued under the 1949 Geneva and 1968 Vienna conventions, and it treats a 1949 permit as valid for one year from its issue date. Canada’s travel advice is blunt: drivers must carry an international driving permit. India issues the 1949 permit through your RTO, so get it before departure and carry it with the Indian licence and passport.

Left to right

India keeps left; Czechia keeps right. Roundabouts turn anticlockwise and the reflex look at junctions points the wrong way for the first day. Collect the car outside central Prague and drive quiet roads first. In Prague and Brno, trams have priority over cars and pedestrians; never stop on the rails.

No alcohol at all

Czechia has zero tolerance for alcohol or drugs at the wheel. India’s limit is 30 mg per 100 ml, so even the habits that are legal at home break the law here.

Toll, season and kit

Motorways need an electronic vignette, registered to the number plate online, at petrol stations or at border points, with 10-day, one-month and one-year options; the Czechia vignette guide explains it. Canadian advice says winter tyres are mandatory from 1 November to 31 March. Cars carry a first-aid kit, a warning triangle and high-visibility vests kept in the passenger compartment, and headlights stay on at all times. Limits are 50 km/h in towns, 90 outside and 130 on motorways. Emergencies: 112. Our Czechia driving guide and the Driving Permit Checker cover the rest.

Sources

• Act No. 361/2000 Coll. on road traffic, §104 (licences and IDPs under the 1949 and 1968 conventions; 1949 IDP valid one year from issue): zakonyprolidi.cz
• Global Affairs Canada, Czechia travel advice (must carry an IDP; zero tolerance; e-vignette; winter tyres 1 November-31 March; kit; headlights; trams; 112): travel.gc.ca
• Czech motorway e-vignette, official portal: edalnice.gov.cz
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Czechia profile (50/90/130 km/h): who.int
• UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic (India a party): treaties.un.org
• India, Motor Vehicles Act 1988 s.185 (30 mg per 100 ml): indiacode.nic.in