Egypt on a UK Licence 2026: 1949 IDP and a 6-Month Limit

For Egypt, the paperwork is settled in the UK rather than at the rental counter in Hurghada or Cairo. The FCDO wants two documents in the car, your UK licence and the 1949 International Driving Permit, and the permit cannot be bought once you have left the country.

Which permit, and for how long

GOV.UK’s permit table files Egypt under the 1949 IDP, the older of the two common formats. It is sold in person at shops offering PayPoint for £5.50. With the licence and the permit together you may drive for up to six months; for a longer stay the FCDO says you must apply for an Egyptian licence. Police check ID regularly and will ask for your passport, so keep it with the two driving documents. The Driving Permit Checker shows the same answer for other countries on your route.

From left to right

Britain drives on the left; Egypt drives on the right. The first hour is when the mistakes happen: turning out of a hotel drive into the near lane, going the wrong way round a roundabout, or looking right first at a junction. Practise somewhere quiet before you meet Cairo traffic.

The FCDO’s description of the roads is blunt: accidents are common because of variable road conditions, dangerous driving and poor enforcement, and it advises against driving outside the main cities and resorts at night. During Ramadan, driving can turn erratic around dusk as people hurry home to break the fast.

Limits, belts and alcohol

Egypt reports 60 km/h in towns, 90 km/h on rural roads and 100 km/h on motorways to the WHO, so a motorway run is slower than the UK’s 70 mph. The driver and front-seat passenger must wear seatbelts. Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is treated as a serious offence that can bring a fine and imprisonment; with no published numeric limit to lean on, do not drink at all if you are driving.

Taking your own car

Driving a UK-registered car into Egypt is a different matter: the FCDO notes that vehicle imports may not be allowed, and a temporary import needs a carnet de passage from the Automobile Association. For the rest of the road rules see the Egypt driving guide, and the guide to who pays driving fines abroad explains what happens if a ticket reaches a hire company.

Sources

• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Egypt, safety and security (“You’ll need to have both the 1949 version of the international driving permit (IDP) and your UK driving licence”; “for up to 6 months”; seatbelts; drink-driving; night driving; carnet de passage; passport checks): gov.uk
• GOV.UK, Driving abroad: check if you need an IDP (Egypt listed under 1949; IDP from PayPoint shops, £5.50): gov.uk
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Egypt profile (60/90/100 km/h; no numeric BAC limit listed): who.int