Ferry to Morocco With a Spanish Licence: 2026 Rules

Morocco is one of the easiest big road trips to reach from Spain: a short ferry from Algeciras or Tarifa and you can be on the Rif coast or heading inland to Fes by lunchtime. The licence question deserves a quick look before the crossing.

What a Spanish licence holder needs

The U.S. State Department’s Morocco page says “Foreign driver’s licenses are valid for use in Morocco for up to one year,” which covers a holiday on a Spanish licence. UK government travel advice, written for British licence holders, asks them for both the 1968 international driving permit and their licence and says Morocco no longer accepts the 1949 version. Spain signed the 1968 Vienna Convention in 1968 but never ratified it, so the international permit the DGT issues is the Geneva 1949 model.

Bring the DGT permit anyway as a translation of your licence, and before you book, ask the rental company which documents it accepts and that its insurance covers you.

Same side, different road

Morocco drives on the right, exactly like Spain, so junctions and roundabouts feel familiar. What changes is everything around the car: donkeys and pedestrians stepping into the carriageway, surfaces that go from smooth toll motorway to broken free-road within a kilometre, and old-city medinas that are impassable by car.

A 0.2 g/l limit and where the speeds sit

The alcohol limit is 0.2 g/l, far tighter than Spain’s 0.5 g/l. Towns are 60 km/h (with 40 and 20 zones), national roads generally 80 km/h with some sections at 100, and the toll motorways 120 km/h. NARSA’s fines: under 20 km/h over MAD 300; 20-29 km/h over MAD 500 and 2 points; 30-49 km/h over MAD 700 and 4 points; 50 km/h or more over is a criminal offence. Emergencies: 190 police, 150 ambulance and fire, 177 gendarmerie.

Check the full rules on our Morocco driving guide, compare other routes with the Driving Permit Checker, and estimate any penalty with the Speeding Fine Calculator.

Sources

• U.S. Department of State, Country Information, Morocco (“Foreign driver’s licenses are valid for use in Morocco for up to one year”), last updated July 30, 2026: cadataapi.state.gov
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Morocco, safety and security (“1968 version of the IDP”; “Morocco no longer accepts the 1949 version”): gov.uk
• DGT, validity of your licence abroad and the international permit (Geneva model): dgt.es
• UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic (Spain signed 8 November 1968, not ratified): treaties.un.org
• NARSA, excessive speed (limits and fine bands): narsa-securiteroutiere.ma
• WHO Global status report on road safety 2023, Morocco and Spain profiles (0.02 and 0.05 g/dl): who.int, who.int
• GOV.UK, Morocco, getting help (190, 150, 177): gov.uk