Can a Norwegian Drive in New Zealand? — IDP Required, Side Switch, Looser Alcohol Limit

Norwegians come to New Zealand for landscapes that rhyme with home — fjords, mountains, empty roads — but the driving asks for two adjustments: the side of the road, and the small step in the paperwork.

The verdict for Norwegian licence holders

You can drive in New Zealand on your Norwegian licence for up to 12 months, with one requirement to handle first: because the licence is not in English, an International Driving Permit is required to carry alongside it. Arrange the IDP before you travel; it translates your licence for hire desks and police. Keep the IDP, licence and passport together.

Switching to the left is the main thing to master

Norway drives on the right; New Zealand drives on the left. This is the biggest hazard, and the risky window is the first day — pulling out of a car park, taking a roundabout the opposite way, or glancing the wrong direction at a junction. Make your first drive a quiet one and stay deliberate at every turn until left-hand traffic feels normal.

One rule that loosens — and roads that demand respect

Unusually, a limit relaxes here: New Zealand’s drink-drive limit is 0.05, looser than Norway’s strict 0.02. The sensible move is to keep your home habit rather than use the extra margin. On speed, the open-road and motorway limit is 100 km/h and towns 50 — but the roads are narrow, winding and longer than they look, with one-lane bridges where a white arrow gives priority and a red arrow means give way. A 10 km/h-over fine is about NZD 80 (roughly €45) plus 10 demerit points, enforced by fixed cameras and patrols.

Practical notes: petrol is around $1.72/litre, and the emergency number is 111 — save it before you set off.

Read the full rules on our New Zealand driving guide, confirm the permit with the Driving Permit Checker, and estimate a fine with the Speeding Fine Calculator.