Norfolk Island on a British Licence — No Side Switch, IDP Recommended

Norfolk Island is a tiny, remote speck in the South Pacific, and most British visitors who hire a car there have just one practical worry: will their licence work, and which side of the road do they drive on. Both answers make the trip easy.

The verdict for British licence holders

You can drive in Norfolk Island on your British licence, with an International Driving Permit recommended to carry alongside it. The IDP is inexpensive and sorted at a UK post office before you travel; you cannot obtain one on the island. Keep your UK licence, the IDP and your passport with you whenever you drive.

Same side as home — and a very local hazard

The reassuring fact for a UK driver is that Norfolk Island drives on the left, exactly as the United Kingdom does. No side switch, no reorientation at junctions. What does catch first-time visitors out is something far more charming and far more real: the island’s cattle roam freely and, by long-standing local convention, livestock have right of way. You will round a bend and meet cows on the carriageway, and the expectation is that you stop and wait, not edge through. Drive slowly enough to do exactly that, especially at dusk.

What else to know

The emergency number is 112 — save it before you set off, because this is genuinely remote terrain and help is not always close. Alcohol limits and posted speed thresholds for visitors are not well documented, so do not assume UK figures apply: drive to the conditions, treat drinking and driving as off-limits entirely, and read any signage you pass on its own terms. Distances are small and speeds are low by nature, so there is rarely any reason to hurry.

Check what documents you need with the Driving Permit Checker, read the local detail on our Norfolk Island driving guide, and compare the wider rules on our Australia driving guide, since the island sits under Australian administration.