Saudi Arabia 2026: 90 Days on a US Licence, Then a Local One

Saudi Arabia is an easy place for an American to drive in one respect and a strict one in another. The licence is simple; the alcohol rule is absolute.

Your licence: 90 days, rental cars

The U.S. State Department’s country page says “temporary visitors may drive using their valid U.S. or international driver’s license for up to 90 days,” and that with either document visitors may drive a rental car. So the US licence alone covers a normal trip, and an IDP is optional. Two limits matter: driving anything other than a rental needs a Saudi licence, registration and insurance, and police may detain drivers who cannot produce those documents; and anyone resident must get a local licence from the Department of Traffic Police. Keep your licence and passport together.

What’s familiar: you stay on the right

There is no side switch to relearn. The US drives on the right, and Saudi Arabia drives on the right too, so your basic road instinct carries over. What does change is the driving culture — traffic on the modern motorways can be fast and assertive, and desert highways demand attention to fatigue and distance rather than to direction.

The line you cannot cross: alcohol

This is the rule that matters most. Saudi Arabia’s limit is 0.00, and alcohol is prohibited countrywide — there is no “one drink” margin, and any reading is treated as a serious offence well beyond a traffic fine. Treat it as absolute zero, full stop.

Speeds run to 50 km/h in towns, 80 on rural roads and 120 on motorways, with camera enforcement common; missing equipment or speeding penalties land around SAR 300-500. Fuel is famously cheap at roughly $0.62/litre, and the emergency number is 911; the State Department tells US citizens to dial 993 to report a traffic accident. Read the full Saudi Arabia driving guide, check other countries with the Driving Permit Checker, and estimate a penalty with the Speeding Fine Calculator.

Sources

• U.S. Department of State, Country Information, Saudi Arabia (“Temporary visitors may drive using their valid U.S. or international driver’s license for up to 90 days”; rental cars; accidents 993), last updated May 21, 2026: cadataapi.state.gov