Uzbekistan on an Indian Licence 2026: The IDP Type Matters

Uzbekistan is a long-distance country, and a car opens up the Silk Road towns between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara. For an Indian driver, the paperwork deserves more care than the driving.

The permit question

Canada’s travel advice is blunt: a home licence on its own is not acceptable in Uzbekistan, and an international driving permit must be carried. UK advice names the 1968 version of the permit specifically. That matters for you, because the UN treaty records show Uzbekistan is a party only to the 1968 Vienna Convention, while India is a party only to the 1949 Geneva Convention, so every IDP an Indian RTO issues is a 1949 permit.

In practice that means carrying your Indian licence, the 1949 IDP and your passport together, and asking the rental company to confirm in writing, before you pay, that it accepts that combination. Canadian drivers, whose permits are also 1949 versions, are simply told to carry an IDP. The Driving Permit Checker shows how other countries on a Central Asian route treat the same documents.

Left to right

India keeps left; Uzbekistan keeps right. Pull out of the rental yard on a quiet street, not in Tashkent’s centre, and expect the first junctions to feel wrong. Lane changes are sudden and traffic rules are often ignored, so drive defensively.

Road conditions and police stops

Tashkent’s main roads are in reasonable condition; outside the capital, and in the mountains especially, expect potholes, broken traffic lights and poor markings. Fuel stations thin out in rural areas and quality can be poor, so fill up when you can. Police stops are frequent and officers rarely speak English; keep documents ready and avoid driving at night. Do not drink at all before driving.

Limits and numbers

Uzbekistan’s Road Traffic Rules set 60 km/h in Tashkent, Nukus, regional and district centres and other cities, 70 km/h in smaller settlements, 30 km/h near signed schools and 100 km/h for cars outside settlements, with no separate motorway limit (clauses 78-79); follow the signs, which are often lower. Emergencies: police 102, ambulance 103, fire 101. The Uzbekistan driving guide has the wider rules.

Sources

• Global Affairs Canada, Uzbekistan travel advice (Canadian licence alone not acceptable, IDP required; road conditions; police 102, medical 103, fire 101): travel.gc.ca
• GOV.UK foreign travel advice, Uzbekistan, safety and security (1968 IDP; drive on the right): gov.uk
• UN Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic (Uzbekistan a party; India not): treaties.un.org
• UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic (India 1962; Uzbekistan not a party): treaties.un.org
• Road Traffic Rules of Uzbekistan, Cabinet of Ministers resolution No. 172 of 12 April 2022, clauses 78-79 (60/70/30/100 km/h): lex.uz