International Driving License for Bali

Yes, absolutely, this is mandatory and the police will check this document when you get stopped. Everybody who rents a motorized vehicle, including scooters like the Honda Scoopy, Honda Vario, Yamaha NMAX or a Vespa, needs to have both their national driver’s license and an INTERNATIONAL DRIVING PERMIT.

Your national license alone is not legally sufficient in Indonesia. The alternative is a local Indonesian licence: SIM C for motorbikes, SIM A for cars, which only makes sense for long-stay residents.

A genuine IDP can only be issued in the country that issued your license. What travelers use instead is a privately issued translation booklet, for example from the International Drivers Association, delivered to your accommodation in Bali. They also offer a digital copy, but we suggest the printed version.

It is a multilingual translation of your license, not an IDP issued in your home country, and the company states this in its own terms.

In practice it does the job.

The rental operators we work with have put tens of thousands of riders on the road with it and report no issues at police stops. Officers use it to read your license details, which is exactly what the booklet is for. If you are already here without one, or you can’t get an IDP in your home country in time, it is the practical option.

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International Drivers Association

When you get stopped by Bali traffic police, you must show 3 documents:

• vehicle registration (STNK), the rental company must provide you that document (ensure they give it to you and don’t lose it)
• your national license (an absolute must)
• your IDP, International Driving Permit (required in Bali and Indonesia overall)

Checks are most frequent in Canggu, Seminyak, Kuta, Uluwatu and around Ubud, usually in the morning and at the major junctions.

Yes, and this is the mistake we see most often. An IDP carries the same vehicle categories as your national licence.

• Category A covers motorcycles and scooters.
• Category B covers cars.

If your IDP only shows category B, it does not cover you on a 125cc Scoopy or a 155cc NMAX, even though the booklet itself is valid. Check the stamped categories before you travel, and if your trip includes both a car and a scooter, make sure both appear.

Yes. If stopped by Bali traffic police, and any of the required documents are missing you will be fined. Some police officers will just give a verbal warning, but don’t count on it.

These are the on-the-spot fines (tilang) issued at roadside checks. Amounts vary by officer and location, so treat these as the working range.

Fines are cumulative. Missing all three documents at one stop can mean three separate penalties.

Carry the printed booklet. In practice, many travelers report that Bali police accept a digital copy on a phone, because the officer is mainly checking that they can read your license details.

But they are not obliged to accept it, and the issuing bodies themselves state that Indonesia recognises the printed form. If you only have a digital copy, you are relying on the officer’s discretion, which on the road usually goes fine but is not something to plan around.

Yes, you can, simply because most of the rental services won’t care. BUT technically, this does not legally entitle you to drive a motorized two-wheeler for which you actually do not have a national license. Usually 50cc scooters are the max you can drive with a car license.

For your medical insurance to cover you in a scooter or motorbike accident, your national licence must actually entitle you to ride one. This is about your national license category, not about the IDP. Rental companies may hand over a 125cc scooter on just a car licence, but in an accident it can void your medical cover. We recommend choosing only a vehicle you’re properly licensed to ride.

Often they don’t want to see it. More and more do, and it’s a good sign if they ask, because it usually means you’re dealing with a more professionally managed rental shop. The reality in Bali is a bit mixed, though. There are still many small rental shops that won’t ask at all – they leave it up to you to face the police if you get stopped. They might only want to see your passport and take a photo of it. And they won’t even care if your national licence allows you to rent for example a 125cc bike.

Indonesia operates under the 1949 Geneva Convention, so the matching format is the 1-year booklet.

If you hold a 3-year 1968 Vienna IDP issued in an EU country, it is generally accepted in practice, but the 1949 form is the safer match. Only your home country can issue either one, and only before you travel.

An International Driving Permit (IDP) is a standardised translation of your driver’s licence, created under United Nations road traffic conventions. It accompanies your original licence and translates it into a form the local authorities in Indonesia (and usually worldwide) understand. In Indonesia it is sometimes called a SIM Internasional.

That means your licence can be read and accepted here in Bali by the local police. This allows foreign visitors to legally drive a private vehicle such as a car or scooter.

What the IDP is not:

• It is not a licence. It is worthless on its own and must always be shown together with your valid national licence.
• It does not replace your national driving license.
• It’s not a local Indonesian driving license (SIM A or SIM C).

An IDP is only valid together with your original domestic driver’s license. It is an international travel document, not a standalone license and not a legal ID like a passport. Carry both when you drive in Bali.

• 1949 Geneva IDP: maximum 1 year from issue.
• 1968 Vienna IDP: maximum 3 years from issue.

Either way, it expires when your national licence expires, if that comes sooner.
It is never valid in the country that issued it, it is for foreign travel only.
Issuers cannot extend these periods.

No, the SIM Internasional is not the International Driving License that you would need as a tourist to rent a scooter or motorbike. The SIM Internasional is the Indonesian equivalent to the IDP – for people who hold an Indonesian Driving License and want to use it OUTSIDE of Indonesia.