Driving in Lebanon on an Australian licence

You can drive in Lebanon on your Australian licence, as long as you bring the right paper with it. Whether you'll want to, once you've seen Beirut at 5 pm, is another matter.

The short version

Smartraveller says if you plan to drive in Lebanon you should hold an International Driving Permit (IDP) alongside your Australian licence [1].
Get the IDP before you leave. Through the NRMA it costs A$55 plus postage, lasts 12 months (or until your licence expires), and can't be issued once you're overseas [2].
Residents eventually need a Lebanese licence, issued by the Traffic Management Organization (TMO). We found no published licence-exchange agreement between Australia and Lebanon, so expect to ask the TMO what tests apply [3][4].
Lebanon drives on the right. Road deaths are high: the Internal Security Forces recorded 443 deaths from 2,365 accidents in 2024 [6].
Smartraveller's level for all of Lebanon is Do not travel, and it warns of road closures, fuel shortages, GPS jamming and armed checkpoints [1].

The safety picture first

Smartraveller raised Lebanon to Do not travel on 28 February, after military strikes and a volatile regional situation [1]. It names areas to stay out of entirely, including the south, Nabatieh, Akkar, Baalbek-Hermel, the Bekaa east of the Litani River, everywhere within 5 km of the Syrian border and Dahiyeh in Beirut's southern suburbs. It also warns of landmines and unexploded ordnance in the south [1].

For drivers, that has practical effects [1]:

Road closures. Protests can block main highways in Beirut, including routes to the airport and border crossings. Burning tyres are a common way to close a road.
Fuel shortages. Expect queues and closed service stations at times.
GPS jamming. Navigation apps can show you in the wrong place, or stop working. Know your route.
Checkpoints. Armed security forces run checkpoints across the country. Carry ID at all times and follow instructions.

Before any drive outside Beirut, check your route against Smartraveller's list. A wrong turn in Lebanon can take you somewhere you really shouldn't be.

Your licence: visitor, then resident

As a visitor

On arrival, your Australian licence plus an IDP is the combination Smartraveller recommends [1]. The IDP is only a translation of your licence into a standard multilingual format. It's not a licence on its own, so carry both.

What you need to know about getting one in Australia [2]:

Item	Detail (NRMA, 2026)
Cost	A$55 plus postage and handling
Validity	12 months from issue, or until your Australian licence expires
Who can apply	Provisional or full licence holders aged 18+, not learners
How	Online, by post, or in person at selected locations; same day at NRMA head office if you fly within 48 hours
From overseas	Can't be issued once you've left; overseas delivery takes 10+ working days

Other states' motoring clubs (RACV, RACQ, RAC and others) issue IDPs too. Renew your Australian licence first if it's close to expiry, because the IDP dies with it.

As a resident

Once you hold a Lebanese residence permit, plan on getting a Lebanese licence. Foreign licence holders usually get a period of grace after taking up residence. The Italian Embassy in Beirut, for example, says an Italian licence stays valid for one year from the date the holder moves their residence to Lebanon, and can then be converted under a bilateral agreement [3].

Australia doesn't appear to have that kind of agreement with Lebanon. We couldn't find one published by the Australian Embassy or the TMO, so don't assume a straight swap. You may have to sit the theory test, the practical test or both.

Lebanese licences are issued by the TMO, which also handles vehicle registration. Licence issuing stopped in November 2022, when more than 100 staff were arrested in a corruption probe into licences sold without exams, and only resumed more than a year later at the main centre in Dekwaneh, just east of Beirut. Foreign applicants need a valid residence permit [5]. In October 2025 the TMO started issuing new biometric licences across its branches [4]. Things move faster than they did, but leave plenty of time.

Getting a Lebanese licence: the likely steps

Get your residence permit from General Security first. The TMO asks foreigners for one [5].
Ask the TMO (or a reputable local driving school) which route applies to an Australian licence: exchange, theory test only, or full tests.
Gather documents: passport, residence permit, your Australian licence, an official Arabic translation of it, passport photos and a recent driving record from your Australian state.
Book any tests. Driving schools usually handle bookings and lessons.
Pay the fees and collect the biometric card.

Dual Lebanese-Australian citizens may be treated as Lebanese, and will usually go through the standard Lebanese process.

Keep your Australian licence alive

Don't let your Australian licence lapse while you're away. It's your fallback when you visit home and makes life much easier when you move back. NSW, Victoria and other states let you renew from overseas in some circumstances, and our guide to your Australian driver's licence abroad has the details.

What the roads are like

Lebanon's roads are a different sport from the Hume Highway.

	Australia	Lebanon
Side of the road	Left	Right
Lane discipline	Mostly respected	Lanes are suggestions
Traffic lights	Working, with cameras	Often out during power cuts
Street lighting	Standard	Patchy, many roads unlit at night
Motorcycles	Relatively few in cities	Lots of mopeds and delivery bikes, weaving
Road surface	Generally good	Potholes, missing manhole covers

That last row isn't a joke. A 2025 report on Lebanon's roads lists unlit roads, potholes, broken traffic lights and cameras, and stolen manhole covers as major hazards, along with drink driving, phone use, old poorly maintained cars and cheap mopeds [6]. The ISF recorded 443 road deaths in 2024, and it only counts cases that reach court, so the real toll may be higher [6].

A few habits that help:

Use your horn like a local: a short toot means "I'm here", not "you idiot".
Expect the unexpected at roundabouts and on the coastal highway, where cars cut across lanes to reach exits.
Avoid driving at night outside the city if you can.
Watch for motorbikes on both sides, especially in Hamra and Achrafieh.
Look left first when you step out as a pedestrian. Right-hand traffic catches Australians for months.

Insurance, cars and parking

Insurance

Lebanon has a compulsory motor insurance policy covering injury to other people, sold by local insurers and through banks. Thousands of cars on the road don't carry it, so a collision with an uninsured driver is a real possibility. Most expats add a comprehensive policy for damage to their own car. Ask the insurer:

whether your licence and IDP are accepted for cover, and for how long
whether claims are paid in fresh dollars or Lebanese pounds
whether the policy covers damage from riots, strikes or war (many exclude it)

Your Australian travel insurance almost certainly won't cover a rental car under Do not travel advice. Get it in writing either way.

Renting or buying a car

Car hire companies operate at Rafic Hariri International Airport and in Beirut. Most want a credit card, a minimum age and often an IDP even where the law is unclear. If you buy a car, the registration transfer happens at the TMO, so factor in the queues [4].

Parking in Beirut

Street parking is scarce in Achrafieh, Hamra and Gemmayzeh. Many restaurants, bars and shopping centres use valet parking, which is so common that locals barely notice it. Agree the price, take the ticket and leave nothing valuable in the car. Residential buildings may have a basement car park, but spaces are often allocated, so ask before you sign a lease.

Should you drive at all?

Plenty of Australians in Beirut never drive. Booked taxis and ride-hailing apps are cheap by Australian standards, and Smartraveller recommends them over service taxis [1]. Driving makes more sense if you live in the hills, have kids to ferry to school or work outside the city.

If you do drive, keep a full tank, a phone charger, water and offline maps in the car. In an emergency you may need to leave quickly, and the airport road can close without warning [1]. The Australian Embassy in Beirut is on +961 1 960600 [1].

Want to know which driving school is quickest, or who's selling a reliable car before flying home? Join Cooee Lebanon, our Facebook group for Australians in Lebanon.

Driving in Lebanon on an Australian licence: the IDP, the roads and the rules