Guide to driving in Barbados with a Saipan licence.
A visitor with a valid driving licence issued in Saipan by the Northern Mariana Islands Bureau of Motor Vehicles can use it in Barbados for the vehicle class authorised by that licence. Barbados abolished its separate Visitor Driving Permit on 15 October 2025. Its current visitor guidance does not list an International Driving Permit (IDP) or licence translation as required. A fixed visitor driving limit was not verified.
Bring your original, unexpired CNMI licence. The current Barbados Revenue Authority policy requires visitors to hold a valid licence and show it to a rental agency at booking or collection. A rental operator can apply additional conditions.
Saipan is part of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, a US territory, rather than a separate sovereign licensing country. Its Bureau of Motor Vehicles handles driving licences. Barbados applies a general valid-foreign-licence rule to non-resident visitors, with no separately published restriction on CNMI-issued licences found in the checked authority guidance. The vehicle must be within the licence holder's authorised class. The exact equivalence of CNMI categories to Barbados categories is unverified – confirm with official authority.
An IDP is not listed among the documents required by the Barbados Revenue Authority's replacement visitor policy. No Barbados-specific official recommendation to carry one was found. Both Barbados and the United States are parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, so that is the relevant model for an optional US-issued IDP, not evidence that Barbados makes it compulsory. AAA says holders of licences issued by US territories can seek a US-issued IDP from AAA. Ask AAA to confirm its handling of a CNMI licence before applying. The current Barbados policy does not specify a separate translation. A Saipan-specific translation ruling is unverified – confirm with official authority.
The updated visitor policy does not establish a fixed number of days during which a Saipan licence may be used. Do not treat the former visitor-permit periods as today's driving limit. A fixed visitor maximum is unverified – confirm with official authority. The guidance addresses non-resident visitors, not licence exchange after becoming a Barbados resident. Any resident licensing deadline or CNMI licence-exchange entitlement is unverified – confirm with official authority.
Under the Barbados Revenue Authority policy, rental businesses must verify that a presented licence is valid and current. SunCars Rentals Barbados (formerly Drive-A-Matic) requires the original licence, held for at least two years, a driver over 25, and a credit card even when paying cash. Its published terms also set an upper age limit of 80 and require a medical certificate for drivers aged 75 to 80. These are SunCars conditions, not rules for every renter or rental company. A car rental levy of BBD 5 per day, capped at BBD 35 per rental, replaced the old visitor-permit charge.
A valid national driving licence is necessary, and rental agents must inspect it. Carry the physical card, and keep your passport available as a practical identity document. A separate police roadside-document requirement for CNMI visitors is unverified – confirm with official authority. SunCars states that its vehicles have passenger and third-party personal-injury liability cover. Its optional Extra Protection changes the renter's stated damage responsibility, subject to its contract and exclusions. Those terms do not establish a general insurance rule for all Barbados rentals.
Some older Barbados Licensing Authority pages still describe a compulsory Visitor Driving Permit and related fees. The Barbados Revenue Authority's dated policy expressly abolished that permit effective 15 October 2025, so the older permit instructions should not be used for a 2026 trip. No bilateral Saipan-Barbados exemption was found. A licence covering only a different vehicle class does not authorise driving a standard rental car.
For a short visit, use a valid original CNMI licence for the appropriate vehicle class and check rental eligibility before paying. You do not need to obtain the discontinued Barbados visitor permit. An IDP is not imposed by the current visitor policy, but ask your chosen rental agency if it requires one. For long stays, residency, unfamiliar licence categories or translation questions, seek an answer from the Barbados Licensing Authority.
The sources listed above were checked on 2026-10-26. The abolition took effect on 15 October 2025, not on this verification date. The dated Barbados Revenue Authority policy is more current on the visitor-permit question than the older permit instructions that remain online.