Driving in Antigua and Barbuda with a Seychelles Driving Licence: IDP Requirements and Rules
Yes, but not on the Seychelles licence alone. Antigua and Barbuda requires a visitor to obtain a local temporary driving licence, and its tourism authority says a valid home-country licence is used to obtain that permit. For a standard Seychelles licence in Roman script, an IDP is not a legal requirement and no official recommendation for one was found. The visitor licence may be issued for up to three months.
Quick answer
The key document after arrival is the Antigua and Barbuda temporary visitor driving licence. A valid Seychelles licence supports the application for that local licence, but the national licence alone is not the document that authorises visitor driving under the checked Antiguan law and guidance.
How Antigua and Barbuda treats a Seychelles licence
Section 30 of the Vehicles and Road Traffic Act says a person may not drive a motor vehicle on a road unless the person holds a driving licence. Section 40 separately allows a bona fide visitor to receive a temporary driving licence, other than a chauffeur licence, for a period not exceeding three months. The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority explains the practical process by telling visitors to bring a valid driving licence from the home country and obtain the local temporary licence.
For a Seychelles holder, this means the Seychelles licence is accepted as the underlying foreign licence used to obtain the local visitor licence. It does not create an independent right to drive without the Antiguan licence. The local licence may contain its own vehicle-class limits or other conditions.
IDP requirement, recommendation and applicable model
No checked Antiguan legal or government source makes an International Driving Permit a condition for a visitor with the standard Seychelles licence. The mandatory document is the local temporary driving licence. No official Antiguan recommendation specifically advising Seychelles licence holders to obtain an IDP was identified.
The United Nations Treaty Collection records Seychelles as a party to the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic, while Antigua and Barbuda is not listed as a party to either the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. A convention-based IDP model therefore does not establish the driving entitlement for this pair. The Seychelles Licensing Authority does issue IDPs, but its current IDP guidance does not identify the convention model of the booklet it issues.
Visitor and resident rules
The Antiguan visitor driving licence may be issued for a period not exceeding three months. The statute expresses that limit in months rather than a fixed number of days. Antigua and Barbuda immigration permission may allow a visitor to remain for longer, but immigration permission does not itself extend the driving licence period.
The Immigration Department defines a bona fide visitor as a non-citizen who has not been issued a resident permit. Once a person becomes resident, the visitor basis for section 40 no longer applies. The general driving-licence provisions require an application and a certificate showing that the applicant passed the prescribed driving test. No Seychelles-specific resident exchange, grace period or testing exemption was verified.
Rental-car requirements
The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority says a visitor renting a car should bring a valid driving licence from the home country and obtain the temporary local driving licence. Avis at V.C. Bird International Airport requires a valid licence from the country of residence and requires the local driving licence at the start of the rental. Avis states that an IDP is required only for licences from countries using a non-Roman alphabet and describes the IDP as a translation document.
The official Seychelles driving-licence format published by the Seychelles Licensing Authority uses Roman-script English labels. On the checked Avis Antigua policy, that means an IDP is not required for the standard Seychelles licence. This is an Avis policy and should not be treated as proof that every rental company applies identical documentation rules.
Police documents and insurance
Section 41 of the Vehicles and Road Traffic Act says the driver must produce the driving licence when required by a police officer. If it is not produced immediately, the Act provides a forty-eight-hour opportunity to produce it in person at the police station specified by the officer. No checked source requires a Seychelles visitor to produce an IDP during that process.
No Seychelles-specific insurance consequence linked to carrying or not carrying an IDP was verified. Avis Antigua states that public liability and property damage protection is provided in accordance with local insurance law and directs customers to the rental location for details of coverage and optional protections.
Relevant exceptions
The temporary visitor licence cannot be a chauffeur licence. Its exact class and any restrictions are controlled by the local licence issued to the visitor. A visitor staying in Antigua and Barbuda for longer than the period of the temporary driving licence should not assume that immigration permission alone authorises continued driving. A resident should also not assume that the visitor licence remains available after resident status is granted.
Official sources used
- Government of Antigua and Barbuda, Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, Cap. 460, sections 30, 31, 40 and 41, checked 2026-10-06: official legislation
- Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Getting Around, verifying the valid home-country licence and temporary local licence process, checked 2026-10-06: official visitor guidance
- Antigua and Barbuda Immigration Department, visitor-status guidance, checked 2026-10-06: official immigration guidance
- Seychelles Licensing Authority, driving-licence classes, licence format and IDP issuance information, checked 2026-10-06: official Seychelles licensing guidance
- United Nations Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic status, checked 2026-10-06: treaty status
- United Nations Treaty Collection, 1968 Convention on Road Traffic status, checked 2026-10-06: treaty status
- Avis V.C. Bird International Airport, Antigua, location-specific licence and IDP requirements, checked 2026-10-06: Avis rental terms
Practical recommendation
Travel with the valid Seychelles licence and obtain the Antigua and Barbuda temporary driving licence before driving. Do not rely on an IDP instead of the local licence. For the standard Roman-script Seychelles licence, the checked sources do not establish a legal need for an IDP, and the checked Avis Antigua terms do not require one. Confirm documentation directly with a different rental company before booking if using another provider.
Last verified date
This information was checked against the listed official and first-party sources on 2026-10-06. Driving-licence, immigration and rental-company rules can change, so travellers with stays beyond three months or a change to resident status should confirm the current licensing process before driving.