Driving in Albania with a Uzbekistan Driving Licence: IDP Requirements and Rules
A holder of a valid Uzbekistan driving licence can drive in Albania for the vehicle classes covered by the licence while not resident in Albania for more than one year, provided the permit meets an applicable international model. Albania and Uzbekistan are parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. A separate International Driving Permit (IDP) is not established as mandatory when the national permit itself meets the treaty model. A non-conforming permit needs an official Albanian translation or equivalent document.
Quick answer
The practical legal test is the format and validity of the national permit, not nationality alone. For a treaty-compliant Uzbekistan permit, Albania permits driving in the corresponding vehicle category. If the permit does not conform to a model covered by Albania's international agreements, Article 133 requires an official Albanian translation or an equivalent document, subject to any special international agreement.
How Albania treats a Uzbekistan licence
Article 133 of Albania's Road Code permits drivers holding a foreign national or international driving permit to drive vehicles for which that permit is valid, provided they have not been resident in Albania for more than one year. The United Nations treaty record lists both Albania and Uzbekistan as parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, providing the relevant international framework for recognition of treaty-model permits.
IDP requirement and applicable model
The Albanian rule is framed as recognition of a foreign national permit or an international permit, so an IDP is not a separate legal requirement when a valid national permit satisfies the applicable treaty model. If an IDP is used for this origin-destination relationship, the verified common convention is the 1968 Vienna Convention. No separate Albanian government recommendation telling Uzbekistan licence holders to obtain an IDP was verified.
Visitor and resident rules
The Road Code condition is residence-based: a foreign permit may be used provided the driver has not been resident in Albania for more than one year. Because the rule turns on residence rather than a fixed tourist stay counted from entry, no fixed maximum visitor-day value is stated here. After more than one year of Albanian residence, Article 133 no longer provides the same permission to drive on the foreign permit.
Rental-car requirements
No named rental-company policy was verified for this pair. A rental company may impose documentation or driver-eligibility conditions beyond the legal rule, so rental requirements are unverified – confirm with official authority and the chosen rental company before collection.
Police documents and insurance
The verified rule requires the driver to hold the relevant valid foreign or international permit and, where Article 133 requires it, the official Albanian translation or equivalent document. Pair-specific roadside-document and insurance conditions beyond those points are unverified – confirm with official authority.
Relevant exceptions
If the issuing state requires a professional-competence certificate or other qualification in addition to the driving permit for particular vehicles, Article 133 requires the corresponding evidence issued by the competent authority of the state that issued the permit. Special international agreements can also create exceptions to the translation rule, but no Uzbekistan-specific bilateral exception was verified.
Official sources used
- United Nations Treaty Collection, Convention on Road Traffic, Vienna 8 November 1968: verifies Albania's accession on 29 June 2000 and Uzbekistan's accession on 17 January 1995. Checked 30 September 2026. https://treaties.un.org/Pages/showDetails.aspx?objid=080000028003745e
- Albanian Road Code, Article 133, updated text reproducing the legislation maintained by Qendra e Botimeve Zyrtare: verifies the foreign-permit, residence, translation and professional-qualification rules. Checked 30 September 2026. https://juristi.im/ligje/kodi-rrugor/
Practical recommendation
Travel with the original valid Uzbekistan licence and check that its format satisfies the 1968 Convention model. If there is doubt about conformity, obtain an appropriate official Albanian translation or equivalent document before driving. An IDP under the 1968 Vienna Convention can serve as an internationally standardised companion document, but the researched Albanian rule does not make it a separate requirement for a conforming national permit.
Last verified
This information was checked against the listed sources on 30 September 2026.