Which licence do you need to drive in Armenia?
Armenia's Law on Ensuring Road Traffic Safety (Article 27) recognises national and international driving licences that meet the international treaties Armenia has signed. The same article says that a person who is not an Armenian citizen may drive on an international driving licence only while also holding the national licence. An IDP on its own is not enough.
What visitors should carry depends on where the licence was issued:
- UK licence holders: the UK government's advice is to carry both the 1968-convention IDP and the UK licence. An IDP cannot be bought outside the UK, so get it before travelling.
- US licence holders: the State Department states plainly that US licences are not valid for driving in Armenia. If you plan to drive, get an IDP at home. Ask the rental company in writing whether it accepts your paperwork before you pay a deposit.
Rental desks set their own minimum age and licence-holding rules, so check those in the contract.
What are the speed limits and fines in Armenia?
The Road Traffic Rules (paragraphs 68 and 69) set the default limits for cars: 60 km/h in built-up areas, 20 km/h in signed residential zones and courtyards, 90 km/h outside built-up areas and 110 km/h on motorways. A car towing a trailer is limited to 70 km/h outside towns (90 km/h on motorways). Signs can set higher or lower limits on particular stretches.
Fines are written into the Code of Administrative Offences (Article 124.4, last amended in May 2025) as multiples of the "minimum wage". For fines, the Law on the Minimum Monthly Wage (Article 3) fixes that unit at 1,000 dram. That means:
| Amount over the limit | Penalty |
|---|---|
| 1 to 10 km/h | 1,000 dram for every km/h over |
| 11 to 30 km/h | 20,000 dram and 2 penalty points |
| 31 to 50 km/h | 25,000 dram and 3 points |
| 51 to 80 km/h | 29,000 dram and 4 points |
| 81 km/h or more | One-year driving ban |
Before any of these bands is applied, the authority must subtract 10 km/h from the speed the device recorded, to allow for measurement error (Article 124.4, part 6).
Worked example: two camera readings on a day trip
Say a camera on a 60 km/h street in Yerevan records you at 78 km/h. After the 10 km/h deduction, that counts as 68 km/h: 8 km/h over, so the fine is 8,000 dram. Later, on a 90 km/h road, a camera records 118 km/h. That counts as 108 km/h: 18 km/h over, so the fine is 20,000 dram plus 2 points.
The steps between bands are large. Counted at 10 km/h over (a reading of 80 in a 60 zone), the fine is 10,000 dram; at 11 km/h over (a reading of 81), it doubles to 20,000 dram. Keeping about 10 km/h under the posted limit keeps you out of the flat-rate bands.
Who pays a camera fine on a rental car?
When a camera records the offence, Article 32 of the Code makes the vehicle's owner responsible unless the owner shows that someone else was driving. For a rental car the owner is the rental company. It will either name you as the driver or pay and recharge you; the contract says whether a handling fee is added. Read that clause before you sign, and keep the rental agreement until your card statement has cleared.
Can you take an Armenian rental car to Georgia?
Legally yes, but three conditions have to line up: the rental company, the paperwork and the Georgian insurance.
- Written permission from the rental company. The car belongs to the company, and border officials can ask for proof that you are allowed to take it abroad. Ask for the permission and any cross-border fee in writing when you book, not at the desk.
- Georgian third-party insurance. Georgia requires every foreign-registered vehicle to carry its own compulsory liability cover. Under the Georgian law on foreign-registered vehicles (Article 5), a car up to 3,500 kg costs 30 lari for 15 days, 50 lari for 30 days, 90 lari for 90 days or 295 lari for a year. Patrol police at the border explain the obligation, and you buy the policy there.
- Your own licence and IDP. The UK advice for Georgia allows a UK licence for up to a year but says an IDP may be needed to hire a car. Carrying the same IDP you use in Armenia covers both countries.
The Georgian policy covers damage to other people: up to 30,000 lari per injured person and 25,000 lari per person for property (Articles 6 and 7). It does not cover the rental car itself, so check that the Armenian rental's collision cover still applies in Georgia.
| Your plan | What you need | Cost from official sources |
|---|---|---|
| Yerevan and day trips | Licence, IDP, rental contract | Fines only if you break the rules |
| Round trip to Tbilisi within 15 days | Written permission, Georgian policy at the border | 30 lari |
| Two to four weeks in both countries | Written permission, 30-day Georgian policy | 50 lari |
| One-way drop in Georgia | Only if the company offers it | Ask for the one-way fee in writing |
If the company will not allow a crossing, a rental in each country with the border crossed by minibus is often simpler. The Yerevan to Tbilisi minibus route is covered in airport minibuses and the Georgia route. For driving once you are in Georgia, see renting a car and mountain roads in Georgia.
Driving conditions outside Yerevan
Both governments are frank about the roads. The UK advice describes driving standards as poor and warns of reckless drivers who ignore traffic laws. The State Department reports that main roads are often in poor condition, with missing pavement and large potholes. Both advise against driving outside towns after dark.
For mountain routes, that means shorter days than the distances suggest: