Driving in Armenia with a UAE license
Short answer: to drive in Armenia with a UAE license you need an International Driving Permit in the 1968 Vienna format, carried together with your UAE license.
Yes — to drive in Armenia on a UAE licence you should carry an International Driving Permit together with your UAE licence. Armenia expects foreign drivers to hold an IDP.
UAE drivers should carry an International Driving Permit alongside their licence when driving abroad. Your International Driving Permit is a certified multilingual translation of your existing licence, prepared in the 1968 Vienna format and carried alongside your national licence.
What driving in Armenia is like

The mountain road to Lake Sevan and onward over the Selim (Vardenyats) Pass along the old Silk Road is a celebrated drive. For most visitors the real draw is the freedom to reach places trains and tours don't, on your own schedule, with the open road generally capped around 110 km/h motorways. Getting behind the wheel is the easy part: your International Driving Permit is a certified translation of your UAE licence, carried alongside it, so rental staff and officials in Armenia can read your credentials at a glance.
Driving rules in Armenia
- Drive on the right.
- Headlights on outside cities.
- Zero-tolerance alcohol policy.
- Mountain roads with steep grades.
Local driving facts in Armenia
Emergency number: 911 or 112 (112 also connects from most mobiles). Typical maximum for cars on the fastest road class: 110 km/h motorways. Posted limits always take precedence.
- Tolls & road charges
- Armenia has no toll roads, and the previous road-use charge for foreign-registered vehicles was abolished in 2018, so tourists pay nothing to use the highway network. No vignette is required.
- Parking
- Central Yerevan has paid parking marked by red lines, split into Zone A (around 300 AMD/hour) and Zone B (around 200 AMD/hour), with the first 15 minutes and 00:00-09:00 free. The system is fully cashless via app or terminal, and non-payment brings a 5,000 AMD fine.
- Penalties & enforcement
- Speed and red-light cameras are widespread and rental firms pass camera fines to the renter's card; common fines include roughly 5,000 AMD for minor speeding and 10,000 AMD for phone use without a hands-free kit. Seatbelt non-use is also fined, and serious speeding escalates sharply.
- If you have an accident
- Call 102 for police (or 911 unified emergency); do not move the vehicles until police document the scene, as a police report is required for any insurance claim. Drivers must mark the scene and wait for the traffic police to attend.
- City driving
- In Yerevan, driving is assertive with frequent abrupt lane changes, and roundabouts such as those on the central ring demand caution; the red-line paid-parking zones in the downtown core are strictly enforced. Watch for cars stopping suddenly to pick up passengers.
- Winter driving
- Winter tyres are not legally mandated by fixed dates, but mountain passes get heavy snow and ice from roughly November to March, so winter or all-season tyres and chains are strongly recommended for the highlands.
- Fuel
- Petrol (benzin) and diesel are widely available, and many cars run on cheaper compressed methane/LPG. Stations are attended, accept cards in cities, and prices are moderate by regional standards; keep fuel topped up before remote mountain routes.
Sources: secrental.com, yerevan.am, rentacar-armenia.com