UK Driver's license, in India

Question

Say you have a normal UK driver's license.

Say you're in India for some months - you're already in Mumbai.

You want to drive...

(*) a rental car. Is it possible?

(*) the company buys you an old car, and you want to drive that around town. Is it possible?

(*) say you didn't bother getting, in the UK, an "international permit" from the Post Office (which is little more than a translation of your driver's license). In fact can you get some sort of international permit using your UK license when you are already in India?

It's quite hard to find this information! thanks if anyone knows.

Answer 1

The UK government (FCO) site has some information here, although it's not much.

Also this site here seems much more helpful, even though it seems to answer your question in the negative.

It looks like it depends on whether you are a tourist or not.

• If you are a tourist, you need your UK licence and an International Driving Permit (IDP).
• If you are not a tourist, you need to apply for an Indian driving licence

Getting a local Indian licence should not be all that difficult, as the standard of drivers' expertise (or ability to follow the rules of the road) does not seem to be at the same as the general level in the UK.