For most visitors the answer is simple, and for the rest it is cheap to get right and expensive to get wrong. Here is which licence Greece accepts on its own, and when it needs a companion document.
A driving licence issued in the European Union or the EEA is enough on its own. Nothing else is needed to rent or to drive. A licence issued outside the EU or EEA is accepted by us at pickup, but Greek traffic law requires it to be accompanied by a valid International Driving Permit — and holding one is the driver's own responsibility, not the rental company's.
It is not a licence and it does not replace one. It is a small booklet that translates your existing licence into a set of standard languages, in a layout a Greek police officer can read without knowing yours. It is only valid together with the licence it translates — carrying the permit without the licence is the same as carrying nothing.
From the authority in the country that issued your licence — usually the motoring association or the licensing agency, and in most countries it costs about the price of a tank of fuel. It cannot be issued in Greece. That is the part people discover too late: if you land in Heraklion without one, there is no counter here that can sell you it. Apply before you travel; many countries issue it the same day over the counter and some post it, so leave a couple of weeks if you can.
Different countries have signed different international conventions, and the rules genuinely are not identical everywhere. Rental companies also differ in what they demand at the desk, which is a separate thing from what the law requires on the road. So do not take a forum post, or this page, as the last word for your own passport: check the official guidance published by your own government for driving in Greece. If you are not sure, ask us before you book — we would rather answer than have you find out at a roadside check.
Nothing at our end: we hand over the car on the licence itself. The risk sits with you and it is on the road, not at the desk. A traffic check is where a missing permit turns into a fine, and an insurer is entitled to look at whether the driver was legally entitled to drive when they assess a claim. That is the real cost of skipping a document that costs so little.
This one catches people more often than the permit does. The licence must have been held for at least a year, whatever the driver's age. A brand new licence is not enough, even for a driver of forty. Our minimum age is 18; drivers aged 18–22 pay a young driver fee of €10 a day, and from 23 there is none.
Yes. A licence issued in the EU or the EEA is valid in Greece as it is, with no permit alongside it.
No. It is issued only by the country that issued your licence, so it has to be arranged before you travel. There is nowhere in Crete that can produce one for you.
No. We hand over the car on the licence itself. But Greek traffic law requires the permit alongside a non-EU licence, and at a roadside check that is between you and the police — which is why we would rather you had it.
Commonly a year from issue, but it depends on the issuing country and the convention it is issued under; some run longer. Check the date printed in the booklet — an expired permit is no better than none.
Related: renting from 18 years old and how deposits work in Crete. Not sure about your own licence? Send us a photo of it before you book — info@paulcar.gr or +30 695 923 3080, which is also WhatsApp.