Foreign tourism operators with operations in Iceland

The Icelandic Tourist Board, the Icelandic Transport Authority and the Directorate of Labour have published informational brochures for foreign tourism operators with operations in Iceland:

Permit to operate in Iceland for passenger transport

Permit holders with a permit from a country within the EEA may drive with passengers for business purposes in Iceland if they have a Community permit from their country of origin. This applies only to buses, cars for 9 or more passengers, and is according to European regulation EC nr. 1073/2009

Persons who carry out commercial passenger transportation on cars that are for 8 or less passengers must apply for an operating permit from the Icelandic Transport Authority according to Icelandic laws and submit appropriate documents from their home country. The documents must be submitted in English and must be translated by a certified translator if originally in another language. See further conditions for an operating permit.

There are two types of permits for cars registered for 8 or less passengers:

• Permits related to travel services: Cars registered for 8 or less passengers, intended for trips of at least half a day and a safety plan must be submitted to the Tourist Board

• Permit for specially equipped cars: Cars registered for 8 or less passengers and as off-road vehicles (and have a tire size of at least 780 mm diameter)

One of the conditions of a operating permit is that the legal domicile of the operator is registered within the European Economic Area and therefore parties outside the EEA cannot be issued such a permit in Iceland. Those parties that cannot obtain a permit to operate a passenger transportation service as a result of this, can hire a person with an operating permit to handle the driving for them. A list of permit holders is available here.

The driver must have the appropriate driving license at all times, to be able to drive with a passenger for business purposes or with a code 95 in a driving license.

If an applicant intends to use rental cars, they must have a valid license inspection and an appropriate permit label in the windscreen. If an applicant intends to use cars with foreign registration numbers, the car must undergo a license inspection at an inspection post in Iceland, confirmed by the Icelandic Transportation Authority at the end of the application process.

You can read more about passenger transport permits here