Driving in Panama: the 90 day licence rule, Panapass tolls, checkpoints and the Interamericana

Can a tourist drive in Panama, and for how long

Yes, on the licence you already have. Article 110 of Panama's traffic regulation, as published on the government's Panama Digital portal, says that foreigners who enter as tourists may drive on a valid licence from their home country for 90 days and may not obtain a Panamanian licence or permit. That 90 days runs from your entry stamp, not from when you first drive, and it does not stretch to match the 180 day tourist stay that US, Canadian and many European passport holders receive. Day 91 you are unlicensed in the eyes of a traffic officer, even though immigration is perfectly happy with you.

An International Driving Permit is not required by Panamanian law. It is a translation of your licence, useful if yours is not in Latin script, and some rental desks like to see one, but it gives you no extra days. Rental companies want the original plastic licence, a passport and a credit card for the deposit; a photo of your licence will be refused.

If you plan to stay longer than 90 days, or you file a residency application, the right to drive on the foreign licence ends and you need a Panamanian licence through the ATTT's homologation process, which requires residency. That is beyond a visitor's page; for the first three months the rule is simple.

Documents to keep in the car

Carry your passport (the physical one, with the entry stamp), your home licence, the vehicle registration and the insurance certificate. In a rental the last two are usually in the glove box; check they are current before you leave the lot. Police at checkpoints look at the entry stamp to confirm you are inside both the tourist stay and the 90 day driving window. A photocopy of the passport is often accepted in practice, but the officer is entitled to ask for the original.

Panama runs a points system for licence holders. It does not touch a foreign licence, but fines do: roughly US$50 for speeding or not carrying your licence, US$75 for a seatbelt or phone offence, US$100 for a red light, and the vehicle can be held for serious cases. Front seat belts are enforced, children under 5 need a car seat in the back, and using a handheld phone while driving is illegal. A U-turn on the Interamericana where there is no marked retorno is a common US$75 ticket for visitors.

Panapass and the Corredores

Panama City has three urban toll expressways run by ENA: the Corredor Sur (the airport road along the bay), the Corredor Norte (the northern loop toward the Transistmica) and the newer Corredor Este. All three are fully electronic. There are no cash booths. The gate reads a Panapass RFID sticker on the windshield, shows your toll and remaining balance on a screen, and opens. Individual plazas cost roughly US$0.25 to US$3.50 for a car depending on the segment, and a full run from Tocumen to Avenida Balboa is typically US$3 to US$8 in tolls. Without a Panapass you cannot legally use these roads and are stuck on surface streets, which at rush hour is the difference between 35 minutes and an hour and a half.

You cannot buy a Panapass at the airport. The sticker is sold and installed at ENA offices on Via Israel opposite the Atlapa convention center and near Albrook, costs about US$15 plus an initial balance, and is tied to one licence plate. For a visitor the practical route is the rental car: most Panama City rentals come with a Panapass installed and the desk offers either a flat daily toll fee or pay-per-use plus an admin charge. If you expect to use the Corredores more than twice a day, the flat fee usually wins. Top-ups are done in the ENA Corredores app, at Super 99 and Rey supermarket tills and at many fuel stations.

Two separate roads confuse people. The Autopista Panama-Colon (the Transistmica highway to the Caribbean) is a different concession and takes cash, about US$4.50 each way; the Panapass does not work there. The Autopista Arraijan-La Chorrera west of the canal, which beach-bound traffic uses, is also a separate concession with its own toll booths. Keep a few dollars in coins and small notes for those.

Police checkpoints

You will meet them. Fixed and pop-up checkpoints (retenes) are routine on the Interamericana, especially west of the canal toward the beaches, in Chiriqui near the Costa Rica border, at the entrances to the comarcas, and everywhere during Carnival, Holy Week and the November holidays. Usually an officer glances in, says buenas, and waves you on. Sometimes they ask for licence, passport and insurance, and on holiday weekends they run breathalyzers. Slow down, lower the window, be polite, have the documents within reach rather than in the trunk.

Panama's alcohol rules are strict and often described as zero tolerance; some guides quote 0.05 g/L for drivers over 21 and zero for younger and professional drivers. Either way, one beer at lunch on the beach and a checkpoint on the way home is a bad combination, with fines up to the low thousands of dollars and the car impounded. Open containers anywhere in the car are illegal.

If an officer suggests you can settle a ticket on the spot, that is a bribe request. It is illegal for both of you and has been used as a set-up. Ask for the written ticket (boleta), which you pay within a few days at a bank or municipal office, or through the rental company. Rental companies will charge the fine plus an admin fee to your card if it reaches them later, so dealing with it directly is cheaper.

Speed traps are run by traffic police on motorcycles with radar guns, mostly in the populated zones where the limit drops from 100 to 80 or 60 km/h. Waze is used by almost every Panamanian driver and shows them accurately. Oncoming drivers flashing their headlights means radar ahead.

The Interamericana and the bridges

There is one road west. The Interamericana (Pan-American Highway) leaves Panama City over the canal, runs through Arraijan and La Chorrera, then follows the Pacific past Chame, Coronado, San Carlos, Santa Clara and Farallon toward the interior and Costa Rica. It is paved and mostly dual carriageway as far as Santiago. The hazards are not the surface. They are the mix: trucks at 60, pickups at 120, buses pulling out from stops without warning, motorcycles between lanes, pedestrians crossing a four-lane highway on foot, cyclists and horses on the shoulder, and dogs. The posted limit is 100 km/h but it drops without much warning in towns, and the retornos (marked U-turn lanes) are the only legal way to turn around.

Do not drive it at night if you can avoid it. Lighting is poor, people in dark clothing walk along the edge, and animals wander on. Afternoon rain from roughly May to November is heavy enough to flood the road surface and cut visibility to a few car lengths for twenty minutes at a time. Pull into a fuel station and wait; everyone else does.

Holiday traffic is a specific hazard. On the eve of Carnival, Holy Week, Christmas and the November long weekends, the police convert the Interamericana to one-way outbound in the afternoon and one-way inbound on the return day, with hours announced the day before. The beach corridor that normally takes 1.5 hours from the city can take 4. Leave before noon or after 9 in the evening on those days, or pick another day.

Crossing the canal: two bridges serve Panama City, the Bridge of the Americas (1962) and the Centenario Bridge (2004) a few kilometers north. The Bridge of the Americas carries around 60,000 vehicles a day, has a 10 tonne weight limit so heavy trucks use the Centenario, and its concrete deck is past its design life. The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) runs recurring night and weekend lane closures for deck repairs and says the full rebuild will wait for the Fourth Bridge, due around December 2028. In April 2026 a fire under the bridge closed it entirely from about 5 in the afternoon until 3 the following afternoon and gridlocked both sides of the canal. The lesson for visitors: check Waze before you leave for the airport or the beaches, and if the Americas is closed, the Centenario is the detour, and so is everyone else's.

Small things that catch visitors

• No right turn on red unless a sign allows it.
• Horn taps are communication, not aggression: a short toot before overtaking on a two-lane road is normal.
• Passing on curves and solid yellow lines is illegal and routine. Keep right and assume the oncoming lane may contain someone who should not be there.
• Fuel is sold by the liter and most stations are attended; say lleno (full) and the fuel type. Keep the tank above half outside the city.
• An accident must not be moved before the traffic police (Transito) arrive and write the report; moving the car can void the insurance.
• Parking in Panama City is scarce and towing is real. Use lots and mall garages.
• Casco Viejo and the Amador Causeway are easier without a car. Park once or let someone else drive.
• Rental insurance: Panama requires third-party liability to be bought locally, so your credit card's collision cover will not replace it. Budget US$15 to US$25 a day for the mandatory part.

When a driver makes more sense than a rental

Plenty of people rent a car in Panama and are fine. The cases where a private driver wins are predictable: an arrival after dark at Tocumen with a 2 hour drive to the beach; a day in the city where every stop is a parking problem; a day trip to El Valle or Gamboa where the drive is half the point and you would rather look out the window; any holiday weekend; and the day you have had a drink with lunch. We quote by email for airport transfers and day trips from Panama City and the Pacific beaches. Send your dates and route to info@panamaroadrunner.com and compare the number against the rental, fuel, tolls and insurance. Sometimes the rental wins. We would rather you knew. For arrival logistics see arriving at Tocumen, and for what a driven day looks like see the El Valle and Panama City pages.

Frequently asked questions

Facts checked 2026-11. Fees, hours and road works change, so confirm before you go.