<PAGE>
 
     As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22, 1998.
                                                   Registration No. 333-________
================================================================================



                      SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                            Washington, D.C.  20549
                                        
                                   FORM S-8
                                        
                            REGISTRATION STATEMENT
                                     UNDER
                          THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933



                           CAREY INTERNATIONAL, INC.
              (Exact name of issuer as specified in its charter)


             Delaware                                    52-1171965
------------------------------------           ------------------------------
 (State or other jurisdiction of            (I.R.S. employer identification no.)
  incorporation or organization)
                                        


              4530 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W., Washington D.C. 20016
              --------------------------------------------------
                   (Address of principal executive offices)

                           -------------------------


                     1998 NON-QUALIFIED STOCK OPTION PLAN
                             (Full title of plan)

                              -------------------

                                                 Copies of communications to:
            Vincent A. Wolfington                    James E. Dawson, Esq.
          Carey International, Inc.              Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP
         4530 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.                One International Place
           Washington D.C.  20016              Boston, Massachusetts  02110-2699
               (202) 895-2000                           (617) 439-2000
(Name, address and telephone number of agent
 for service)
 
                              -------------------

                        CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
                                        
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
====================================================================================================================================

                                                                       Proposed             Proposed maximum
  Title of each class of securities to be  Amount being registered  maximum offering    aggregate offering price     Amount of
              registered                            (1)            price per share (2)            (2)           registration fee (2)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

<S>                                         <C>                   <C>                  <C>                     <C>
Common Stock,                                     500,000 Shares        $26.375                $13,187,500             $3,890
$.01 par value per share       
====================================================================================================================================

</TABLE>
                                        
(1)  This Registration Statement covers 500,000 shares of Common Stock that may
     be issued under the 1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan (the "Plan").  In
     addition, pursuant to Rule 416(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as
     amended (the "Securities Act"), this Registration Statement also covers an
     indeterminate number of additional shares of Common Stock which may be
     issued under said Plan as a result of a stock dividend, stock split or
     other recapitalization.

(2)  Determined pursuant to Rule 457(c) under the Securities Act of 1933, as
     amended, based upon the average of the high and low prices per share of
     Common Stock reported on The Nasdaq National Market on July 21, 1998.



================================================================================
<PAGE>
 
                                    PART II

              INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT


Item 3.  Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
         --------------------------------------- 

       Carey International, Inc. (the "Company") hereby incorporates by
reference in this Registration Statement the following documents and information
heretofore filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission"):

       (a) The Company's Prospectus forming a part of its Registration Statement
on Form S-1 (File No. 333-50245), filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule
424(b)(1) under the Securities Act on May 8, 1998;

       (b) The Company's Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the three month
periods ended February 28 and May 31, 1998, respectively; and

       (c) The description of the Company's Common Stock contained in its
Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 000-22551) and its Registration
Statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-22651).

       All documents subsequently filed by the Company pursuant to Sections
13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
(the "Exchange Act"), prior to the filing of any post-effective amendment which
indicates that all securities offered hereunder have been sold or which
deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be
incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part hereof
from the date of filing such documents. Any statement contained in a document
incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to
be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the
extent that any other subsequently-filed document which also is incorporated or
deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such
statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed,
except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration
Statement.

Item 4.  Description of Securities.
         ------------------------- 

       Not applicable.

Item 5.  Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.
         -------------------------------------- 

       Not applicable.

Item 6.  Indemnification of Directors and Officers.
         ----------------------------------------- 

       The Company is a Delaware corporation. Reference is made to Section 145
of the Delaware General Corporation Law, as amended, which provides that a
corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party to or is threatened
to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or
proceeding whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than
an action by or in the right of the corporation) by reason of the fact that he
or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or
is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer,
employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or
other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys' fees), judgments, fines
and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in
connection with such action, suit or 


                                      -2-
<PAGE>
 
proceeding if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably
believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and,
with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to
believe his or her conduct was unlawful. Section 145 further provides that a
corporation similarly may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is
threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or
suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by
reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or
agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation
as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership,
joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys'
fees) actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with the
defense or settlement of such action or suit if he or she acted in good faith
and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the
best interests of the corporation and except that no indemnification shall be
made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have
been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that
the Delaware Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was
brought shall determine upon application that, despite an adjudication of
liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is
fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of
Chancery or such other court shall deem proper. The Company's Certificate of
Incorporation further provides that the Company shall indemnify its directors
and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the law of the State of
Delaware.

       The Company's Certificate of Incorporation provides that the Company's
directors shall not be liable to the Company or its stockholders for monetary
damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except to the extent that
exculpation from liability is not permitted under the Delaware General
Corporation Law as in effect at the time such liability is determined.

       The Certificate of Incorporation and the Company's By-laws also provide
that each person who was or is made party to, or is involved in, any action,
suit, proceeding or claim by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a
director or officer of the Registrant (or is or was serving at the request of
the Registrant as a director or officer of any other enterprise, including
service with respect to employee benefit plans) shall be indemnified and held
harmless by the Registrant, to the full extent permitted by Delaware law, as in
effect from time to time, against all expenses (including attorneys' fees and
expenses), judgments, fines, penalties and amounts to be paid in settlement
incurred by such person in connection with the investigation, preparation to
defend or defense of such action, suit, proceeding or claim.  The Company's By-
laws allow similar rights of indemnification to be afforded, in the Company's
discretion, to its employees and agents.

       The rights to indemnification and the payment of expenses provided by the
Certificate of Incorporation do not apply to any action, suit, proceeding or
claim initiated by or on behalf of a person otherwise entitled to the benefit of
such provisions.  Any person seeking indemnification under the Certificate of
Incorporation shall be deemed to have met the standard of conduct required for
such indemnification unless the contrary shall be established.  Any repeal or
modification of such indemnification provisions shall not adversely affect any
right or protection of a director or officer with respect to any conduct of such
director or officer occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

       The Company maintains an indemnification insurance policy covering all
directors and officers of the Company and its subsidiaries.

Item 7.  Exemption from Registration.
         --------------------------- 

       Not applicable.

                                      -3-
<PAGE>
 
Item 8.  Exhibits.
         -------- 

       See the exhibit index immediately preceding the exhibits attached hereto.

Item 9.  Undertakings.
         ------------ 

       (a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

           (1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being
made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement to include any
material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously
disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such
information in the registration statement.

           (2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be
a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof.

           (3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective
amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the
termination of the offering.

           (4) That, for purposes of determining any liability under the
Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant's annual report pursuant
to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable,
each filing of an employee benefit plan's annual report pursuant to Section
15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the registration
statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the
securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time
shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

       (b) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the
Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling
persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions of the Delaware General
Corporation Law and the registrant's Certificate of Incorporation and By-laws,
or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that, in the opinion of the
Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public
policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event
that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the
payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or
a controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action,
suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person
in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless
in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling
precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether
such indemnification by it is against public policy, as expressed in the Act,
and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue. 


                                      -4-
<PAGE>
 
                                  SIGNATURES
                                  ----------

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant
certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the
requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this registration
statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized, in Washington D.C., on the 22nd day of July 1998.

                              CAREY INTERNATIONAL, INC.


                              By: /s/ Vincent A. Wolfington
                                  ----------------------------------
                                  Vincent A. Wolfington
                                  Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons on
behalf of the registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

        Signatures                          Title                      Date
        ----------                          -----                      ----     
 
/s/ Vincent A. Wolfington      Chairman of the Board and Chief     July 22, 1998
---------------------------           Executive Officer
Vincent A. Wolfington

/s/ Don R. Dailey                   President and Director         July 22, 1998
---------------------------
Don R. Dailey

/s/ David H. Haedicke              Chief Financial Officer         July 22, 1998
---------------------------
David H. Haedicke

/s/ Paul A. Sandt                Principal Accounting Officer      July 22, 1998
---------------------------
Paul A. Sandt

/s/ Dennis I. Meyer                        Director                July 22, 1998
---------------------------
Dennis I. Meyer

/s/ Joseph V. Vittoria                     Director                July 22, 1998
---------------------------
Joseph V. Vittoria

/s/ Robert W. Cox                          Director                July 22, 1998
---------------------------
Robert W. Cox
 
/s/ Nicholas J. St. George                 Director                July 22, 1998
---------------------------
Nicholas J. St. George


                                      -5-
<PAGE>
 
                                 EXHIBIT INDEX


Exhibit No.    Title                                             Page
----------     -----                                             ----
 

    4          1998 Non-Qualified Stock Option Plan              7


    5          Opinion of Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP          14

    23.1       Consent of Nutter, McClennen & Fish, LLP          Contained in
                                                                 Exhibit 5
 
    23.2       Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP             15
 
    23.3       Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP             16