Can I use high rating drives for low rating motors?

Having a higher rating AC drive will not damage a low rating motor as long as it is within the control range of the motor. The AC drive is rated in amperes and nor motor horsepower.

The current technology force vector drives will train to the ac motor if the motor ratings are input and it is within the parameters of the AC drive. If the AC drive is grossly oversized it will not auto tune, however.

Please note that different rpm synchronous speeds will usually have a rating that is different than the NEMA ratings. This will be especially true of motors that are very low speed. The hp rating at a lower speed requires higher torque and perhaps as much as twice the current of a two or four pole motor, depending on the design.

Operating the ac motor at low frequency may require auxiliary cooling for the motor since the fan will be less effective. Basically the fan effectiveness will increase on the square of the rotor speed so high loads at low speeds will increase the heating.

The AC drive can be specified as either constant torque or basically a pump curve. The constant torque will require an AC drive with a higher rating.

I recommend erring on the side of more than necessary, since it will cost more to replace the AC drive with a higher rating one than buying the larger drive to start with. Plus you don't look quite so silly explaining why you specified an undersized AC drive in the first place. Plus the AC drive will run cooler. Ask the AC drive manufacturer for advice of how to select the AC drive.

In the old days we used to oversize the AC drive by a factor of two to be sure we didn't end up with egg on our faces. It is also possible that to have enough starting torque for your process you may have to install a larger motor. At least with the larger motor the excess power factor penalty will be reduced by the AC drive.