The International Driving Permit

By: Drivers.com staff
Date: 1999-10-20

Comments (396)    Join conversation

Confused about the International Driving Permit? Hey, so were we ... and so are a whole lot of other people if the number of inquiries coming into Drivers.com is any guide. Undaunted, we've done a bit of research on the Internet, and here is what we've found.

Essentially, an International Driving Permit (IDP) is proof that you hold a valid driver's license in your own country. And it provides a translation into almost a dozen languages, mainly so that police and other authorities in other countries can read your license in their own language. It may not be absolutely necessary to have it, since many countries recognize each other's licenses, but traveling with an IDP has many advantages.

The permit is intended to overcome the difficulties drivers might have while traveling in other countries that may have widely varying licensing requirements. The IDP is a special license for tourists authorized by United Nations conventions on road safety in 1923, 1943, 1949, and 1968. Nearly 180 countries are signatories.

The IDP is printed in several languages-the five official UN languages (English, French, Spanish, Russian, and Chinese) plus German, Arabic, Italian, the Scandinavian languages, and Portuguese. It is valid in all the signatory countries. In addition, many other countries that did not sign the treaty recognize the permit and accept it in their territories.

An IDP is easy to obtain if you know where to apply (more on that later), does not require a driving test, and is available for a small fee. It is, in fact, an official translation of your domestic driver's license.

Requirements

Applicants for an IDP must:

• be 18 or older,
• have a recognized driver's license,
• submit two passport-type photos, and
• make their application on an official form provided by the issuing authority.

An IDP cannot be post-dated, extended, or renewed, and is valid for only one year from the date of issue. Each time a new IDP is required, the driver must repeat the entire application procedure. The IDP must be applied for in the country of origin and cannot be used there in place of a regular driver's license.

Importance

Why is the IDP so valuable? Well, local traffic police (whether it be Dnipropetrovsk or Ulan Bator) may not be able to understand the language on your normal driving license while chances are they may be familiar with at least one of the languages on the IDP. For driving in Europe, travel officials say the IDP is more necessary in some countries than others, but is advised for most. And in more than 40 countries worldwide you cannot rent a car at all unless you have an IDP.

Countries where English is the spoken language, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, North America, Australia, and New Zealand, do not require an IDP. However, insurance companies in many other jurisdictions often require IDPs to cover drivers of vehicles driven there.

Where to get an IDP

This is where more of the confusion creeps in. Search the Internet and you will come up with a number of sites that claim to be able to sell you an IDP for amounts costing anything from a few U.S. dollars to as much as $300. One site simply offers a "translation" of your current driver's license. Yet another--a specialist in offshore documents--offers IDPs alongside offshore companies, passports and the like, all available for a fee. (How about a bachelor's degree for $900, or a doctorate for $1,950?) See our warning about these scams.

While it would be unfair to condemn all such offerings out of hand, we strongly recommend directly approaching the well-established motoring organizations in most countries. Many of these say on their web sites that they issue IDPs for a nominal amount, perhaps the equivalent of $10 U.S.

In its information for travelers, for example, the U.S. State Department says it has authorized two organizations to issue IDPs--the American Automobile Association (enter your location carefully), and the American Automobile Touring Alliance, which offers IDPs through the National Automobile Club . The department warns tourists intending to drive overseas to first check with the embassy or consulate of the countries they plan to visit to learn about the requirements for driver's license, road permits, and auto insurance.

In Canada, the Canadian Automobile Association is the official issuing authority, and in the United Kingdom the Automobile Association devotes a section of its web site to the issuing of International Driving Permits. It states, however, that it cannot issue them to holders of foreign driving licenses.

One excellent source of information is the Geneva-based Federation Internationale de l'Automobile . The AIF is a federation of national motor clubs-149 in all, representing 116 countries-which together comprise nearly 100 million motorists and their families. Since its birth in 1904, the AIF has represented the interests of motoring organizations and car users throughout the world. It is also the governing body of all world motor sports.

More information

Happy traveling, but before you go, get more facts in our country-by-country list, and check our warning about scams.

Login or sign up to receive email notification
when a comment is added to this thread.

NOTE - You can cancel at any time, and we have a strict privacy policy which forbids us from sharing your email address or other information with any third party.