Originally Posted by
rsh913
I was curious if an expat wants to drive a vehicle in say Mumbai does he/she need an indian driving license or say a US license will work for short periods (less than 2 weeks) as is the case for EU.
If you believe that driving licenses in India are a joke and the system is corrupt please avoid pontificating and responding to my request. The question is intended to determine the correct way to get vehicle driving privileges in India when the chauffeur is not available.
Thx.
A US driving license is fine per the Indian government if it conforms to what is required per treaty obligations for the recognition to happen. [Check out pages with folio 61 and 62 (Annex 6 and 7) in this PDF
http://www.unece.org/trans/conventn/crt1968e.pdf ]
[Still, I would suggest getting a valid international driving permit with it first. AAA issues them for a nominal charge:
http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html ]
India is a party along with the US in a treaty arrangement that allows licensed drivers from these countries to drive in each others country.
Contracting Parties shall recognize:
(a) Any domestic permit drawn up in their national language or in one of
their national languages, or, if not drawn up in such a language, accompanied by a
certified translation;
(b) Any domestic permit conforming to the provisions of Annex 6 to this
Convention; and
(c) Any international permit conforming to the provisions of Annex 7 to
this Convention;
as valid for driving in their territories a vehicle coming within the categories
covered by the permit, provided that the permit is still valid and that it was
issued by another Contracting Party or subdivision thereof or by an association
duly empowered thereto by such other Contracting Party. The provisions of this
paragraph shall not apply to learner-driver permits.
But it must have the following info:
4. The following particulars appear on the driving permit; they shall be
preceded or followed by the numbers 1 to 11.
1. Surname
2. First names 1/
3. Date and place of birth 2/
4. Address 3/
5. Authority issuing the permit
6. Date and place of issue of the permit
7. Date of expiry of the validity of the permit 4/
8. Number of the permit
9. Signature and/or stamp or seal of the authority issuing the permit
10. Holder's signature 5/
11. Category or categories of vehicle and any sub-categories for which the
permit is valid with indication of the date of issue of the permit and
the dates of expiry of the validity for each of those categories.
In addition, the holder's photograph shall be affixed to the driving permit.
It shall be a matter for domestic legislation to determine any additional
particulars to be included in the driving permit as well as the format and the
material on which the driving permit is printed.
---------
Notes:
1/ Father's or husband's name may be inserted here.
2/ If date of birth is unknown, state approximate age on date of issue of
permit. If place of birth is unknown, leave blank. Place of birth may be
replaced by other particulars determined by domestic legislation.
3/ The address is optional.
4/ This is optional if the validity of the permit is unlimited.
5/ Or thumbprint.
As English is one of the recognized national languages in India, your US driving license is to be accepted
by the government in India even without an IDP if it conforms to the above requirements.