International Drivers Permit
 

Is an 'International Drivers Permit' accepted as govt ID for check in at the airport? I applied to AAA for an International Drivers Permit so I'm just curious.

No.

There probably should have been a bit more to the response.......
In the US (and most other countries issuing an IDL) AAA is NOT a government agency, and thus not a valid government ID per the TSA!

That said, 1) I'm not sure any TSA "officer" would really notice, but 2) if they do, who cares...... You don't need a valid ID to fly! Worst case, you are SSSS, and have to go through a few more minutes of frustration to get to the gate.

My International Drivers Permit did not have my picture on it. So in the US, where it is a picture ID, it would not have worked.

It' s actually only valid when it's presented with a government issued ID, on it' s own without your regular license it's worthless.

I second what cordelli says. The IDP is not valid without a drivers license present. It even states this in the IDP booklet itself.

Sanosuke!

The IDP isn't anything, really. It's a bit of cardboard with some generic "Please be nice to the bearer" phrases translated into many other languages. I have one but it's never proved useful. It's certainly not going to be viewed as a "valid ID."

Exactly. I am getting my Arizonian DL changed here in Norway, got to take the road test though. I didn't even apply for an int'l dl, and they didn't ask for it here in Norway..

It may be useful in Africa or Asia, but in Western Europe, I wouldn't worry about an international license.

This may true in the US where the IDP is issued by AAA. In Asia, especially there are a lot of government who are issuing IDP (I know for a fact, in India, Malaysia and Singapore the IDP is also issued by the Transport Dept)

In the case of an IDP issued by a Government, do you think TSA would look at....?

I don't think the issuer matter. In Western Europe at least, it is similar organizations as AAA who issue the permits...

Don't try driving in South Korea without an IDP. I'm glad I had mine; the cop at the roadblock demanded it. He was friendly about it as he waited ~5 minutes for me to find it buried in the car.

As I said; Western Europe. :)

International Drivers Permit
 

When I called Hertz to rent a car in Mallorca, the agent said I should get an IDL in case I was stopped by the police for violating the law.

The IDP IS useful, under certain circumstances, like when driving in a country when you are there short term. Some countries don't count them after you've been in the country a certain amount of time- you need a regular DL like everyone else, then. (Often this is the amount of time that you would also need to get some kind of residency permit.)

As for an IDP as a form of ID, as everyone has said, the ones issued in the US would be worthless. Basically its a booklet with translations of some basic driving rules into a bunch of languages. However, if it were issued by a gov't authority & had a photo embedded in it, it might be accepted. Or it might get you SSSS'ed. Maybe someone who has one can comment.

Last I heard, Italy is part of western Europe. A few years ago I had an accident there and the IDL really saved me from difficulties. I believe that it is now mandatory in Italy.