International Driver's License necessary?
 

We're going to Ibiza in the middle of November for a week and are visiting friends. They will make their jeep available to us. Will I need to get an international driver's license? If so, how quickly does AAA produce them? Thanks!

Not sure about the necessity, but AAA in New York City does it same day, in about 20 minutes.

I don't know about Spain, but I would definitely get an IDP if you're not absolutely sure that you don't need one (at the rental counter and for the cops). I've been in situations (both at rental counters and with cops) where I absolutely needed the IDP, though none of these occurred in the EU.

Bring 2 passport photos to a AAA office (they charge for them if you're not a member) and pay the ($10?) bucks. Like Fly4SCUBA, it takes 10-20 minutes to get one.

http://www.embusa.es/cons/acstraveling.html

U.S. citizens visiting Spain who want to drive in Spain must obtain an international driving permit prior to their arrival in Spain.

Thank you all for the information. I'm a AAA member and will gladly wait 20 minutes for the license. I'll get the pictures taken at Grand Central.

I always get one, every year. I'm never sure why. It's just a cardboard folder with your photo in it that says something like "Please extend all courtesies to this foreign motorist" in about 25 different languages. I figure it can't hurt.

If you have a AAA plus membership, the pictures are free too.

I know that's the theory -- and I always have one, just in case someone wants to apply it -- but I've never been asked to show it at the rental counter in Spain or any other country. It might matter more if you are stopped by a non-English-speaking police officer.

While AAA members get a discount, AAA is happy to sell them to non-members as well.

Supposedly they're required in Portugal. So I went to AAA and dutifully purchased one. But the rental car company in Lisbon never asked for it.

In several dozen rentals dating back to 1963 in the UK, Netherlamds, France, Germany, Spain and Italy that I recall, I've nere been asked for one, but had to show my Texas DL several times over the years, the last in Florence a couple of years ago when I sneaked through the barriers into the plaza in front of the Duomo to unload a lot of luggage and a wife with a sprained ankle. The Carabinieri was far easier to convince of the necessity of my intrusion (using my 1960s era Shore Patrol Italian) than was the crazed waiter at the sidewalk cafe who felt I had violated Italian airspece. I hadn't felt as soundly word-thrashed since the A4 pilots stole the bronze 18th century cannon (small) from the entrance of the Italian Navy Officers' mess in Taranto in 1963, a minor international incident with greater repercussions than the Swordfish attack in 1940 in the same naval port.

They made me show my IDL in Israel before they would rent me the car. I rented from Hertz.

I never had to show any IDL at the Hertz in Israel (TLV). Nor in any of the other 50 odd countries I have rented cars in. My California DL has worked everywhere.

You mean it's only valid for one year?

IDL's are fairly useless unless you're going to a country that enforces the use of IDL's for drivers.

Often these countries tend to be ones where English isn't spoken overly freely. Normally your driver's license from your home town and/or your passport is sufficient.

But as discussed earlier in this thread, if the county you visit requires the card, then get it. Will save many, many hassles with police and/or insurance if they happen.

The AAA (i.e. US) one is. You can get it post-dated to take effect on the day you need it, thereby effectively extending it's validity.

You also need to get a new one if you move out of town. It's got you name, DOB, place of birth, and "permanent place of residence" on it. The last one should probably match you DL.

BTW: It's not an IDL, it's an IDP (permit). it's only valid with your driver's license.

My understanding is that IDP's are only required when you goto a country where the Roman alphabet is not used and it is simply so they have a translation of your driving license.

I have driven everywhere in Europe on my NSW license and never had a problem.

I lived (and drove everyday) in Spain for 2.5 years and never got a Spanish or Int'l DL. I've rented cars across the EU (most recently two weeks ago in the UK) with only my NY or (now) CA driver's license

Don't think it really means anything

It still does, if you get stopped by authorities who are sticklers for detail and want a translation into the local language.

FWIW, licences issued in the E.U. are valid throughout the E.U. without an IDP. Licences from outside the E.U. aren't. So while U.K. and Irish licences are valid throughout the E.U. w/o an IDP, those issued in other english-language countries may not be.

be safe, it's cheap and quick so just get it

Ime, the IDP is a waste of money (especially the US version which is only valid for a year) if you travel to Western Europe and a lot of other places. The only place I've ever been asked for an IDP was South Korea. I still carry an IDP for "peace of mind" (a great justification for bad investments!), but I certainly wouldn't call it a necessity.

The rental agency I used in Poland recently required it.

I've never ever been asked to show it in over ten years of living in Eastern Europe. Personally, I think it's a waste of money and so I stopped getting it. But people are right--the hassle of not having it could be a lot greater than waiting 20 minutes in line and forking over $10.

Put me down on the list who has never been asked to provide an international driving permit. I did have one sometime in the 90's but no one ever asked to see it.

It's a legal requirement in Italy where the Roman alphabet is quite popular.

The main purpose of the IDP is that it provides a standardised document that police should recognise whether or not it has a local translation - for example the IDP is a legal requirement in Greece but there isn't a Greek translation.

As for not having one - it just takes a visit to a Greek police station because you don't have an IDP to convince anyone that it's money well spent.

I've even seen some cases reported where people were stopped and then prevented from driving on because they didn't have an IDP and hence weren't driving legally in that country

Count me as one who has had several IDPs and never been asked to show it.

Last time I got one from AAA (in August) the AAA rep asked me where , exactly, I'd be driving. I told her that since the permit was good for a year, I couldn't tell her, exactly. And asked why she needed to know. "The FBI asks us" was her response. It was a strange encounter.

The hertz counter in Milan required one to rent, I had one the guy next to me didn't.

I said thank you and took my keys, he's still probably yelling and screaming at them.

It's one of those things it's way better to have and not be asked for then it is not to have it and be asked to produce it. It's $15 for a year, no huge deal.

That's quite funny since I have been renting cars in Italy from both Hertz and Avis for over 10 years now with my California DL.

Yes, there's little doubt that in Italy one could just walk to another company's counter if some agent insisted on seeing an IDP. But I agree with cordelli that it can be a huge hassle if you happen to find yourself in a location where no alternatives are available.

I have never been certain whether an IDP was really necessary. I got one two separate times but was not asked to show it on either trip. Now I just carry an expired one in case the translation is necessary. I filled out the permanent address in pencil so I could change it. The one year expiration seesm just like a reason to get money from me. It's not an official document and I've always wondered how AAA became the sole provider of this document.

My partner obtained one in preparation for our trip to Portugal last year, and he was asked for it by the Sixt rental agent at LIS, so perhaps it's just a hit-or-miss thing there.

All I needed in Cyprus last year was a passport (ie. no DL or IDP).

I got an IDP in France many years ago (valid for three years if issued in France). Never had any use for it and used my US license alone at all times. Only reason I got it was because I understood that it was required to register a car in France which was under consideration at the time.

Came in handy to be from the US when I was stopped by some Fisc guys in Brittany while I was carrying an untaxed bottle or two of superb Calvados given to me some friends. Came out of their basement tank via a hand cranked pump and was, they said, three hundred years old 'cause that's when their family put in the tank and filled it up. :) Of course it had been topped off a little since then. :D

Anyhow, I had been warned against the Fisc inspectors and had wrapped the bottles in newspaper and put them in the trunk. But, when the Fisc folks saw my US license, I was waved right through the checkpoint. ^

Cheers!

Never, ever been asked for one in Europe. In Qatar, you can drive only 3 days on your national licence; after that you need an international licence for up to one month, and after that you need to get a Qatari licence. But such rules are rare -- I've never gotten an "international" licence, and have rented vehicles everywhere. So-called "international" licences are not really licenses -- you still need your national licence along with it -- it just puts the information on the licence into a common format, in french and english, that is recognised by police globally

While they may have asked someone above in Portugal if they had one, this does not mean that they require one,Portugal is the only place in Europe where in the last two decades I have been asked for one, and when I didn't, they didn't care. In regard to the original post, I would estimate that I have rented at least 80 cars n Spain over the years and have never been asked for one. I have leased a car in Spain and never required one, and I have owned a car in Spain and was never asked for one...........and I have been involved in accidents, have dealt with police reports and have never ever needed one. Nor have I for Italy, any European country mentioned above, nor in Israel. The only places where I have heard in recent mempry are some tinpot African countries, that's about it.

I got one a few months ago. I think it was $15 for the IDP at the AAA office. Members get a discount on the picture but not the IDP itself. Costco has pictures for around $5 which is the best deal I've found anywhere.

Perhaps the rental agent that we dealt with was new and simply didn't know policy rules. I can only advise that, when SO pulled out his (valid) Alberta driver's license, the rental agent gave it an eyeballing and then asked him for an IDP. We had one, gave it to him (he copied down the info), and went on our way; I actually didn't give it a second thought until I read this thread.

Have had them for years and never had to show one (W Europe only). Even so, I'll always have one when planning to rent, just to be safe. IIRC, some European countries officially require an IDP for non-EU (e.g., Spain, Italy) and some do not (e.g., France).

What would make sense is to require a license for driving on the opposite side of the road from what you are used to! (especially roundabouts)

I guess something else to think of is, what happens if you are involved in a collision?

Whilst the rental car companies may not ask they are not a definitive authority on what is actually required as ably demonstrated by posters here.

But, imagine the worst happens and a child runs in front of you, tragedy happens and you hit and kill the child. The police ask for your licence and knowing how sensitive this is going to be check their licence requirements for international drivers.

These requirements clearly state that people from your country need to have both a current licence from their home country and an International Driver's Permit.

Technically you are unlicensed, the initial tragedy of a child's death is now whipped up into a huge controversy about you being unlicensed and potentially liable for huge costs and heavy jail time. Your travel insurance policy won't pay out because you weren't licensed.

That initial $20-30 outlay and slight inconvenience in time will be so minor and something that will play on your mind forever, especially while doing 4-5 years jail, maybe more.

Let's assume, non-EU-guest driving in the EU:

First scenario:

1) renting a car from a car renting place like Hertz, Sixt, etc:
you do NOT need an international license

2) driving an EU-residents car or a car not owned by a car renting company:
you do need an international license

This is due some insurance terms.