In the past, when I have visited other countries and rented a car, my regular US driver’s license was sufficient. But, a friend mentioned they had gotten an international driver’s license. When I asked why they said it just made things easier when driving in other countries (and renting cars). They were vague on what “easier” really meant.
In my particular case I am travelling to Italy but may drive to Austria or Switzerland. No need to confine answers to those places though.
Also, it seems more than a few places offer these licenses. Are they all accepted everywhere or is there a “correct” one to get and the rest are just making money?
A few years ago I was traveling on business quite a bit, mostly around Europe, and never had a problem using my California driver’s license. I’m not sure why you would need an international driver’s license…
I had forgotten all about those things. I’ve been all over the world and I can’t recall there ever being a need for one. My information is pretty out of date but I doubt anything has changed in that respect.
We travelled through Europe (including Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, and Italy) on our Australian driver licences. Advice from my partner (my live-in travel expert) is to just check with the rental company if your US licence is acceptable.
There is, I believe, a difference between an “international driver’s license” and an international driving permit. No idea what the former is. The latter is issued by the AAA and the CAA and is essentially a translation of the info on your US or Canadian driver’s license into several languages and a note that says your driver’s license is in fact a driver’s licence. According to the AAA and the CAA, some countries require them, some don’t. They are a little cagey about which countries require them and which don’t. And both organizations suggest it may be required to rent a car even in countries that don’t require them for driving. You don’t need to be a AAA or CAA member to get one. In Canada, you need 2 passport photos and $30 to get one. Perhaps it’s less for members.Worth it? The AAA and CAA certainly think so…YMMV
Maybe it depends on where you wish to drive? I have no idea, driving in foreign countries is rarely worth the aggro, though obviously there are situations where it is needed…
I have a Georgia (US) driver’s license and I keep my International Driving Permit up to date as the latter is only valid for one year. To get the IDP, you must first have a valid driver’s license and then the appropriate agency in your country will issue you the IDP upon your paid application. Note that some countries recognize your home driver’s license and thus the IDP is not needed in those countries. There are also countries which do not recognize a foreign license or the IDP. I should also mention that if you happen to be residing overseas and have a valid license from your home country, the license/IDP combo is not valid for use as you are considered resident and must get a local license.
Another issue is that there is, or used to be, an outfit issuing something actually called an Internaltional Driver’s License. I once foolishly applied for that and it turns out that not only is it not recognized in as many countries as the IDP, the issuing agency is, IME, completely incompetent.
Is it worth having this? Most definitely for me. I need the thing when the wife and I visit her family in Korea and her father lends me his car to drive while we’re there.
I’ve never needed one when driving in Europe, the USA, Cuba, Mexico or Thailand (on a British licence), but it’s always worth checking the country you’re going to. I think if you have a licence issued in English, it probably makes a difference.
Part of my car rental agreement (from the UK) for New Zealand required an IDL so I dutifully got one from my local post office. That was a performance in itself. The person at the PO had no idea which version of the IDL I needed, so I had to tell her. Fortunately the car hire paperwork specified which one to get, and all it contained was pretty much the same info from my UK driving licence.
It wasn’t expensive, and it’s only valid for 12 months…but the annoying thing is that the car rental company who insisted on it then didn’t even want to see it when I picked the car up!
Is it a case of you could drive w/o valid insurance or proof of registration / inspection for most of your home/US driving but it’ll be uglier if Mr. Po-po decides to have a roadside conversation with you & you don’t have said paperwork?
Until 2003 (approximately), Switzerland had a driver’s license which was a blue piece of paper, which was folded twice, which only had German, French and Italian (and maybe Romansch), and did not contain any English. I got a IDL for renting cars in the U.S., and it was necessary.
Since then, the Swiss driver’s license is now in a credit card format and also includes English. An IDL doesn’t offer anything more than my Swiss license, so I don’t bother.
Read the agreement of the rental car agency and any travel blog for your destination. They will tell you what is required.
That’s interesting. I still have one of those Swiss driver’s licence. It is from 1970, but has no expiration date.
An Australian I knew had an IDP and was stopped by a cop in New Orleans. The cop had never heard of the IDP and didn’t find the Australian permit acceptable. My friend explained that the IDP was valid according to a treaty signed by the federal government. The cop admitted that he had heard of the federal government but didn’t think it had any jurisdiction in LA. Eventually, he was able to talk his way around it.
This is the main issue. Whenever you are in a country where you don’t speak the language, you should minimize contact with bureaucrats . Even if you are perfectly in the right, and the cop or office clerk is absolutely wrong…you won’t be able to prove it, because of language problems.
It doesn’t matter what the law says…it only matters what the one specific bureaucrat standing in front of you thinks.
And if he is an idiot, (or just an honest but inexperienced kid working his first day on a new job), and if he has never seen your specific American license, then you could ruin your day by not having an international license printed with several languages. .
I was in Germany a couple years ago, and was astounded at the number of locals who did not know a word of English, even in touristy areas. And a two hour drive outside of Berlin, in the rural countryside, almost nobody knew simple words like “left” or “right”. .
When I rented a car in Berlin, the clerk at the desk spoke English, but the worker in the parking lot who handed me the keys did not. The clerk did not ask for my international license, but I was glad to have it, if a cop had stopped me for any reason.
And for the same reason, I recommend buying insurance along with the rental car. It gives you peace of mind…even if you are covered by your regular insurance from home.It gives you an official document in the local language to show, if needed. A non-English speaking cop is not going to be interested in the little card in your wallet with the name of your insurance agent back in Illinois.
My wife and I got them in 2017 for our trip to Thailand. We rented scooters there and at the time you were technically required to have one to drive. The Police in Chiang Mai were rumored to spot check foreigners driving to see if they had one, and fine them heavily if they didn’t. We were never asked to present it by any of the cops, but it was one less thing to worry about. Easy to get from the AA and only cost a few bucks.
AAA is the only agency that can issue the international driving permit in the U.S. Most officials in foreign countries never heard of them. It’s a money making venture for AAA through some legislative treaty.
I’ve rented and driven cars across Europe and Asia. Never been asked for the driving permit, and my US drivers license has always been suffice for renting overseas. Never been stopped while driving internationally.