# International Drivers License



## derb (Apr 4, 2011)

I am renting from Hertz out of Madrid'''should I take the time to get an
International drivers license?????

Thanks in advance


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## DeniseM (Apr 4, 2011)

My understanding is that there really is no such thing - or if there is, that it's not necessary.


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## Passepartout (Apr 4, 2011)

Well, there IS such a thing, but unless you are a AAA member with which it's free, it is unnecessary. It's really just a translation of your U.S. DL into a multi-foldout of several pages in different languages.

I did it once several years ago when I was a member, but didn't see the need for it then and haven't bothered since.

Jim Ricks


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## Laurie (Apr 4, 2011)

The car rental agency won't require it. 

But if you can't understand & speak the language of the country you're visiting, and you make a mistake of some sort (like driving into or parking in an area you're not allowed), and the police officer who stops you can't speak yours, it can come in handy. We know this from experience.


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## scotlass (Apr 4, 2011)

When we went to Spain years ago, it was recommended that we get the international drivers license because we were going there.  I'm not sure why Spain other than the language barrier, but we have driven in other European countries without that recommendation.  Check with a travel agent or the car hire company.


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## ouaifer (Apr 5, 2011)

_Please be careful with *opinions* that are expressed here and on other public forums.

Yes, there is an International Driver's License/permit.  It is a booklet that is translated into many languages.  It is a verified document that has your passport picture attached to it.  You can purchase it at AAA for $15...bring proof of current driver's license and 2 passport pictures.  You can have them issued for multiple countries, as they are valid for a year from issue.

*Certain* European countries *require* you to have one in order to rent a car...if you are *not* a resident of the European Union.  Google the country's driving requirements and check with the rental car agency, and they will tell you if it is required.  Haven't researched Spain, but Italy requires a resident from a non European Union country to have an issued International Driver's License._


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## Laurie (Apr 5, 2011)

Good to know this about Italy, because we always debate whether it's worth the trouble to go get one. Italy is where we had the close-call experience mentioned above - I think we were about to get a really big ticket (or maybe something worse), until we produced that.

Edited to add: We _did_ once get a hefty parking ticket in Spain, and had to spend time figuring out where to go pay for it, before leaving the town. Now we're much more careful to never park anywhere without checking with a local first, if we can't decipher the colored lines and/or symbols, etc. if there are no signs we can understand and a thingie to purchase your receipt, which you have to know how to display (not to mention those clocks to put on your dashboard) ... it's not just a language issue.  Every town might have different rules, and some towns actually prohibit entry by car unless you're a resident, with an appropriate sticker. That was our mistake in Italy, and it's how you can get caught not having the IDL if required.


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## abbekit (Apr 5, 2011)

ouaifer said:


> _Please be careful with *opinions* that are expressed here and on other public forums.
> 
> Yes, there is an International Driver's License/permit.  It is a booklet that is translated into many languages.  It is a verified document that has your passport picture attached to it.  You can purchase it at AAA for $15...bring proof of current driver's license and 2 passport pictures.  You can have them issued for multiple countries, as they are valid for a year from issue.
> 
> ...




Just wanted to add that you DO NOT have to be a member of AAA to use this service.  Any AAA office will sell you this.


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## derb (Apr 6, 2011)

I went ahead and got the license from AAA..non member cost   15 dollars

They wanted 10 dollars for the two photos but I just copies my passport
picture on my home copier/fax machine and they accepted it..


I will just keep the license past its expiration date and continue to use it.


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## x3 skier (Apr 9, 2011)

I used to have one and will get one if I rent a car or pick up another car on a European Delivery. I needed it the last time I picked up a car in Munich but since it expired I have never needed a car in Europe, so I did not get it renewed.

It does come in handy, more so than several years ago since auto theft is more prevalent now and police tend to check rental cars more closely now. If you do rent a car, make sure you know where the rental papers are and have an IDP. Helps prevent some unpleasantness if you happen to be stopped for whatever reason.

Cheap insurance like an IDP is always a good thing. 

Cheers


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## Talent312 (Apr 9, 2011)

I got one the first time I rented a car in Rome in 1981.
All I can say is that I haven't bothered since then...

I've rented cars Florence, Paris, Cannes, London, Inverness, and Frankfurt,
I did not bother, and no rental agent nor anyone else, asked me for one.


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## X-ring (Apr 19, 2011)

If I plan on driving in a country where English (or French) is not the usual language of communication, I ensure that my IDL is also current.


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## Carolinian (Apr 19, 2011)

I had one maybe twenty years ago, but never bothered to renew it, as I never found it necessary, and that even includes renting cars in countries that do not even use the same alphabet like Greece and Bulgaria.

Heck, on my last rental in France, they did not even check my NC drivers license or even my passport to see if I was who I said I was!

Sometime, I am going to get around to getting a drivers license here in the country I work in.  It is a lifetime drivers license, so at least I will not have to renew it.


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## Zac495 (Apr 24, 2011)

We're going to Greece. Travel agent recommended it. My husband knows someone who went to Greece and says it's just a piece of paper and not bothering. Hope he's right.


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## Carolinian (Apr 24, 2011)

My own experience with traffic cops in Europe has been in the Czech Republic, where I got pulled five times in the space of four days.  I did not have the International Drivers License, but it was my US passport that got me out of it.  My problem was that my rental car had been picked up in Munich and had German plates, which turned out to be a magnet for traffic cops. On previous rentals, I had picked up the cars in Prague, with Czech plates, and had never been stopped.  I think there is an unofficial law in at least parts of the Czech Republic on ''driving while German'' or something, at least in the parts where there was a massive and often brutal ethnic cleansing of ethnic Germans (actually mostly Austrians) at the end of WWII.  At the first stop, when I handed the cop my NC license and US passport, he looked at them in puzzlement, went back to the front of the car to look at the plate, returned pointing in that direction and said ''Deutsch'', to which I replied ''rental car'' and handed him the rental contract.  He then said in English ''Have a nice day'', handed my items back, got in his car and left, without even telling me why he had stopped me in the first place.  If I had been German, I am sure I would have ended up with a ticket for something.



Laurie said:


> Good to know this about Italy, because we always debate whether it's worth the trouble to go get one. Italy is where we had the close-call experience mentioned above - I think we were about to get a really big ticket (or maybe something worse), until we produced that.
> 
> Edited to add: We _did_ once get a hefty parking ticket in Spain, and had to spend time figuring out where to go pay for it, before leaving the town. Now we're much more careful to never park anywhere without checking with a local first, if we can't decipher the colored lines and/or symbols, etc. if there are no signs we can understand and a thingie to purchase your receipt, which you have to know how to display (not to mention those clocks to put on your dashboard) ... it's not just a language issue.  Every town might have different rules, and some towns actually prohibit entry by car unless you're a resident, with an appropriate sticker. That was our mistake in Italy, and it's how you can get caught not having the IDL if required.


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## Carolinian (Apr 24, 2011)

Zac495 said:


> We're going to Greece. Travel agent recommended it. My husband knows someone who went to Greece and says it's just a piece of paper and not bothering. Hope he's right.



I have never had it come up in any of my rentals in Greece.  I even had to deal with accident reports on one rental when a Greek who had been drinking and was not paying attention ran into me and did a lot of damage to the rental car I was driving.  An international drivers license would not have assisted in even that situation.  The big concern on a rental in Greece is the way most Greeks drive.  It is a place where you really need to be on your toes with your defensive driving skills.


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## Zac495 (Apr 24, 2011)

Carolinian said:


> I have never had it come up in any of my rentals in Greece.  I even had to deal with accident reports on one rental when a Greek who had been drinking and was not paying attention ran into me and did a lot of damage to the rental car I was driving.  An international drivers license would not have assisted in even that situation.  The big concern on a rental in Greece is the way most Greeks drive.  It is a place where you really need to be on your toes with your defensive driving skills.



Thanks for the tip - sounds like my husband is Greek!:hysterical:


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