Interational drivers license ?

Please read this recent post on this subject: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/international-driving-permit-3b6678c8-d33c-4ffd-ac7d-4c3074cf98e3

If you are driving in France, the law requires you to have a certified translation of your drivers license. The International Drivers Permit (its not a license), obtained from AAA, is the authorized document for US citizens.

IDP is not a license but it is required in France and Italy. No one is likely to care until you get in an accident or get stopped by a cop and then you need to be able to present it. The one time we were stopped the cop looked like he could hardly wait to pounce when we were unable to present it and was visibly surprised we had it. we proceeded without even a ticket for the minor original offense (we had accidentally turned the fog lights on in our unfamiliar rental car) You must have your US license as this is your only driving license; you are legally required to carry the IDP as well.

bp,

YES, an International Driver's Permit is absolutely necessary! According the Embassy of France......

http://franceintheus.org/spip.php?article376

Don't try to "get by" to save a few bucks, as your holiday could become more expensive and unpleasant than planned.

You can "get by" driving at home without your state-issued license too, unless you're stopped or have an accident. But would you really do that?

I wouldn't drive overseas without an IDP, whether the local law required it or not. Very low cost insurance against added trouble if you should need to show it. As others have said, it certifies the validity of your US license (which you also need to carry).

Now if you're 100% sure that you'll never be stopped or hit or hit anyone else, then you can go without license, insurance, or even driving lessons! ;-)

It always puzzles me when people seem so reluctant to get the IDP for their driving tour in .France or Italy or wherever. A trip to .Europe costs thousands ..... an IDP, required by law, cost $20 or $25. How can there be any question as to whether or not to get it? It is a puzzlement.

Thanks to all who replied.

"Get by" might have been a poor choice of words.

I just wanted to make sure it was required in France and would be helpful if we were stopped.
Read a few articles that said it was not necessary.
Glad you all set me straight.

Norma I think people are annoyed to have to pay annually 25$ or so for something so utterly absurd. It appears to be grift. The fact that this 'translation' has to be renewed each year is idiotic -- it is about someone making money not about safety. But it is the law.

Norma, I think there are a couple of reasons. One is that AAA is a non-government membership-based service company that many people are not familiar with and are somewhat suspicious of perhaps selling a unnecessary product. Not sure how accessible or popular they are to people who don't live in large urban areas. Second is that so few Americans travel outside the US, they can't imagine that our documentation isn't valid everywhere.

I only heard of them through RS, despite having rented cars in Europe before. It makes sense to me that you would need them. Are they mentioned in other guidebooks?

The fact that this 'translation' has to be renewed each year is idiotic -- it is about someone making money not about safety.

An IDP also provides validation for a foreign license. An IDP will only be issued after it is determined that there is a legal and valid drivers license. A police officer in Timbuktu cannot be expected to know if any one of at least a thousand drivers license's across the world is valid. The US alone has 51 different state license's. All of those have varied expiration dates and periods of validation. If the IDP was valid for more than a year, a drivers license might expire.

Read a few articles that said it was not necessary.

Maybe the articles were older. An IDP has only been required in France for a couple of years.

Interational?

Well, there's one thing that's not rational, and that's the one-year expiration of the IDP. Its expiration should be tied to the expiration of the license it purportedly is attesting is valid. Making it valid for one year is arbitrary and serves mainly to enrich the coffers of the purveyors selling it.

That said, one doesn't need an IDP to legally drive in France. You only need to be carrying your valid license from the U.S. and a French translation of key information. That's what the code referenced above says.

Si vous venez en France pour un court séjour (pour des vacances par
exemple), vous pouvez conduire avec votre permis. Il doit être valide
et être rédigé en français ou accompagné de sa traduction ou d'un
permis international.

If you come to France for a short stay (for a vacation for example),
you can drive with your license. It must be valid and written in
French or accompanied by its translation or an international permit.

You can find images of French driver's licenses online (look for the plastic credit card-sized license -- not the big pink one that's no longer issued) -- search using the terms permis conduire france.

The fields your translation should contain, numbered as follows (to mimic a French license), are below (I've written the numbers using words because this platform does not display numbered lists properly -- "one" = 1, "four a" = 4a, and so on):

one. Last name

two. First name

three. Birth date and birth city (neither state nor nation is listed)

four a. License issue date

four b. License expiration date

five. License number

seven. Signature

nine. Code(s) for the type(s) of vehicle you are licensed to drive. A typical passenger car is code B. If you're renting another type of vehicle, do a little searching to see what the code is and if your license is valid for it.

The IDP uses a different numbering scheme, but it's similar information (except for details about your license number, issue date, and expiration date).