Rental car requirements for Iceland

I have not seen a single person possessing an driver's license in
English that has said they needed one when arriving at a rental car
location in Reykjavik.

Was any of those persons asked by the rental company it they were sober? What you need to rent a car is not necessarily the same as what you need to actually drive the car.

Lol, I assume that if you rent the car, they know you will be driving it...

Yes, but it's not their job to enforce driving laws. They also don't ask if you know the road signs (at least have I never been asked that when renting a car), they probably assume that you have everything in order, and if you don't it's not the rental company's problem.

Regarding the original question, I don't know. My Icelandic is not good enough to read legal text.

You do NOT need an IDP for Iceland as long as your license is in the Roman alphabet, so English is great, but Chinese, Arabic etc is not and then you would need an IDP.

As for driver's licenses, the only thing I have seen is with Blue and they want you to have had your license for at least a year, but they don't care if it expires in a year.

Thank you, Mikliz97, that confirms what I am seeing from online chats. Has anybody asked any rental car company rep why there is such a discrepancy between the companies' website policies ("yes, all renters in Iceland are required to have an IDP") and their actual on the ground policy in Iceland ("no, you don't need an IDP if you have a U.S. drivers license")?

Has anybody asked any rental car company rep why there is such a discrepancy between the companies' website policies...and their actual on the ground policy in Iceland?

What discrepancy?

It's not the job of the guy at a rental car counter to ensure you know and comply with the local traffic laws - that's the driver's responsibility, not his. If a driver gets thrown in jail after an accident because it turns out they were not driving legally, the rental guy will be free and walking around without a care in the world. The driver, on the other hand, might be in serious trouble, as it's their responsibility to fulfill all the legal requirements to drive. The rental agency will get their car back, that's what they care about. What happens to the driver, not so much.

Now, some companies may have a POLICY to warn customers about legal requirements, and individual employees might take it upon themselves to do that as a courtesy (in reality, very few do), but nobody should rely on them for that, since they have zero responsibility for enforcing the traffic laws.

I've probably rented cars over 100 times all around the world on every continent except Antarctica. I don't recall ever being asked (or told) to show an IDP. Give them my reservation number, wave the credit card, show my passport, maybe show my Washington state drivers license, sign here, here and here, initial there, there, and there, here's the keys, off you go. In all cases, if an IDP was required (or even suggested), I definitely had one (including in plenty of places that use the Roman alphabet). But that is generally not part of the car rental ceremonies.

AFAICT, no place in the world legally requires you to show an IDP to RENT a car. Plenty of countries do legally require you to have an IDP (or other legally-valid translation of your otherwise valid license) to DRIVE a car (if you don't have a local license).

Personally, I have always been very glad I had the IDP with me whenever I've been behind the wheel in a foreign land, whether that was when a Spanish cop pulled me over for speeding on my first trip to Europe, or when a Japanese cop jumped out from behind some bushes and flagged me down after I had just passed a truck in a clearly-marked no-passing zone, or when I went past a parked police car in France and saw them pointing a radar gun at me.

It also occurs to me that if someone was driving through my home town, ran a stoplight (or god-forbid, hit a cyclist), and when the police showed up they handed over a drivers license from Algeria or Zimbabwe, things might not go well for that driver. To me, having the IDP ready just-in-case is a small convenience and a courtesy that I can provide for any automotive or legal authority figure whom I might encounter. The term "cheap insurance" also comes to mind, and the $25-$30 the IDP cost me seems like small potatoes, but maybe that's just me being paranoid. I know some folks seem quite antagonistic towards the IPD and view it as highway robbery. YMMV.

Amy--Don't over think this. It is not required by law if you have a license from the US. I have asked about this a couple times before our trips there just to be sure, and every time I have been told that this is the law, that it is not required with a US license.

"AFAICT, no place in the world legally requires you to show an IDP to RENT a car. Plenty of countries do legally require you to have an IDP (or other legally-valid translation of your otherwise valid license) to DRIVE a car (if you don't have a local license)."

That part was the info I needed and was unable to find: whether the car rental company would refuse to rent to me unless I showed an IDP at the counter. Thank you.

I can do without the over the top lecturing on safe driving, driving under the influence, obeying local traffic laws, being thrown in jail, hitting people on the road, etc. All set on this topic, I appreciate the input that was respectful.

We got the International Drivers licenses last year, for Oct. 15-31. Our trip to Iceland is Sept. 28-Oct. t, so since the licenses are good for a year, we’ll use them in Iceland. According to the pamphlet we were given last year, you DO need the license in Iceland.

I don’t have the experience several of you have, but for $25 a driver, we feel it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Good travels!