International drivers license required

'Rick now says you likely don’t need one in Italy'. Provide the chapter and verse please.

We erred on the side of caution for July’s trip to Italy and both obtained international driver’s licenses. We offered them to the car rental agent upon pick up and they had no interest or need for them. Seems to me that it’s yet another Italian bureaucratic inconsistency. No judgment, just an observation.

Drivers need an IDP or certified translation in Italy, but there's no requirement in the law for car rental agencies to be enforcers. It seems the agencies may use the lack of an IDP to mask their own problems with lack of car inventory.

Lesson learned, always get the international license before heading to Europe

That does not apply in the UK if your license is in English.

Sorry for your troubles but kudos for giving the heads up to others! :O)

Not the first time we've heard about absence of an IDP being an issue with some rental offices:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/rental-car-without-international-license-we-are-already-in-italy
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/rome-car-rental-international-driver-permit

Rick's advice...which I personally think is too laid-back:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements

"It's a good idea to get one if you'll be driving in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, or Spain — countries where you're technically required to carry a permit. If all goes well, you'll likely never be asked to show it — but the permit is a must if you end up dealing with the police."

It's an Internation Drivers PERMIT and not a license. You still need your home drivers license.

This is the law: DECRETO LEGISLATIVO 18 aprile 2011, n. 59 - Art.15
Official link: https://www.normattiva.it/uri-res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:decreto.legislativo:1992-04-30;285~art135

Summarized translation: "Owners of a driving license issued by a Country not member of the European Union can drive in Italy with their own driving license accompanied by the International Driving Permit".
So, even if nowadays a lot of car rentals are not asking it and during street controls Policemen don't take care of it, the IDL is still a mandatory document for everybody has a DL issued outside European Union.

There is absolutely no doubt about the interpretation of the law.

Article 135 of the Italian Vehicle Code CLEARLY states at paragraph 8 (see below) that a driver with a driver’s license issued by a country outside the EU or the European Area, MUST have their driver’s license accompanied by the International Driver Permit or an Official certified translation of the same. The penalty, also stated in the same paragraph, is a fine ranging from a minimum of 408€ to a maximum of 1,634€.

Whether a rental agency cares or not, is up to them (I have never been asked by the rental agency, ever). They are not the ones paying the fine, the driver is. But, for the record, I was pulled over by the Carabinieri last July (for a routine check, not because I had committed any violation) and they WANTED TO SEE MY IDP. If I didn’t have it, they would have fined me 408€.

Not all European States require it, but Italy does. In the US it is the same. Some US states require it, others don’t. So get with the program!

https://www.aci.it/i-servizi/normative/codice-della-strada/titolo-iv-guida-dei-veicoli-e-conduzione-degli-animali/art-135-circolazione-con-patenti-di-guida-rilasciate-da-stati-esteri.html

We have this discussion all the time. Why is it such a big deal to spend $20 and get the permit. It is 15 minute stop at a AAA office and, I think, it is available via the web? The last time we rented at the airport in Rome, we were asked to show the permit and our license.

I'm with Frank- what's the big deal?
It's peanuts compared to the usual cost of a trip to Italy or wherever.
Both my husband and myself get one for every trip- or every year- even though I will never be the planned driver, stuff happens.

Last rental in Italy the rental desk did ask for it.

When something is required by law there should not be all these questions "do I have to?, I never did it before!"

You are not getting the IDP for the car rental agency- you are getting it because it is the law.

Il agree that Rick's advice should be updated. There was a time when he said you didn't need to carry your passport- thankfully he has changed that)

Will you please elaborate on where you found the quote from Rick Steves that you don't need an IDP in Italy and "How this is enforced varies: I’ve never needed one"?

Here is what Rick Steves says on this website:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements

"You may hear contradictory information on exactly where you need an IDP. People who sell them say you should have them almost everywhere. People who rent cars say you need them almost nowhere. People who drive rental cars say the IDP is overrated, but can come in handy as a complement to your passport and driver's license. It's a good idea to get one if you'll be driving in Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, or Spain — countries where you're technically required to carry a permit. If all goes well, you'll likely never be asked to show it — but the permit is a must if you end up dealing with the police."

I am with Frank and Christine. $20. 15 minutes. Good for a year. What time and money it would have saved. Doesn’t matter if someone says it is needed or not. Why argue law interpretation with car rent agency or traffic police. Avoid it.

I agree that an IDP is obligatory for driving in Italy and other European countries. I disagree completely with the remark that they're necessarily easy to obtain in the US from one's local AAA. Some of us have local AAA offices that aren't easy to deal with for such services, including ours - and we've been AAA members for over 50 years.