Need for Int'l Driver's Permit?

Yes, if you get stopped by the police, the IDP will be your form of ID, along with your DL.

Yes.
It is required by the Italian Motor Vehicle Code.
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/drive-without-idp-at-your-own-risk

Do I need an IDP if renting in Sicily (Italy)?

It would be prudent to have an I.D.P for all the countries you'll be driving in, but especially Italy where it's compulsory. You may never be asked to produce an I.D.P. but if you are, it would be wise to have one. Note that each driver listed on the rental contract must have an I.D.P. These are also required in France, Spain and other countries.

As you'll be driving in Austria, note that you'll require the Highway Tax Vignette which may not be provided by the rental agency in Germany. You'll have to stop as soon as you enter Austria and purchase the Vignette, as there are hefty fines for those caught without it (fines are normally payable on the spot!).

You'll also have to be vigilant when in Italy to avoid the dreaded ZTL (limited traffic) areas which are increasingly prevalent in many towns and cities, especially Florence. Again there are hefty fines for each pass through a ZTL area, which you probably won't know about until several months after you return home. There are also speed cameras, including the devious Traffic Tutor which measures both instantaneous speed as well as average between two points. Violate one or both and expensive tickets will follow.

Arnold,

Yes, Sicily is covered by the same Motor Vehicle Code that Roberto mentioned. You will need an I.D.P. if renting in Sicily.

As others have said, each driver will need an IDP, obtained at AAA. Have you verified you will be able to drive your rental car in the Czech Republic? When we rented a car in Vienna this past May we were told we were not allowed to drive there.

i don't know why getting an IDP causes so much distress in people.

All you need to do is go to your local AAA with your driver's license and two passport size photo (actually they can take two for your for an extra $10). You fill out a short form and after 5 min you have your IDP. Total cost for AAA members: $15.

It is likely that no policeman will pull you over while driving overseas, but that is no good reason for taking the risk.

Thanks so much to each of you for responding.
Good advice about checking on whether we can take car rented in Germany into Czech Republic.

Roberto, we were not trying to avoid getting the IDP...just didn't know about it.😊

IDP usually costs $20 and a discount is not available for me.

FYI: The purpose of the IDP is to gap the differences between your license and some Vienna conference. The differences are:

1. Say "driver license" in French

2. Give country of Birth

3. Number the items on the license (name, address, etc)

Not so much to provide a translation as often stated. Other EU countries do not need to provide a translation of their licenses into Italian.

Just wanted to add you need not be a AAA member
As a non-member you still go to one of their branches and it is done in 15 minutes
You walk amour with the IDP

It is common for any countries classified by the rental companies as "Eastern Europe" to be restricted from driving in, this includes countries on Italy's borders.
(Slovenia, Croatia, etc) So definitely read that contract and call the rental company to advise them of your travels in advance to make sure

EU driving licences are in a standard format. The same piece of information is in the same place in the same format. Even the codes for the type of vehicle are standardised! See here: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/road_safety/topics/driving-licence/eu-driving_licence_en
Therefore it doesn't need translating, Just compare it with a licence in "Your" language and you (or a policeman) can understand it.

That does not apply to non-EU licences. Given a piece of plastic with a photo on it and writing in a foreign language, a policeman cannot be expected to know if it is a valid licence (and valid for what), or fake, or a library card! The IDP provides a certified translation in a standard format, AND certifies the document is a drving licence, and not a library card!

Well said Chris!

Also, it may be obvious to some European policeman that your American license is indeed a driver's license, since most will speak some English, but if an American has the right to drive anywhere in the world with just their American license, then someone with a Yemeni license written in Arabic should also have the right to drive in America without an IDP. Yet that poor Yemeni chap would probably be put on a no fly list and sent to Guantanamo without the IDP.

Amazing how much my new Colorado license looks like a Europe driving license. The fields are all noted just like on those from the EU. Wonder if eventually this means the IDP will no longer be required?

I googled IDP last night and downloaded the application. Two passport-quality photos and $20.

Italian DL (new EU standard model). Apparently introduced in the XV century AD.

http://www.italianifrancia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/patente-italiana-in-Francia5.jpg

need to see the back for what she is authorised to operate

Living in Canada my license is in English and French. I'm assuming Italians speak some French ?

bobb_todd,

Some Italians may speak French but that doesn't negate the need for an I.D.P.

Austria not only requires an IDP and a vignette (road toll equivalent) but also reflective safety vests - I think there must be a vest for everyone in the car and the vests must also be in the car not the trunk!

Bobb_todd, these days there are more italians that speak English and German than French, the above explanation by Chris is quite clear:

certifies the document is a driving licence, and not a library card!

That driving license is all we have of that poor kidnapped girl who was forced to live in France by an old mad guy from Florence.

need to see the back for what she is authorised to operate.

She was a certified parallel parking woman, something very rare during those dark times.

Mark: I doubt a Colorado license gives country of birth or has Premis de Conduire written on it.

Nitpicking but the IDP is not a translation of the license. It's a standard document that lists the required Vienna items in many languages, like 12. If it were a translation every state would have a different form but they are all the same.

Tom_MN: I did say maybe and eventually. :-)

There is still a ways to go, but it is interesting how close it is.

Looking at the link provided by Chris F, the new format of the Colorado drier's license matches most every field that is present on a European license and is even laid out with each field number exactly as required in Europe.

True, there is no country of birth (field 3 contains only date of birth) which could easily be fixed on the next update. And it does not have "Permis de Conduire" written on it, but then neither does the Irish driver's license which is good throughout all of Europe. And the pictures I see for the current UK license have even fewer fields from the long list that can be present on an acceptable license for driving in the EU.

Would I try and use just my Colorado license if I were stopped in the EU by the police? Of course not. I will still continue to use the IDP until they officially stop offering it.

If you are a member of AAA, the passport photos should be free. Mine were.

Requiring country of birth and not vision restrictions is rather bizarre.

"Driver License" in English should be sufficient.

With all the enforcement cameras, getting stopped by police is very unlikely.

Some countries require the IDP; in those countries, a state driver license is not legally sufficient.

Tom. If getting an IDP causes you so much distress, don't get it and take the risk.
It's requires by the the law as written, but so is driving sober, which some people also don't do.
The IDP requirement may not make sense to you. Stopping at a red light in the middle of the night with clearly no cars around also doesn't make sense to me, yet most of us stop and wait for the green light anyhow.

It seemed to me the Irish sample above was not Vienna compliant but if you look under the harp in tiny red letters you will see Permis de Conduire.

Where is the vision / corrective lenses noted? Is that on the back somewhere?

Curious that the US has no such standardization of the various state licenses.

Tom standardization of licenses in the US is what the Real ID fuss is about. Some states balking at complying with the federal law to unify license formats out of fear of government intrusion (sic).

It doesn't cause me distress, it's just a little irritation that doesn't really achieve much good. Mexico doesn't require (or recognize) the IDP, so its value in Europe seems a bit exaggerated (other than that it may be absolutely required by the car rental agency).

Also it's kind of big. And it expires after a year, not the length of the license it authorizes, which is a scam.

Tom, every time this question comes up here on the helpline you rail against it. I think we know where you stand.

I am concerned that encouraging new readers here not to get a legally required permit will see them breaking the law based on your guidance yet with you having none of the risk.

I don't like filing income tax much but I don't tell innocents not to do it.

Tom, the IDP is not a requirement of the rental agency, it is a legal requirement. Without an IDP your Driving Licence is a worthless piece of plastic. Driving without a licence is a crime for which you can get fined or imprisoned, same as drunk driving.
It is only valid a year, because licences can be withdrawn (for example for drink driving).
The countries that require it do not get any money from it, that all goes to the authorities in your home country that issue it, so how does that make it a scam?

If you want to show a legal document from France, Germany etc. to the police in another country you would need to get a certified translation. Why should a driving licence be different?

I haven't said that a person should not get the IDP.

I have said that I have read that people have been turned away from rental agencies for not having one so there's a risk that not having one will interfere with trip plans.

Yes, it is a scam to not have it last as long as the license since it is not valid by itself so if the license was revoked it's automatically not valid.

Yes it is too big.

It's not as global as some Europeans like to think, not that "international."

What I object to is its portrayal as a useful document and not just another bureaucratic hoop to jump through.

Regardless of its size, or the length of time it is valid, whether other countries don't recognize it, or whether or not a rental agency wants to see it, it is a legal requirement in some countries. That's all you need to know.

The IDP is based on international treaty. Nations that adopt it as a legal requirement (and there are many - not just in Europe), know that the IDP will provide information in a standard format that their own police authorities can read and be assured of its validation. Remember, there are 50 US states and hundreds of nations across the world (some with localized drivers licenses too) - so there is no way a police officer can know how to read or validate all those licenses.

Many people assume that the IDP is some sort of AAA program or way for them to make money. That is 100% incorrect. AAA is merely the authorized entity in the U.S. to issue IDP's to US citizens. Other nations have their own authorized entity for IDPs.

Drivers without an IDP in countries where it is required are subject to fines or worse. Your state drivers license is not technically valid without it.

While most rental agencies don't usually ask for it, some do and I personally have been denied a car because I didn't have one.

It is too big...

International doesn't mean "all nations", the IDP requirement is an agreement among nations (number of nations is not important).

So, dear OP, if you take action based on Tom's observations, you could end up with a big fine or with no rental car.

No worries, already submitted the application along with 2 photos and $20. 😊

For the benefit of future readers of this thread, it should be noted that there are unauthorized vendors of invalid IDPs on the internet. IDPs should be obtained only from a vendor authorized by your country's Department of State. Other websites offering to supply one are fraudulent! In the USA, the authorized entity is the AAA. In Canada, it's the CAA. In Australia, they are issued by the States: SmartTraveller.gov.au.

Tom_MN,

"Where is the vision / corrective lenses noted? Is that on the back somewhere?"

I have two restrictions on my license, corrective lenses and the class of commercial vehicles I'm authorized to drive. These are designated on the I.D.P. as follows....

• the class of vehicle is not only noted on the flap on the back cover in the "Restrictions" area, but also on each page and each language there's a red stamp in the Category "B column.
• the corrective lenses provision is noted on the flap on the back cover in the "Restrictions" area.

For those planning on driving in Europe, getting an I.D.P. is a "no brainer", especially considering the low cost.

Curious that the US has no such standardization of the various state
licenses.

They are all in English.

In the EU, the fields were standardized because of language differences, so that a policeman anywhere would know, for example, that in the box no. 1, he will see the Last Name/Surname, while in box 3 there would be date and place of birth, even if indicated in Greek.

Charlene, I'm a little confused. Where/how did you "submit" your application? We just go to AAA and get the IDP on the spot. Did you mail it in due to the lack of a AAA near you?