Rome Car Rental - International Driver Permit

We've been told here that the new format US state driver license is enough. Did you try asking if your new format license was enough?

The OP's unfortunate experience reemphasizes sound advice about driving in Italy that has been given time and time and time again on this forum. First, an International Driving Permit (IDP) is required to legally drive in Italy using a foreign driver license. The fact that a rental agent doesn't ask to see the IDP doesn't mean it's not required. Second, it's the responsibilty of the person renting a car to know and understand the rules for driving in Italy. It's not the rental agent's responsibility to make sure one understands the rules or to verify that one has the required IDP (i.e. enforce the rules). Third, obtaining an IDP at a AAA office is quick, easy and inexpensive, and the cost will be slightly higher if you need passport-size photos for the IDP.

Edit: An interesting point that Nigel raises, but are the rules the same in Italy as in UK?

using a foreign driver license.

Using a non EU driving license,

IDP doesn't mean it's not required.

It's even worse. I'm afraid it means you are driving without an IDP notwithstanding you declared in the rental agreement you had one. In short you are driving out of the law, You lied to the contracting party and the Rental's Insurance Company could refuse to cover you in case of serious troubles.

Checking is spotty (it's not the employees' Job) not the requirement.

An interesting point that Nigel raises, but are the rules the same in Italy as in UK?

I'm afraid UK citizens can change the Italian Law only when they are EU Parliament Members, for now the Italian law makes no exceptions for US citizens.

In April 2015, when I rented from Hertz in downtown Palermo, the indeed needed to see the IDP and drivers license for everyone who was going to drive the car. I had read that "in Italy the car rental agencies don't need to see an IDP," but at least at that location at that time, this was not true.

Nigel..... how would I know if my state driver licence is of the new format. And trust me the rental agencies in Rome would not know the difference. This appears to me to be some kind of a scam where they are following the letter of the Law ( which no one in Italy ever does) because they can make money by following the letter of the law. In order for me to get a car to start 21-day vacation I had to agree to a $50 a day full car insurance for them to give me a car. Yes do the mass that's like $900. I went to the Europcar rental agency and they said they would not let me a car without an international license either. When we were in Cefalu I went to the tourist information center and they call the local police who said an international driving licence was not necessary. They also call Europcar and they said same thing.. So is this a Rome scam I don't know but as of right now I am out $900. Nigel please do your homework.

By the way do not think you can go online and get an international driving permit as far as I can tell that is also a scam. They will ask for all of your information, date of birth cetera which is not not a cool thing to do. By the way renting a car in Rome 18 months ago they did not ask for international driving.

Sorry Nigel I thought your response was from the Rick Steve's team. I understand that the Rick Steve's team monitors this fourm. If you can not confirm that what I say is not true then please advise all of your followers that they must have a international driving permit if they are renting from Rome.

Make that €900 not dollars. $50 x 21 not $900…My math was always bad but not that bad.🙂

1. No matter what anyone says, nothing you read on this forum has the force of law or absolute truth. 2. Officials following the 'letter of the law' is NOT a scam. Just because some areas don't strictly follow a law does not make them in the 'right' and those who do follow the law in the 'wrong'. 3. What one rental car company does cannot be generalized to all of Rome.

In all cases the laws or requirements of a particular country (or city, or sightseeing venue) relating to what you are planning to do there should be researched from a reputable official source before you go, not when you show up.

A driver needs either an EU driving license or an IDP (or an officially certified translation) along with their country's driving license. Period. That's current Italian law.

I agree. Rick Steves advise your followers, they must have a international driving permit.

I still call it a scam however because everywhere I have gone in Italy laws are not enforced. Garbage thrown on the side of the roads, speed limits not enforced, parking regulations not enforced etc etc. I get it, this is the thing I love about Italy, in the USA everything is lock down in the name of public safety. So why all of a sudden are they enforcing the international licence permit. It's all about greed, I got bagged for 900 euro, just think about that for a moment on the start of a vacation!

900 euro is nothing to what you could be on the hook for if someone crashes into your car and whatever insurance you think you have is deemed void because you were driving in violation of the law--or of the rental agreement if there's a you-must-have-an-IDP clause. I'm sure we can all agree that insurance companies are not in the business of paying deniable claims.

It may be a scam, but not by Italy or law enforcement. Did you reserve through an online broker, and prepay? Did they then refuse to refund because you did not have all the required documents per the fine print?

"I agree. Rick Steves advise your followers, they must have a international driving permit."

He does. It's in the Italy guidebook.

No scam. Sorry you got hammered, but it's your responsibility to know the laws in the countries you visit when you want to rent a car there.

It's not the rental employees' job to enforce the rule. Those who couldn't care less about tourists let you make a false statement and hand you the keys.

Have an accident while driving a rental car without an IDP. The moment cops write in their report you had no IDP you are screwed. The lawyer of the insurance company will use that report to deny you were covered because you lied when signing the rental agreement and it would need a Judge to get this decision partially reversed.

rhakim,

A few thoughts.....

As you found, those driving in Italy with other than an E.U. driver's license must have an International Driver's Permit, which is used in conjunction with the home D.L. An IDP is not a license per se. Whether rental agencies or police ask to see the IDP is not the issue.... this is compulsory under Italian law and failure to produce an IDP if requested may result in fines which are payable on the spot! If a non-EU driver were involved in an "Incidente Stradale" and didn't have an IDP, they could be deemed to be driving without a valid license which opens up all kinds of potential problems! One of the regular forum members, Roberto, has posted the applicable sections of Italian law regarding this issue and I have no doubt this is the law in Italy (I don't have the time this morning to search the forum to find that thread). To summarize, this is not a scam.

This website from Auto Europe also indicates the need for an IDP - https://www.autoeurope.com/international-driving-permit-italy/ . Unfortunately, they've used the wrong terminology and refer to it as a "license", which is NOT true. As they're in the business of renting cars, it's unfortunate that they're not better educated and are perpetuating incorrect terminology.

Your assertion that Rick Steves needs to "educate" his followers is incorrect. He also indicates the need for an IDP both in his guidebooks and on the website. Here's an example - https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/rental-car-requirements .

Regarding the fact that some U.S. driver's licenses are now compliant with an international standard, that might negate the need for an IDP in future but I wouldn't count on local authorities in Italy to be familiar with this change, at least in the short term. They will still want to see an IDP.

Regarding the insurance costs, my understanding is that it is also compulsory under Italian law to purchase at least CDW and theft from the rental company. This is a legal requirement and also not a scam. Based on your description, it sounds like you opted for the "full package" offered by the rental firm, and that's usually the most costly option. Some credit cards will cover some portion of the rental insurance in Italy, but you need to be absolutely clear on that coverage and the "fine print". In any case, you still must purchase the CDW and theft from the rental firm.

Depending on when your trip took place, you may also be getting a surprise in the mail in the next few months, as you receive notification of ZTL (limited traffic zone) violations. These are often enforced by automatic cameras and the tickets can take six months or longer to appear (each violation is €100+). You'll first receive a charge on your credit card from the rental firm, for notifying authorities on who had the vehicle at the time of the infraction. The actual tickets will appear after that.

You might consider using well planned public transport for your next trip to Italy, and use rental cars only where required.

Thank you one and all for your words of wisdom.

The EU licenses are issued in a common standard.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_driving_licence

The Italian law specifically states that DLs issued by EU member states are valid in Italy without need of an international D.L. or official translation.

I don’t know of any US States that has adopted the EU standard. In any case the law does not mention exceptions for the US at the moment.