international drivers license

It's not an international drivers license, it's an international driving permit. What it really is is a translation of your US license into several languages. Since they speak English in Ireland, you don't need one. Your regular license will be sufficient for you to rent a car.

You can see a list of countries that require an IDP at this website:

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/idp-requirements-by-country.html

Nancy is correct; Ireland is not one of them.

Though that list might be a good guideline, it's actually only for holders of UK licenses. Requirements for holders of licenses from other countries might be different.

True, but I doubt that there are any countries that require IDP's for UK license holders and not for US license holders.

In any case, IDP's are so easy to get at any AAA office that the best policy is that anyone planning to drive in a foreign country should obtain one.

Tom, it's the other way round. The British AA website shows which countries require British drivers to have IDPs. It is quite likely that there are countries (Italy, for example) which require U.S. drivers to have an IDP, but which do not require the same of U.K. drivers. No-one with a licence from a E.U. country needs an IDP to drive in another E.U. country.

I believe the difficulty is that U.S. licences are issued by individual states. Individual U.S. states do not have agreements with other countries about inter-acceptance of licences, and they are free to make whatever changes they like to the format of the licences they issue. I guess it's a downside to the idea of states' rights within a country.

Bob of Bristol UK makes an interesting point about a detail I'd not thought of and that hasn't been discussed here: that part of the problem is that US driver licenses are issued by states but states don't have the same kind of treaties or relationships with EU countries that a national government would have.

Bob - Makes sense and thanks for the info. I guess the bottom line for Americans is to just go get an IDP and stop having fever over this whole issue..

The big problem with "just getting" an IDP is that it's only good for a year. I believe it cost $15 but why bother if you don't need it.

I guess my philosophy is better to have and not need than to need and not have.

The purpose of the permit is to translate your US license into the local language. It confers no additional rights or privileges on the driver, so in a country where it is not required (particularly where they speak English and can read your license perfectly well), it is a waste of $15 to get one.

Well I for one almost didn't get my rental car in England. My license has a renewal sticker on the back. The rental agency was very concerned about the expired date on the front and the sticker doesn't give a new date, just a statement. It took 10 minutes of the agent confering with the manager to decide it was valid. An IDP would have certified it was valid instantly.

An IDP can have a lot of usefullness beyond translation. It is a certification that your state license is valid. It costs $15. Get it!

We took one with us, but Budget rental never needed one. I had read in many places that you may need one in Ireland so we figured it was not a big deal to have it. We got it from AAA. As far as a translation in language, I don't know how that would be because it is in England also.