StuDudley

Again - from the link I provided above:

Who Needs an International Driving Permit in France?

In France, an IDP is called Permis de Conduire International (PCI). The main purpose is that it serves as a translated driver’s license for some time. If you intend to drive in France, you will need Permis de Conduire International as a tourist or resident if:

• Your driver’s license isn’t in French.
  
• Your driver’s license wasn’t issued by an EU member state, the United Kingdom or Switzerland.

In this case, you will need to get a certified translation of your license or a Permis de Conduire International.

Me again.
I would choose the Permis de Conduire/IDP. I certainly don't want to spend my first few days in France trying to find someone who can issue me a certified translation.

I've rented close to 50 cars from Autoeurope, and I think their statement is perhaps correct, but misleading. You don't have to have an IDP. But if you don't have one, then you need the certified translation.

Stu Dudley

tom_mn

What matters is what happens. Has an American ever (since the dawn of human history) been refused a rental car, or had an issue with the police or insurance claim, for not carrying an IDP in France? NO!!!

Does anything else matter? NO!!!

As an aside: Most US states now use the Vienna Convention numbers on their licenses so they “self-translate.” Unfortunately California and New York don’t use the Vienna Convention numbers.

tom_mn

Adding to above:

Here's an EU license

Here's one of the US states that also has the Vienna Convention numbers

There's nothing to translate.

kerouac

I don't know why some of the states have not yet adopted the international format, which is accepted everywhere in the world.

jznsn2u

I was stationed in Germany for years and everyone had the opportunity to get their international driver's licenses. Surprisingly, whenever I rented cars in Europe no one asked for an international driver's license. Every country I visited said my California driver's license was fine. It would be a good idea to have it prepared before you travel to Germany and Switzerland.

"It's better to have and not need than to need and not have."

Traveler_Nick

The rental companies don't care if you break the law. In Italy they've started requesting an IDP more often because the insurance companies have been denying coverage to drivers without an IDP. That means in case of an accident the rental company would need to sue the renter.

janisj

I thought an IDP has always been required in Italy. At least that's what I've always heard. (Not always asked for of course but mandatory to have).

The mandate for Australia is the one that's always made me laugh. Since an IDP is merely a translation of ones license and presumably most police in OZ can read English (or maybe not LOL)

Traveler_Nick

The change is the insurance companies walking away and refusing to cover drivers without an IDP.

The translation isn't the language is things like the drivers class. In the EU it's A and B mainly with various subclasses. Anybody using a roman alphabet should be able to handle A and B but will they know what A or B means? Or A1,A2, B1 etc

bvlenci

Since the IDP basically serves as a translation of your license, I'm puzzled about Australia requiring it for US drivers.
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kerouac

I would speculate that they might think that a country with 51 different drivers licences is too much trouble, particularly in terms of spotting fakes.

mjs

We have probably rented cars over 20 times in Europe and have never had a road accident or been pulled over by the police or asked to see our IDP by a rental company. We still get them just in case.

cheska15

When leasing a car we were required to have an IDP. Nobody ever asked to see it. We too get one every time. I’m a little bit distrustful of insurance companies as I think they may and try get out of any claim for any reason if they could. For a cost of $20 ( Aussie) at least we are covered. Seems silly to me when people are spending thousands of dollars to skimp on this.

tom_nm just because you are American it doesn’t mean you are exempt from meeting any requirements.

bvlenci

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When I first arrived in Italy in 1998, the IDP was already required for Italy. I got one before arriving. It took more than a year to get my Italian license, so I still didn't have it when the IDP expired. I asked the local marshall of the carabinieri, who was a friend of my husband, whether I could drive for a few months with an expired IDP, given that my US license was still valid and that the IDP would still be a valid translation. He said that I would be breaking the law if I drove without a valid IDP. Since I was applying for Italian citizenship, I didn't want any blot on my escutcheon, so I gave up driving for a few months.
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bvlenci

In the 25 years ago I've been driving in Italy, I've been pulled over a few times for document identification.

tom_mn

Why do people post unsubstantiated things like this? Has this ever happened anywhere in the world??? NO!!!!

I have been laughed at once for presenting an IDP to a rental counter in France. I don't intend to ever repeat that MISTAKE.

Jean

Your experience is not everyone's experience. Some rental offices in both France and Italy have asked to see our IDPs. I can't remember which companies but likely at least Avis and Hertz. We've also been stopped for documentation checks in France and Italy and possibly Spain (at/near northern border). In most instances, the official asked to see everything, including the IDPs, and in one case the car rental agreement. I don't know what, if anything, would have happened if we couldn't present IDPs.

I just can't get that worked up over this debate. If we intend to rent a car, we get IDPs. It's like many other little things we do/bring on a trip that may never be needed.

MaineGG

I couldn't agree more. We have driven our own car and many rental cars in Europe over five decades and have always had IDPs. They have been required occasionally. What I never want to happen is to have to deal with a situation that steals my time and attention from the enjoyment of my trip.
Let's hope that in the near future the requirement for the IDP or approved translation of U.S. states' licenses that are in the common international format will be dropped. As for now, an IDP should not expire until the license expires. I think AAA is being shamelessly greedy in that regard.

tom_mn

It's not "my" experience, it's the (native English speaking) world's experience. I frequently repeat web searches (in English) for any possible instances in France, TripAdvisor, all the main forums, general googling-- nothing ever comes up. It's inconceivable in this age, when every hors d'oeuvres served cold gets posted, that nothing ever is posted as having happened in France yet it is actually somehow a dire situation there if you don't have an IDP, hundreds have suffered and been penalized, somehow this is all happening in the shadows. Your somewhat nebulous "somewhere in France we were asked" is the first report I have ever read, and it isn't that credible frankly. France and Italy are different animals when it comes to IDPs and tourists.

Travel_Nerd

Everytime this topic comes up, this debate ensues. No matter if the OP is going to France or Italy or anywhere else.

Why? I do not see the reason for the disdain and yelling (all caps). Get it and not need it vs. Don't get it and will need it vs. Don't get it and not need it. Your choice.

Jean

Geez. Chill. I don't broadcast online every experience I have. And AFAIK, there are still things that happen in the world that don't come up in a google search. When I describe what I have personally experienced, I do it in the hope my experience can help someone else, not to stir the debate. People can take it or leave it. The fact that I didn't cite the specific locations we've been asked to show documents just means I'm too lazy to look through a few dozen travel diaries to satisfy your skepticism. And what difference does knowing the locations make?