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International Driver's license requested at rental agencies in Spain

International Driver's license requested at rental agencies in Spain

Old Apr 28th, 2015, 05:23 PM
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International Driver's license requested at rental agencies in Spain

It seems that some places are now routinely asking for the Int'l DL, when before they didn't. Just a heads up. A friend of mine went to pick up their rental and were denied at the place he reserved so went to another nearby and the same thing happened.

.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 05:47 PM
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I was just reading about this in a Spain guidebook a few hours ago and wondered if it was really necessary. Thanks for the information.

In the States looks like we can get it at AAA, even if not members:
http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html

Note the fine print at the bottom of that page, just in case:
<small>* International Driving Permits may not be issued more than six (6) months in advance of desired effective date</small>
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 05:52 PM
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It is the law in some countries that people who have a drivers license from a non-EU country must also have an IDP. Spain and Italy, as well as several other countries require it. Without it, insurance may not be valid in case of an accident. Rental agencies do not want to take on that liability, so they are making sure people renting are in compliance. Every person driving the rental car will need one.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 06:06 PM
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"..insurance may not be valid in case of an accident."

While not disputing the truth of this information, I find it remarkable. It isn't as if the IDP confers any more skill or magic protection on the holder against whatever might happen on the road. I had one years ago and I didn't think I drove better as a result. One would think a license issued by a legal entity like a state would be respected as much or more than a document that only proves you have a "real" license. I just don't get it.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 06:20 PM
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"I was just reading about this in a Spain guidebook a few hours ago"

A GREAT example of why using guidebooks can really make a difference.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 06:29 PM
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Actually, MmePerdu, I do not get it either. I am uncertain what value an IDP provides, translations maybe? However, if the law requires it and you do not have it, an insurance company can say you are driving without proper permits and use that to invalidate insurance.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 06:32 PM
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I just read recently about having an IDP in Spain and got one last week at Auto Club.

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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 06:33 PM
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"if the law requires it and you do not have it, an insurance company can say you are driving without proper permits and use that to invalidate insurance" True! Any excise not to pay... The bottom line is all about value for the investors.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 06:49 PM
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"The bottom line is all about value for the investors."

Mystery sentence, please explain. Do you mean any excuse to rip off car rental customers to increase the bottom line? But if they don't give you the car without it, the investors lose the rental fee. Still not making sense.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 09:33 PM
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There is no way a clerk in a car hire place can know whether a licence issued by Azerbaijan, or the Province of Nunavut, is genuine, current or appropriate for the vehicle about to be lent out. Or even that such places exist.

In 2006, there were estimated to be 110 different forms of licence in the 31 current European Economic Area states alone. So the general policy in Europe now is that car hire companies' insurance policies apply only if the staff check all the necessary information on a European standard licence, or on an IDP issued within the previous 12 months,

There are countries (like the UK) where this is almost never reflected in daily operations, especially with licences from English-speaking countries. Even here, though, there have been accounts on sites like this of hire companies' requiring further verification with some licences. There are also countries like Italy where the policy is enshrined in law.

But with increasingly accessible ways of creating fake licences, and a growing tide of foreigners from what we once thought "exotic" countries, more and more cases of hire companies outside Italy are likely to require either a European-model licence or an IDP.

Lending an car to someone with a non-conforming licence creates a risk for the lender (rarely a big global corp: almost always a tiny local franchisee) of a potentially bankrupting €30,000 write off for a few euros income.
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 09:50 PM
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That is why travel guides are obsolete as soon as they are edited.

So, if someone waives coverages, does the car rental facility still require a IDP, as it would not come under their insurance policy?
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Old Apr 28th, 2015, 11:49 PM
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On my first adult trip to the UK, back in the days of Harold Wilson, I hired a car at Victoria and drove it for three weeks on an expired US driving license.

US licenses were/are so different from UK licenses that that the clerk didn't notice, and neither did I until later.

So off I drove down the A40 toward Oxford, through quite a lot of Central London, blissfully uninsured.

An IDL wouldn't have helped that because no one would have asked for it in England. On the Continent I think the reasons are as outlined by flanneruk and because many policemen have little English, though likely quite a lot more than an American highway patrolman would have French. The IDL would be very handy in an accident.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 12:00 AM
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When we picked up a car at Alicante airport at Christmas, the clerk asked to see my U.S. brother-in-law's IDP as well as his licence, and also said that we should carry our passports at any time we were driving the car. She implied that this was Spanish law.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 12:05 AM
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I really wonder why people make such a fuss all the time about not wanting to get an IDP. It is really no big deal to obtain and cost is minimal compared to the total expenses for the trip. Get the thing if there is the slightest indication that it may be needed, and be done with the problem.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 01:39 AM
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In the US, I once rented a car with an expired Italian license. I didn't notice it until too late. In Italy, they don't send us reminders that our license is about to expire.

An IDP has been required in Italy for all those who don't have a license in EU format, for at least the past 17 years that I've lived here. I had to get one before I moved here, so I could drive legally in the period before I was able to schedule the Italian driver's test. I was told by a marshall of the Carabinieri, a friend of my husband, that it was an EU regulation. I suppose some EU countries are ignoring it.

However, it's only recently that car hire companies in Italy have been requesting the IDP, and I've seen reports on Tripadvisor of people who were refused rental cars because they didn't have it. Maybe they've had some cases where their insurance companies refused to pay.

The IDP is not a license at all. It's a translation of your license in a standard format, with the fields numbered. It has to be carried along with your license, not instead of it. In Italy it can be substituted by an official translation of your license. Believe me, that would be a much bigger nuisance to get (not to mention the expense). It can only be done by a translator approved by the consulate and it has to have a consular stamp, or an apostile, or something of the sort. Much easier and cheaper to get the IDP!
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 02:49 AM
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Imdonehere you still have the compulsory third party insurance on your rental, even if you refuse any others. Should you be in an accident involving another party the insurance company can claim you didn't hold a valid licence, resulting in you facing prosecution for driving without a licence and valid insurance, and being personally liable all the damage, to al vehicles and all victims. Many health systems claim the cost of care of a RTA victim on the insurance of the guilty party - you, whether you caused the accident or not.

For the sake of a few dollars that seems a really stupid thing to choose to do.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 03:28 AM
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Previously I had been told IN THE US and in SPAIN that a valid US/Spanish driver's license was valid in each of those countries up to 3 months as far as police were concerned. No mention ever of needing an IDP. However, it is the rental agencies.. I do not believe it is law. But I am curious enough to check.

As said before.. the IDP is only a translation

I have rented in the States as recently as last October and never have I been requested to provide an IDP, but I certainly am going to get one here in Spain now for my Spanish license, as not having a car on vacation could RUIN it totally.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 03:33 AM
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It looks like it must be law.. it's on the US Embassy page as a requirement to drive in Spain. I guess the agencies in the past were just not concerned about checking, but now they are more so.. at least SOME of them, so play it safe.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 03:57 AM
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In the US, the requirements would be different for each state, but I don't know any states that require an IDP. If Indiana required one, the rental agency probably would have noticed that my Italian license was expired.

Since the US has 50 different driver's licenses, it's almost impossible for a foreign policeman to know whether what you're showing him is a valid license or something you photoshopped. The IDP always has to be obtained in your home country for the simple reason that the issuer is expected to know whether they're translating a valid license or not.

I no longer have my old IDP, but I seem to remember that it was rather a form translation. The fields were numbered, so that, for instance, 1 would be the field containing your name; 2, your surname; 3, your date of birth, etc. It also indicated (again by a number code) any limitation (such as eyeglasses) and the type of vehicle you were licensed to drive. I think there was a page where the translation of these fields was given in just a limited number of languages. The foreign police officer would be expected to know one of the languages, or else have a crib sheet for the numbered fields.

I'd like to emphasize that the IDP is not a requirement of the rental agencies. It's intended for the policeman who stops you and wants to see your license. The IDP assures him that it's a valid license, and, if he's not familiar with the language it's written in, deciphers it for him. It's been required by law for 17 years, at least, in Italy, but it's only recently that car rental agencies there have taken cognizance of the law.

If my husband's friend, the Marshall of the Carabinieri, is correct, it's required in all EU countries.
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Old Apr 29th, 2015, 04:54 AM
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There are two types of car rental insurance, one for physical damage to the car and the other is liability.

Most credit cards in most countries will cover the physical damage while either you homeowners or umbrella policy CAN cover the liability, depending on the policy. If both of those insurance coverages are available to you then insurance from the car rental car company is not needed.
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