International Drivers License
 

Hi all,

We have received the following update with regards to driving in South Africa and Namibia... (apologies if this has been posted previously):

Budget (Rent-A-Car) has brought it to our attention that the traffic department are now enforcing a law which was passed in 1998 that travelers to South Africa wishing to rent a motor vehicle whilst in this country (this applies to both RSA and Namibia), must be in possession of a valid
"International Drivers Permit/License".

Should travelers neglect to obtain this document before leaving their country of residence, they will not be permitted to hire a vehicle in South Africa.

Budget rent a car recognizes that there may be instances whereby a reservation was made and the renter prepaid prior to this notification and will not be in possession of an international drivers license . We will not turn the customer away - however they will incur penalties should they be stopped by the police .

Should travelers be using motor vehicles, other than the hired ones, i.e. making use of a company or friend's vehicle etc., they will STILL need to be in possession of such license. Licenses will NOT be issued to foreign visitors upon arrival in this country. Travelers must be advised to carry their Foreign Drivers License as well as their International one.

James

I was involved recently in two lengthy discussions on another travel board about this. And after finding what I thought was the relevant Law (the National Road Traffic Act of 1996), I quoted it as saying that any country's driving licence was legal in S.A. for its duration. No mention of language or even alphabet, or requiring a photo.

But later I found a more recent amendment from 1999. To summarise first. If your "foreign" licence is not in English and doesn't have your photo and signature, then (but only then) it seems that you need an Int. Driving Permit. Except that an attached "certified" translation is permitted as an alternative to English.

If you want to check the detail, the document is http://www.transport.gov.za/library/...9/roadregs.pdf.

Pages 74/75 of that doc say
1. A licence needs to be in an official language of the Republic. (We have 11! One of which is English.)
or
2. There is an "authenticated" translation attached.
and
3. "such licence contains or has attached to it, a photograph and the signature of the licence holder"

It then goes on to say (as previously) that an Int. Driving Permit can be an alternative to the above.

Thanks ArthurSA
In less than 2 weeks we are renting a car from Avis at JNB. We were told that we must have an IDP and our regular (USA) drivers license. So we went to our local AAA and for $15 they sold us one complete with photo (we provided). And it is good for only 1 year!!! What silliness. Our California license has our photo and more information on it. Have the rental car companies, Budget, Avis, decided just to make their own laws regarding this?

regards - tom

Tom, I've just gone onto the S.A. Avis site (www.avis.co.za). The FAQ page is temporarily unavailable, but I found this under the Terms and Conditions page ("Drivers License"):

"Renters and additional drivers must be in possession of a valid unendorsed driver's license of country of residence. If driver's license is non-roman alphabet, an international driver's license is required. Please note that Foreigners must also produce a valid passport."

So not what you were told, but also not up-to-date in terms of the Law as I understand it. That Avis T&C says that (say) a German language license is OK. But as previously posted, not so since 1999, unless it has a "certified translation" attached. Which usually costs money to get.

IMO, an Int. Permit (strictly, it's not a "License") is a waste of time and money. And here, a revenue stream for the local AA, albeit perhaps not all that big. (That's Auto. Assoc. not the other one!)

In my early years of Int. travel, I got such a permit several times. Until I learned that it wasn't necessary. Or certainly not in FL U.S. (unless that was in those earlier naive days, I can't recall), or on Phuket Island, or in Germany and Austria after I rented from Avis in Munich.

hi, jweis,

before our recent trip to SA, we were advised that we needed either an international driving permit, or a "new style" UK licence ie one with a photo.

so DH had to send off for a new licence which he got back in about a week. much easier that getting a IDP, which can only be obtained from a limited no. of Post offices in the country.

when we got there, the hirer [avis] was only interested in the photo bit of the licence, didn't check the paper bit [which contains any endorsements etc.] and there was no mention of an IDP.

This was mid-july [2007].

so if this is a law from 1998, it would appear that any licence in english and with a photo wil be accepted.

regards, ann

Go with the flow. Why take the chance that the Int'l Drivers Licence maybe required? Why would anyone fly half way around the world and find out this warning was spot on or not?

I think the International Driving Permit (IDP) is not essential as long as one has a National Driving Licence (NDL) that conforms to the requirments (ie National language, photo, signature etc), however the car rental companies must find is easier to streamline this whole thing by asking for an IDP so there is no ambiguity.

I would personally take and IDP - why take any chances?

This probably doesn't apply because I owned a car in SA, but I was stopped for speeding twice while living in SA. I did have an international license but it had expired. I showed my California license and the police were very excited. Especially when it included a hundred rand note.

Am going back in Feb for my lovely court case involving the builder who never finished my house and some diving with friends. We will see if the courts are as flexible as the rest of laws.

Kim

I rented with Avis in April at CPT. Used my local Georgia drivers license, they never asked for anything else, (well maybe they did ask to see my passport, I can't remember).
I have rented cars all around the world and with an advanced reservation, have never needed anything but a US picture drivers license.
If you are uneasy, $15 is a small amount to pay for an IDL and your peace of mind.

sent my application and 2 pics to the Honolulu AAA office (no AAA on my island) and got my IDP back in 3 days.

What's the purpose of this? Doesn't look as official as a passport or actual drivers license and no questions were asked of my driving record, vision etc. It has a number, is it registered somewhere?

Dennis,
An IDP is only a translation of your Hawaii state DL. I don't understand the purpose either since a Hawaii issued DL is already in English.

Another thing I don't understand is why does it say "this applies to both RSA and Namibia". What does Namibia have to do with a South African law? After reading this, I called Hertz in Windhoek just to check and they said my CA DL is fine.

Patty this is late but Namibia used to be part of South Africa, or governed by the same entity. Believe it used to be called Southwest Africa? Duh! Or am I way off. With 54 countries on one continent, I just can't keep up!

I rent with Hertz/Cape Town all of the time and have never needed to show an IDL.

Yes, Namibia used to be South West Africa, governed by South Africa; and before that it was German South West Africa, a German colony.

OK, but the law being cited was enacted after independence from South Africa. That's why I was confused.

Thanks Celia. The mind is still intact :)

Patty, yes, you'd think, but still many things are done the same in both countries.