Do I need an IDP for France for a day jaunt?
 

Do I need an IDP for France for a day jaunt?

Thanks.

Yes,if you want to be safe and legal. For practical purposes, probably not. Depends on whether you collide with someone or something. The French police are out in force these days,though, all over the country, so be careful

So IDP is required by law in France for ferrniers?

My son drives there twice a year when he goes home - never had a problem nor ever heard of IDP - he has no French license but a passport. I would not fool with getting one -I never had one in year's of driving in France (but not recently) and encountered police checks several times - never batted an eyelash at my Michigan driver's license.

And IDP according to this French government/tourist bureau site says IDP is encouraged but says nothing about being required.

Renting a Car and Driving in France | Official website for tourism in France

So why waste time and $20 on something that is not legally required if driving just one day?

It IS legally required, PAL. What the hell is a Fernnier? Your son has proved to be a very unreliable resource for many things French in the past, so I certainly wouldn't count on his word to be useful in this circumstance.

https://fr.franceintheus.org/spip.php?article376

Why does following the law in another country seem so hard for some to understand?

My son said nothing about this - all my words - again de doesn't even know what an IDP is. Malign me but not him (for others he was born and raised in France).

Yes if doing a driving trip get it but for a day I'd forget it. Again anyone ever heard of anyone being fined for not having IDP?

I'll tell my son next time to get the IDP! No kidding.

Everything I've read about requirements in France indicates that they want (require?) a driver's license translation.

I have a California drivers license. I think most French people (police) don't need a translation for the word "California". My eyes are blue - most French can translate Blue also. My hair is red - no translation needed. Remaining stuff is birthday - 6/6/47 (no translation needed), my name, etc. What's to translate? No point in the corrective lens stuff - I can't even see the windshield without my glasses - so I always wear them.

But I have an IDL anyway. But it expired 2 years ago. The "rule" says that the French want a "translation" (not an IDL). Nothing has changed - even though the IDL has expired. My Calif drivers license hasn't expired.

I know - rules are rules - but unless I really pi** off someone - I can't imagine anyone in France giving me grief. We rent 1-3 cars in France every year, and no rental person has asked for an IDL.

Stu Dudley

Thanks for the variety of answers.

We just rented for a week and didn't have one. My husband was thinking of getting one for Spain as it seems to be a requirement there if we rent on base in Rota. We took public transportation last trip but for future trips. I think AAA sells them.

>>Again anyone ever heard of anyone being fined for not having IDP<<

Possibly not a fine unless you annoyed the cop -- but insurance could be voided since one is not driving legally.

>>My son said nothing about this - all my words - again de doesn't even know what an IDP is<<

His responsibility to know - if he drives in France

Stu: It ain't an 'IDL' . . . It is an IDP. International Driver Permit (not License)

You better get an IDP for Spain. The police can get quite indignant if you do not have an IDP. Also when renting a car in Spain, if you wear glasses be sure to have a second pair in the car.
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We are going to Nimes, Arles, and Avignon. We were considering a spin in the country, but maybe we will just stick to the trains and buses between town.

As more of the states adopt the universal drivers licence format with numbered boxes rather than labeled boxes, there is less of a need to waste money on the ridiculous IDP.

Here is what they look like in case you don't know: Attachment 429 Attachment 430

Most of the world now uses this format to avoid any need for translations. The general desire of officials is now to make certain things simpler, not to add additional layers of complication to our lives.

Not driving legally in France sans IDP - what nonsense - your state's driver's license is valid to drive in France - IDP has nothing to do with insurance - where do folks come up with this nonsense passed off as fact.

I'MDone: Do you get one for driving in Spain? I don't bother with them anymore, for any country. I take one of my old ones (out of date after one year..ridiculous). It's my personal protest; maybe I'll pay for my cavalier attitude someday but I am willing to take the chance.

Where is the proof that one's insurance would be rendered invalid without one? And if a translation is required, does it have to be the AAA-sanctioned one? I'd like to see the link to an official document showing that one is required for driving in Spain, or in Italy. (Mentioned Italy cause will be renting car there soon; not planning to get the IDP)

@eks - well, there is this: https://www.autoeurope.com/internati...ense-in-italy/

I suspect the IDP is like insurance. You don't need it until you REALLY need it.

I no longer drive on trips, but I have gotten one in the past. However, since I belong to AAA (more insurance) they were free.

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Yes, I just drive in the countryside and I never like the local police anywhere. Part of it is I remember the bad old days of the Guardia Civil.

You need one. Why argue for the sake of a few dollars. Percentage wise for the cost of your vacation it will be less then 0.01%.
EU citizens may or may not have to have one in the USA. Depends on which state you visit.
BTW it has nothing about describing who you are (as stated above) it is all about which class of vehicle you can drive. Most of USA citizen will be limited to driving automatics....??????
Maybe you will have medical restrictions noted too. But maybe my memory is not so good on this point.

Are we confusing the IDP with a translation? The IDP from AAA does translate, but it isn't the only translation allowed. Under 180 days in France requires an official translation, not an IDP. An IDP does the translation and meets the legal requirement of having a translated license.

I don't know about France, but getting an official translation for driving in Italy would involve a trip to your nearest consulate, paying one of their approved translators, and getting an apostille. It would cost over $50 and take weeks, if not months, You can either do that or you can drop by your nearest AAA office with two passport-sized photos, pay them $10, and walk out with an IDP 15 minutes later.

Also, people who have recently tried to rent a car in various European countries, including Spain, France, and Italy, have been required to have an IDP in order to rent the car. This is fairly recent, as until several years ago rental agencies never bothered to ask for an IDP, even if it was required by law. For the situation in France, see the following topic on TripAdvisor.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...se-France.html

Italy has recently tightened their requirements. They used to say that if you had a license in EU format (such as those Kerouac shows above) you didn't need an IDP. Now their law no longer says that. It probably is a ridiculous law, but there are many ridiculous laws.

For Ribeirasacra, US drivers licenses make no distinction between drivers who can drive standard transmission vehicles and those who can drive only those with automatic transmission. When I lived in the US, I always had a car with standard transmission, but my license was identical to those of people who didn't know how to drive with standard transmission. In my opinion, there should be a distinction, but there isn't. So it would be impossible for an IDP to make this stipulation.

The exact same thing is true for France. Only an "official translation" is acceptable, and that comes with a price tag of 60 euros per page, no matter how many words are on that page, and it has to be translated and apostillé by a translator recognized by the French court system. Any American, or anyone else, renting a car can rent a manual or automatic transmission, no questions asked (though getting assured of an automatic can be difficult).

The gendarmes have been all over France this spring, even in very rural communities, pulling over people and inspecting their licenses, insurance papers, and even IDPs. They know an IDP is good for only a year, from the date it is signed, at least the ones in small towns around here do. So do the rental car agencies.