No, but I do think it's a pain in the a$$ and completely ridiculous to have to get a new one every year.

Sorry: Just picked this thread up again.
Patrick: Yes.I was involved in an accident (my fault) and spent several hours at the police station in Beauvais, France. My normal driving licence was perfectly acceptable and drew no comment other than 'Merci', and no request was made for an IDP.
The official word from Australian authorities is as follows:
"Although not essential in many countries which recognise each other's licenses, IDPs are recommended by travel officials for driving in most parts of Europe"
RECOMMENDED is not the same as ESSENTIAL, and most countries in Europe recognize an Australian licence.
Therefore the need to have an IDP escapes me still.

xxx30, bravo for finding that link.

Article XIII in the link provided by xxx30 explains some confusion: "a state [country] can elect all [travellers] to have an [IDP]....each state shall determine its own procedures...."

If you go to the travel advisory web site of your home country, you can find info on which countries require by law the IDP. So far, we've driven in Britain, Germany, Switzerland, France, and Austria, and only the last required the IDP at the time we were driving.

A point to bear in mind: the permit might be required by law, but I suspect that the penalty for not having one is not going to be as severe as not having a regular license, i.e., as not being qualified to drive by any recognized state whatsoever. In other words, since the IDP amounts to a translation, it is a convenience for the respective police; it can save you some bureaucratic hassles, which on a vacation could amount to a considerable time saving. That said, if you run down that little old lady in Brussels, don't count on an IDP to save you....

adeben, forgive us if somehow you got the impression that an IDP is required in France. It is not. It IS required in Italy, Greece, and Spain, for example. Usually when this discussion comes up here, it is in regard to Italy where an IDP is REQUIRED. Of course, that doesn't mean that if you're stopped, you might not be arrested or fined for not having one, but why would anyone do something deliberately "illegal", when it is so easy to meet the requirements?

Here is one simple list, country by country of where an IDP is REQUIRED, and where it is merely RECOMMENDED:

http://www.drivetravel.com/carrent/idp/index.shtml

This thread has become a lot longer than I thought it would be.

Just a reminder, I posted to say that the process was very easy. Even if I had to wait 45 minutes I would have thought it was easy....minimal paperwork, friendly service, comfortable offices.

And, you can do it by MAIL. The turn-around time is pretty quick.

My thoughts on this are, in terms of required vs. recommended, why would someone not want to do something recommended?? The list Patrick posted lays it all out pretty succinctly.

For me, it is a no-brainer, there are multiple sources that say Italy now (and I stress NOW because this was not always the case) requires it, so I got one because I plan on driving. Period. Hopefully, I will never need to pull it out, but I have it.

As for the consiparacy theory of AAA milking us of our hard-earned cash in a well-planned ruse, well, I can't go there.

Policies change. I can't remember where it was, but one of the factors in my decision was seeing that this was a fairly recent requirement. Just because you never needed one before, it doesn't mean you don't need it now. Plus, enforcement policies vary from agency to agency and region to region. There are local police, national police, police of every kind in Italy. And they sometimes contradict each other.

So, my question is, why is this such a bad idea to so many people?

>>>>>
Let' see. Five hundred thousand IDPs a year at $10. That's $ 5 million. Add about 250,000 of those who also had them take the pictures at $10 more -- that makes $ 7.5 million. Yea, not bad.
>>>>>>

and how much is it worth to AAA (a travel agency and seller of travel insurance, traveler's cheques, memberships that offer travel discounts, and other related travel materials) to get people traveling overseas in the near future into their shop? a lot, i would think.

if the IDP is really needed, it is unfortunate that there is so much misleading information (much of it from AAA itself) about this "document".

strange that i can drive in italy and spain with my english language licence (UK) issued. the argument might be that this is an EU approved format but older non-EU compliant UK licence holders may also drive in these countries with no IDP.

>>>>>>
Many countries do not recognize a U.S. driver's license. However, most countries accept an international driver's permit.
>>>>>>

strange that this is on an official gov't site as it is also very misleading and contrary to common understanding of the IDP ...that it is just a translation of your licence...not a replacement for it.


>>>>>>
If the country of residence is not in English
>>>>>>
what the heck does this mean? if your country is written on your licence in a language other than english you need an IDP???? For example if it says deutschland, you need an IDP???

i have never seen so much confusing and BS information around any issue as i have with the IDP.