lavisitor

Car rental place did not mention that Int'l DL was necessary - will my Canadian one do?

AngelaS

It's not mandatory, but they say it can "help" if you get stopped by the cops. I know you can get one at AAA.

ira

Hi LA,

You must have your driver's license from your country of residence.

The International Driver's Permit is a translation of your driver's license into severl languages.

It is required in Italy.

If you enter <Italy AND IDP> in the "search this forum" box, you will find many interesting anecdotes regarding the IDP.

j_999_9

The saying I heard in Italy was: No one in Italy requires an international driver's license -- except the police.

AngelaS

I think it's somewhat at your own discretion. Last time we were there we didn't have an int'l DL, never got stopped & were fine.

flygirl

Auto Europe said I don't need one unless I get stopped.

Mimar

Last I heard, an IDP was required to rent a car in Italy. This is relatively new -- but you'd think AutoEurope would know. Of course, they're only brokers.

An IDP is a translation of your license. Your Canadian (or American) license alone is not enough. But the IDP including photo only costs about $10 at AAA and, I would assume, CAA.

TimS

The car rental agency you use in Italy is not likely to even ask if you have an IDP. But officially, in Italy you are required to have one. If you're in an accident or get pulled over by the police, you'll save yourself a lot of trouble if you have an IDP. It doesn't take much money or effort to get one. Do it.

tcreath

According to the US Italy embassy, Americans are required to carry an IDP if they wish to drive in Italy.

Its quick, easy, and cheap. I advise you get one to avoid any problems that could possibly occur.

Tracy

StCirq

It's not at your discretion. It's a legal requirement. It is mandatory.

The fact that you didn't have one and didn't get stopped is completely irrelevant. Why would you be stopped until you did something that required police to find out if you had one? That's ludicrous logic.

According to the law you must have either an IDP or a valid Italian translation of your license. For the vast majority of people, the IDP is far easier to obtain.

Maire

This is straight from the Italian Government Tourist Board site:

&quot;U.S. and Canadian driving licenses are valid in Italy <b>but the license must be accompanied by a translation or an international license</b> (check your local AAA in USA or CAA in Canada). &quot;

There's more info at that site:
http://www.italiantourism.com/transp.html

janisj

&quot;<i>I think it's somewhat at your own discretion. Last time we were there we didn't have an int'l DL, never got stopped &amp; were fine.</i>&quot;

Heck, you could drive to work today w/o your drivers license and be &quot;fine&quot; too. Doesn't make it legal.

An IDL is totally NOT up to your own discretion. The rental agency probably won't ask if you have one. But if the Italian police need to talk to you and you don't have one it will be a big problem

j_999_9

That was funny -- &quot;you don't need it unless you get stopped.&quot;
And you don't need lifeboats on the Titanic, unless it sinks.

AngelaS

Ok, I give up! You guys are right, I'm wrong!! By &quot;at your own discretion&quot; I meant if you want to risk it (as we did), go for it - it's your choice!

Neopolitan

&quot;I think it's somewhat at your own discretion. Last time we were there we didn't have an int'l DL, never got stopped &amp; were fine.&quot;

Thank you for saving me a lot of money, AngelaS. I've never needed my auto insurance either, so even though it's required here in Florida, I've decided to cancel it at my discretion, since I've never needed it. Wow, is this going to save me some money!

amy_zena

I drive with an international driver license for the following reasons:

1) yes, it says on government websites that it is required (BUT I really think the police would accept and American or Canadian license because they couldn't even figure out how to read my international license when I have been pulled over by the police in Italy so I don't think it matters to the police which you have or if they can even tell the difference)

2) The international license is not expensive and easy to get, may as well get it

3) Most important reason for me personally - when I am stopped by the police in a foreign country (yes, it has happened in italy as well as other countries), I would much rather hand over my international license than my American license because if the police decide to keep it (which was the practice in Latvia), I would much rather they took my international one. I don't like to risk having my &quot;real&quot; license taken.

Don't misunderstand me...I am not a horrible driver who makes it a practice of breaking laws while driving in foreign countries. When I lived in Latvia, I did make a few illegal turns by accident but most of the time I was just stopped for a &quot;check point&quot; type situation to have my car documents checked. In Italy, I was stopped for the same - check point for car document verification.

Bottom line - get the international license, it's easy to get and cheap.

AngelaS

Geez, you guys are brutal!! Give it up!

PalQ

&lt;U.S. and Canadian driving licenses are valid in Italy but the license must be accompanied by a translation or an international license (check your local AAA in USA or CAA in Canada)&gt;

It may be semantics but according to the Italian Gov't site referenced above an IDP is not required in Italy but a translation of your driving license is - the info is fairly basic to translate with an Italian dictionary - I wonder why this would not fulfill the requirement noted on the Italian site. Of course forking over the $10 or so is an easy way to fulfill the translation requirement but perhaps just any old translation is legal and need not be the IDP??

maitaitom

I think Neopolitan should be penalized 15 yards for piling on Angela.

AngelaS

Thank you so much maitaitom!!