bornintheusa

Will be driving in Irealnd for 2 weeks and am wondering if I need an international drivers license or is my California license sufficient Thanks for the info!!

LoveItaly

Actually it is called an International Driver Permit. What that does is translates your CA license info into several different languages. But since Ireland speaks "English" I don't think you will need it. I haven't been to Ireland so am not posting this as a fact but I don't see why you would. Hopefully some other poster who has driven in Ireland will respond to your questions.

MelJ

No, you don't need one. Just bring your California license.

alya

Hi bornintheusa

LoveItaly is giving you good information - according to this website US drivers are not required to supply an IDL

http://www.irish-car-rental.com/driving.html

ekscrunchy

Is there any country that requires this document to be shown in order to rent a car? We had one last month in Italy and the Avis agent in Florence actually laughed at me when I presented it to her, saying something like "I don't understand why Americans think you need this useless thing here in Italy!!"

alanRow

You just need one bolshy policeman to find out why an IDP is "useful".

Legally you need one for Italy unless you are from an EU country, for the small cost of one why have even a theoretical worry

Cicerone

I don't believe any country requires an IDP to rent a car. However, as noted above many countries, including Italy, require you to have it to DRIVE the car. The car rental clerk in Italy may not have been aware of this (surprise!) and obviously Hertz doesn't car whether or not its customers have one.

ashleylogan

Hi! we're renting a car in italy. what do i need and where do i get it?

Cicerone

Assuming you hold a license from a US state, it is easy and cheap to obtain from a AAA office. You can go to your local AAA office, or take a look at http://www.aaasouth.com/travel_drivers.asp#idp for info or http://www.csaa.com/travel/internati...040700,00.html

You don't need to show the IDP to the car rental agency in Italy unless they ask for it, but keep it with you in case the Italian police want to see it. You should also bring your US driving license with you to Italy.

alanRow

"You should also bring your US driving license with you to Italy. "

No - you MUST bring your licence

Budman

I know Italy and Austria require an IDP. What about Switzerland?

JeffreyJ

And what about France? Turns out I might be needing to rent a van when there in early June.

alanRow

Get one to save any possibility of hassle

PalQ

rick steves site says no country requires the IDP - may or may not be accurate but obviously he's investigated it. He does advise it for Italy, Austria, Eastern europe and a few other countries.

tcreath

I'm under the impression that its necessary in Italy and Austria, and preferred in most other non-speaking countries in Europe. I think it's well worth the $10 for the piece of mind.

Tracy

blackduff

I brought an IDL to Sweden and the local policeman scowled and asked for a real driver's license. I never used this IDL again.

I used a California license and drove extensively everywhere in Europe. I even had my California issued mine with a Swedish address for some time but then they got unhappy and wanted me to find a California address.

Currently I'm driving with an EU license but in Asia I've heard that everyone needed an IDL in that area. Wrong again. I rented cars in Korea several months on various trips. Taiwan was another place which said it needed this IDL but when you said it didn't have one, they wrote the rental agreement and life kept moving.

The IDL will doesn't allow a person to drive with out another valid drivers license. Rental agencies won't rent without the proper drivers license.

But, maybe it would keep assurance that no problem arrives.

Blackduff

Neopolitan

The issue isn't whether you can rent without one, but whether you will need it IF you get stopped for a violation.
No one NEEDS any insurance at all, or even a driver's license for that matter, until you get caught and asked for it.

RufusTFirefly

Rental companies don't care if you have one.

However, it is required by law in several countries, including Austria and Italy.

But a policeindividual may or may not ask for it depending on a number of factors; e.g., how good is their English; how familiar they are with your state or national driving license; did they have a fight with their spouse or significant other when they left for work today; do they hate the model of car you're driving; do they not like your moustache or your shirt; do they not like your country; are they just sticklers for following rules and laws; or they just having a generally cruddy day; etc.

Just because someone posting here was never asked for it, does not mean you won't be if you are stopped by a cop for one reason or another.

Just to verify some of the above--you don't need it in English-speaking countries; rental car companies couldn't care less if you have one or not--they're only interested in your credit card; the IDP is not a license itself-you also have to present your regular driving license.

luv2cthings

What Rick Steves has to say on his web site kind of reflects the various opinions being expressed on this thread, i.e. "...exactly where you need a permit depends on whom you talk to. People who sell them say you should have them almost everywhere. People who rent cars say you need them almost nowhere. People who drive rental cars say the permit is overrated. Police can get mad — their concern is in finding the expiration date — and fine you if you don’t have an international permit. Those driving in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Austria, Germany, Greece, and Eastern Europe are likely to be fined if found without an international driving permit, and should probably get one."
www.ricksteves.com/plan/tips/carrental_2005.htm

For UK license holders only, theAA site may provide definitive info on the matter
www.theaa.com/getaway/idp/motidp005.html

highledge

I've lived in the UK for five years and traveled around Europe all on a US issued license. I got the AAA issued license when I first moved over and never used it. I;ve rented cars in 6-7 European countries without the need of aa european license.
BUT I've also never been stopped by the police. (One interesting fact: In the UK, drivers are not required to have their license with then when they drive.)
(Second fun fact: when my US license was stolen I was able to rent a car in chicago with a UK learner's permit ( "Honey don't worry, on Christmas eve no one working at O'Hare will check a UK license. They will never know what the large red L means&quot

You will not need a special license, but you will need the ability to drive on "the other side of the road" with little or no margin for error!! WAY more important than a piece of paper!!!!!