As a U.S. citizen with a valid drivers lisense, do I need an interntinal drivrers license for renting a car in England for one week?

The International Drivers License isn't really a legal document, it's basically just a translation of the license terms, for the sake of police and other authorities who can't read English. Although it's often said that "the US and GB are two countries separated by a common language,", it really isn't necessary. IIRC, Italy is the only place that requires them.

When the search function returns, there was a very long discussion on this not long ago. BTW...Italy is not the only country that requires it. Austria certainly does. Not a bad idea to have one. Technically they are required in many countries, but most don't really bother. AAA is the official issuer in the US (along with one other co. that I forgot). Go to their website, into travel, and find the IDP info. They have a list of countries and what the requirements are. The other thread also had a link to the state dept site that discussed the regulations. Just beware of bogus companies charging a fortune...AAA issues them for $10 and they are the official site (per the US goverment).<BR><BR>Anne

For England there is absolutely no reason to have one, unless you are concerned about your USA license being taken away from you. In such a case, you could turn over the international driver's license and retain your regular one. But since the purpose of the IDL is to serve as an official translation of your US license, there's clearly no need in England.

We have been to both Italy twice for a month long driving drip and Austria for 3 week driving trip and did not need an Int'l drivers license in either country.<BR>We also drove in the Czech Republic without one. We were informed that we did not need one in any of those countries. Shar

int'l drivers permit = waste of $10 <BR><BR>doesn't give any legal jurisdiction or coverage - just an AAA scam

Ditto on the AAA scam-they have 2x tried to get me to get an intl. DL--once last year when we went to England and Wales, and then yesterday when i went in for a driving map of Scotland...even when I told the AAA lady that its not needed in the UK she was still trying to convince me!

I hestitate to revisit this ancient topic, but just because when you rented the car they didn't require one doesn't mean the law of the land doesn't require it. No rental agent is going to turn down a rental because you haven't researched the laws of the country regarding having an IDL. In Italy, and apparently Austria, the law is that you must have one. So if you don't have one, or an "official translation" of your US license, if you are stopped by the police - and yes, they do make random stops all the time - you will be fined, on the spot. Whether you drove in Italy or Austria without one without incident is totally irrelevant to the question. You were lucky. Most people probably are. Are they within the law driving without one? No.

Getting back to the original question...<BR><BR>No, you don't need an International Driver's Licence for the UK, check this government website for more info:<BR><BR>http://www.dvla.gov.uk/drivers/drvingb.htm#5.%20All%20other%20countries<BR><BR>Al so, StCirq suggested you might want one in case you have to hand over your licence for any reason. This would not happen in the UK, people will only ever check the details and hand it back to you. You don't even have to carry the licence with you when you drive - if stopped by the Police (and they need a good reason to do so, random checks are extremely rare, and only occur if they're looking for someone, there's been a terrorist bomb in the area etc), the Police can merely ask you to present your details at a Police Station in the next 7 days. This will generally only happen if they caution or ticket you for a driving offence. <BR>There is no law in The UK requiring anyone to carry ID (driving licence or otherwise) as it is seen as a breach of Human Rights/Privacy. There is talk of this changing, for security and immigration purposes, but there is considerable resistance to it.

How about Spain? I was told by Avis that you needed one -- but it was based on one customer calling them and telling them that they got fined for not having one. The AAA office is a pain to get too- I'd rather not have to go down there and get one if I didn't have to. Anyone have experience either way?<BR>

This really isn't addressing the posters question, but what really burns me is the fact that AAA only validates the IDL for 1 year, when my official issued license is good for 4 years. Just another way for AAA to make money.

I lived in the UK for a couple of years and my husband's from there, and no, an international license is not required or needed. I did get stopped once for speeding, and when the cop saw I was visiting the country (although I was living in the UK at the time--just didn't offer up that info, as I could legally drive on my US for up to 12 months before getting my UK license), he told me to slow down and let me off.