Rental car - Driver's license?
 

If we are to rent a car in Europe (Provence, France to be exact), is a international drivers license required??

Or is one from USA sufficient??

I have never rented a car out of US, thank you for any help!

I rented a car in Paris this June (and in Florence in 2001) with just my Province of Manitoba (Canada) license. No hassles.

I would suggest that you get full insurance unless you're sure you're covered, even if it's expensive. If you have an accident - They will also charge you for lost revenue while the car is being repaired. The credit-card type insurance, AFAIK, doesn't cover that.

I've never needed it, but who wants to get into a prolonged arguement when you have a plane to catch?

Fist of all it isn't and &quot;international Driver's license&quot;. It is an Int. Drivers permit. It is a translation of your stateside license. For italy an IDP is required. But for France it is only <u>recommended</u>. The rental agency will not care one way or the other -- but if you are stopped by the authorities they are worth their weight in gold. They are inexpensive and you can get them in 5 mins. at AAA

www.ambafrance-us.org/visitingfrance/driving.asp has all the info you need.

Thank you for the information!

I will go and ask my AAA. Do you know if I have to take a test?

Also, can you recommend a place for car rental?

No test involved - just $10, two passport sized photos, and a completed application

For rental cars I always start by checking autoeurope.com. They are a US-based broker and usually have the best rates. But not always, so once I get a quote from Auto Europe, I research a bit more to make sure.

You do not need to take a test. They just take your picture (or you can bring passport size picture) and transfer info. from your state driver's license. You also need to have your driver's license with you in the foreign country. While the rental agency won't ask for it, if you get stopped by the authorities they might. It is quick, painless, and if I recall only costs $10. Definitely worth the minor hassle.

Hi S,

France doesn't require the International Driver's Permit.

It is only a translation of your driver's license.

((I))

I was also told I didn't need the permit in France - and have never gotten one in all the times I've driven in France (but it WAS required in Austria)

I should clarify - the car rental company told me it was not necessary in France, but that it was in Austria.

In terms of where to rent a car, that will depend in part on what type of car you want and where you want to pick it up. For example, for my up coming trip I needed to rent an automatic car of a specific size from Paris Gare du Nord - as automatic cars are not as plentiful as standards in Europe, this ended up meaning that I was limited to renting from Hertz even though there are many car renetal agencies at Gare du Nord (Budget, Avis, etc).

I agree - an IDP is not <u>required</u> in France.

However, the official French Embassy web site I linked says -- &quot;<i>You may drive with a valid U.S. driver's license. In addition to that, it is recommended (not required) to carry an International Driving Permit or attach a French translation to your US driver's license</i>&quot;

Prudence would seem to be worth the $10 cost of an IDP

90+% of the time it won't be used - but being stopped in rural France by someone who doesn't speak English - and IDP could save hours of delays/confusion.

One thing to note -- check the car rental agreement, as the rental company may require an IDP in France. This happened to me two years ago, and I didn't notice it in the fine print till I was in Paris, two days before the rental. Since you can only get an IDP in your home country, I had to cancel the original rental and get another one. Incredibly, I got a pretty good deal at another company (with looser requirements) the day before I picked up the car.