passantd

Is is necessary to get an international drivers license to drive in Spain? I drove in Italy last year and it was not required but we were never pulled over. I am heading to Spain and may rent a car in Costa Del Sol...so wanted to know before hand.

Thank you in advance.

Bob_C

Both Spain and Italy require a International Drivers Permit. You were not required to show it in order to rent your car in italy. But if you were pulled over the officer may ask for it, it depends on the officer.

Bob_C

Additional Info: Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Russia (and the other former states of the USSR), and Spain do require non Europeans carry an International Driving Permit (IDP) along with their domestic license. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Russia (and the other former USSR countries) require all foreign drivers to carry an IDP. Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain do not accept old-style green European licenses but do accept the new EC format pink/green; while Austria accepts both the old and the new. Several other European

OReilly

I was in Spain in March. I had been warned by my TA that an International Permit was required to rent a car and I ran around frantically organizing it on the day of departure (only cost about $20 from our local CAA office, no big deal). I proudly displayed my new International Driver's Permit to the rental agency and they told me they didn't need it

As BobC says, its not the rental agency that requires it, its the police and you SHOULD have it, just in case. Its only a few dollars and you can get it within minutes at your local AA office along with some form of I.D. and two current passport photos. Its important to note that it does NOT replace your regular dricing permit.

NEDSIRELAND

It never hurts to have an International Driving Permit, just in case the Police stop you for a traffic violation or some such. It gives them something in Spanish that they can understand and they can rubber stamp that page of the IDP (but it never goes on your U.S. driving record as a moving traffic violation). Just pay the fine and you're 'home free.'

I got stopped for a moving traffic violation by Moroccan Gendarmes. They collected the fine on the spot, gave me a receipt, stamped my IDP, and let me go. I don't know what their reaction would have been if I did not have an IDP ...

It costs you less than $15 total (incl. photos) and the peace of mind it gives you should at least be worth that. If you get into a traffic accident, or if you get pulled over for DUI or DWI that's a whole nuther story.

O'Reilly writes: "... Its only a few dollars and you can get it within minutes at your local AA office along with some form of I.D. and two current passport photos. ..."
My AAA Office requires a current, valid State Drivers' License bearing a photo of the applicant, not just: "some form of I.D."