Could someone please advise if an IDP is required for car rental in Hawaii?

s

If you already have a US driver's license, it is not necessary to have an additional international driving permit.

Unless you are flying United and speak to someone in customer non-service. They think New Mexico, Hawaii and several other states are not part of US

Reply to gail,
L.O.L.-reminds me of an old roadside sign (now removed) that welcomed drivers entering Pennsylvania and leaving New Jersey which affronted "America Starts Here"

When you travel from the contiguous forty-eight states to Hawaii or Alaska you are not making an international journey.

Actually, United treats me better than it treats Gail...probably because I'm better looking LOL...
Swagman, this is a joke, correct?

What country are YOU from, swagman? If your license is in a foreign language, it could be a good idea.

As NeoPatrick alluded to, Intl Deiver's Licenses confer no driving privileges-they are simply translations of your home-country license information. If your license is in English, no IDL is needed in English speaking countries. If it is in a language other than the predominant language(s) used by your destination country, having one is a good idea. There may be some contries that require one for foreign nationals but that is not the case in the US.

Judging from swagman's previous posts (almost all Europe), it appears that he is coming to Hawaii with a foreign drivers' license. Therefore his question is completely legitimate. I think dwooddon gave a very good answer!

All questions are legitimate. Who said otherwise?

I am going to say upfront that I have probably made more mistakes than most when posting here nut

Swagman would have gotten the required information a lot faster had the words, "when someone is using a non-US driver's license" to the end of the question.

I think a lot of people automatically assume everyone here is from the US. When I first read swagman's post, I assumed he was NOT from the US or he never would have asked that question.

Reply to NeoPatrick,

What puzzles me is why anyone with a license issued in another country would think they would be automatically licensed to drive in a different country

JohnD, have you ever read here the countless Americans who assume that is true? Many even discourage others to get an IDP for countries where it is required by law. The fact is that MOST travelers seem to assume that a US driver's license is good worldwide.

JohnD - That's because all of the developed countries (and most of the developing ones) in the world are signatories to the 1949 and 1968 international treaties allowing holders of valid drivers' license to drive in the other countries. And US is one of them.

Thanks to NeoPatrick, dwooddon and rkkwan for your very informative replies =D>

Ask the rental-car company what form of ID and license they require. The requirements are mostly standard in every state of the US.

But what the agency requires to rent a car MAY have nothing to do with what is required by law, or what happens if you are stopped by the police. I've never understood the people here who say you don't need an IDP in Italy because their rental car company never asked for one. What does that have to do with anything?

Thank you all for your input.

To clarify, I am not from the US of A, I come from the land downunder and yes, my current driver's licence is completely in English.

s

Thank you for providing the information needed to respond intelligently to your question.