International Driving Permit
An international driving permit, often referred to as an international driving licence, is translation of a domestic driver license that allows the holder to drive a private motor vehicle in any country or jurisdiction that recognises the document. The term International Driving Permit was first mentioned in the document prescribed in the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic that was signed at Paris in 1926. In most countries, IDPs are issued by automobile associations, such as American Automobile Association in the USA, Norwegian Automobile Federation in Norway and Riksförbundet M Sverige in Sweden.
International Driving Permits are governed by three international conventions: the 1926 Paris International Convention relative to Motor Traffic, the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, and the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. When a state is contracting to more than one convention, the newest one terminate and replace previous ones.
The IDP, whose A6 size is slightly larger than a passport, has a grey cover and white inside pages. The outside and inside of the front cover shall be printed in the national language of the issuing State. The last two inside pages shall be printed in French, and pages preceding those two pages shall repeat the first of them in several languages, which must include English, Russian and Spanish.
To be valid, the IDP must be accompanied by a valid driving licence issued in the applicant's country of residence. An IDP is not required if the driver's domestic licence meets the requirements of the 1949 or 1968 convention; the domestic licence can be used directly in a foreign jurisdiction that is a party to that convention. In addition, other arrangements eliminates the need of an IDP in some countries, such as the European driving license valid within the European Economic Area.
Driver information
1968 convention (as amended in 2011)
The convention has been ratified by 83 countries/jurisdictions. Examples of countries/jurisdictions that have not ratified the Convention include Ireland, Canada, the United States, Cyprus, Iceland, Malta, China and Malaysia.The main regulations about driving licences are in Annex 6 and Annex 7. The currently active version of those is in force in each contracting party since no later than 29 March 2011. According to the 1968 Vienna Convention, an IDP must have an expiration date of no more than three years from its issue date or until the expiration date of national driving permit, whichever is earlier, and it is valid for a period of one year upon the arrival in the foreign country.
Article 41 of the convention describes requirements for driving licences. Key of those are:
- every driver of a motor vehicle must hold a driving licence;
- driving licences can be issued only after passing theoretical and practical exams, which are regulated by each country or jurisdiction;
- Contracting parties shall recognize as valid for driving in their territories:
- * domestic driving licence conforms to the provisions of annex 6 to the convention;
- * International Driving Permit conforms to the provisions of annex 7 to the convention, on condition that it is presented with the corresponding domestic driving licence;
- driving licences issued by a contracting party shall be recognised in the territory of another contracting party until this territory becomes the place of normal residence of their holder;
- all of the above does not apply to learner-driver licences;
- the period of validity of an international driving permit shall be either no more than three years after the date of issue or until the date of expiry of the domestic driving licence, whichever is earlier;
- Contracting parties may refuse to recognise the validity of driving licences for persons under eighteen or, for categories C, D, CE and DE, under twenty-one;
- an international driving permit shall only be issued by the contracting party in whose territory the holder has their normal residence and that issued the domestic driving licence or that recognised the driving licence issued by another contracting party; it shall not be valid for use in that territory.
| Category | Description | Category | Description |
| Motorcycles | Motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 125 cm³ and a power not exceeding 11 kW | ||
| Motor vehicles, other than those in category A, having a permissible maximum mass not exceeding 3,500 kg and not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat; or motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed 750 kg; or motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds 750 kg but does not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed 3,500 kg | Motor tricycles and quadricycles | ||
| Motor vehicles, other than those in category D, having a permissible maximum mass exceeding 3,500 kg; or motor vehicles of category С coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed 750 kg | Motor vehicles, with the exception of those in category D, the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds 3,500 kg but does not exceed 7,500 kg; or motor vehicles of subcategory C1 coupled to a trailer, the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed 750 kg | ||
| Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat; or motor vehicles of category D coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed 750 kg | Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having more than 8 seats in addition to the driver's seat but not more than 16 seats in addition to the driver's seat; or motor vehicles of subcategory D1 coupled to a trailer, the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed 750 kg | ||
| Motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds 750kg and exceeds the unladen mass of the motor vehicle; or motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds 750 kg, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled exceeds 3,500 kg | - | - | |
| Motor vehicles of category С coupled to a trailer whose permissible maximum mass exceeds 750 kg | Motor vehicles of subcategory C1 coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds 750 kg but does not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed 12,000 kg | ||
| Motor vehicles of category D coupled to a trailer whose permissible maximum mass exceeds 750 kg | Motor vehicles of subcategory D1 coupled to a trailer, not used for the carriage of persons, the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds 750 kg but does not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed 12,000 kg |
1968 convention (original)
The Convention had amendments on 3 September 1993 and 28 March 2006. There is a European Agreement supplementing the Convention on Road Traffic, which was concluded in Geneva, on 1 May 1971.Note that before 29 March 2011 the convention demanded contracting parties to recognise as valid for driving in their territories:
- any domestic driver's licence drawn up in their national language or in one of their national languages, or, if not drawn up in such a language, accompanied by a certified translation;
- any domestic driver's licence conforming to the provisions of annex 6 to the convention; and
- any international driver permit conforming to the provisions of annex 7 to the convention.
| Class | Description |
| Motor cycles | |
| Motor vehicles, other than those in category A, having a permissible maximum weight not exceeding 3,500 kg and not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat. | |
| Motor vehicles used for the carriage of goods and whose permissible maximum weight exceeds 3,500 kg. | |
| Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat. | |
| Combinations of vehicles of which the drawing vehicles is in a category or categories for which the driver is licensed, but that are themselves in that category or categories. |
1949 convention
The 1949 has been ratified by 101 states. The 1949 Convention's description of a driving permit and international driving permit are located in Annexes 9 and 10. Switzerland signed but did not ratify the Convention. The 1949 Geneva Convention states that an IDP remains valid for one year from the date of issue, with a grace period of six months.There is a European Agreement supplementing the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, in addition to the 1949 Protocol on Road Signs and Signals, concluded in Geneva on 16 September 1950.
| Class | Description |
| Motor cycles, with or without a side-car, invalid carriages and three-wheeled motor vehicles with an unladen weight not exceeding 400 kg. | |
| Motor vehicles used for the transport of passengers and comprising, in addition to the driver's seat, at most eight seats, or those used for the transport of goods and having a permissible maximum weight not exceeding 3,500 kg. Vehicles in this category may be coupled with a light trailer. | |
| Motor vehicles used for the transport of goods and of which the permissible maximum weight exceeds 3,500 kg. Vehicles in this category may be coupled with a light trailer. | |
| Motor vehicles used for the transport of passengers and comprising, in addition to the driver's seat, more than eight seats. Vehicles in this category may be coupled with a light trailer. | |
| Motor vehicles of category B, C, or D, as authorized above, with other than light trailer. |
- "Permissible maximum weight" of a vehicle means the weight of the vehicle and its maximum load when the vehicle is ready for road.
- "Maximum load" means the weight of the load declared permissible by the competent authority of the country of registration of the vehicle.
- "Light trailers" shall be those of permissible maximum weight not exceeding 750 kg.
1926 convention
| Class | Description |
| Motor vehicles of which the laden weight does not exceed 3,500 kg. | |
| Motor vehicles of which the laden weight exceeds 3,500 kg. | |
| Motor-cycles, with or without side-car. |
Validity
According to the 1968 Vienna Convention, an IDP must have an expiration date of no more than three years from its issue date or until the expiration date of national driving permit, whichever is earlier, and it is valid for a period of one year upon the arrival in the foreign country. The previous convention stated that an IDP remains valid for one year from the date of issue.The IDP is not valid for driving in the country or jurisdiction where it was issued, it can only be used in foreign countries, and it must be shown with the carrier's original driver's license.
Countries and jurisdictions that recognize IDP
| Participant | Party to 1968 Vienna Convention3-years IDP | Party to 1949 Geneva Convention1-year IDP | Party to 1926 Paris Convention |
| Albania | |||
| Algeria | |||
| Argentina | |||
| Armenia | |||
| Australia | |||
| Austria | |||
| Azerbaijan | |||
| Bahamas | |||
| Bahrain | |||
| Bangladesh | |||
| Barbados | |||
| Belarus | |||
| Belgium | |||
| Benin | |||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | |||
| Botswana | |||
| Brazil | |||
| Brunei | - | ||
| Bulgaria | |||
| Burkina Faso | |||
| Cabo Verde | |||
| Cambodia** | |||
| Canada | |||
| Central African Republic | |||
| Chile | |||
| Congo | |||
| Costa Rica | |||
| Côte d'Ivoire | |||
| Croatia | |||
| Cuba | |||
| Cyprus | |||
| Czech Republic | |||
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | |||
| Denmark | |||
| Dominican Republic | |||
| Ecuador | |||
| Egypt | |||
| Estonia | |||
| Fiji | |||
| Finland | |||
| France | |||
| Georgia | |||
| Germany | |||
| Ghana | |||
| Greece | |||
| Guatemala | |||
| Guyana | |||
| Haiti | |||
| Holy See | |||
| Honduras | |||
| Hungary | |||
| Iceland | |||
| India | |||
| Indonesia | |||
| Iran | |||
| Iraq | |||
| Ireland | |||
| Israel | |||
| Italy | |||
| Jamaica | |||
| Japan | |||
| Jordan | |||
| Kyrgyzstan | |||
| Kazakhstan | |||
| Kenya | |||
| Kuwait | |||
| Kyrgyzstan | |||
| Lao People's Democratic Republic | |||
| Latvia | |||
| Liberia | |||
| Lebanon | |||
| Lesotho | |||
| Liechtenstein | |||
| Lithuania | |||
| Luxembourg | |||
| Madagascar | |||
| Malawi | |||
| Malaysia | |||
| Mali | |||
| Malta | |||
| Mexico | |||
| Monaco | |||
| Mongolia | |||
| Montenegro | |||
| Morocco | |||
| Myanmar | |||
| Namibia | |||
| Netherlands | |||
| New Zealand | |||
| Nepal | |||
| Niger | |||
| Nigeria | |||
| North Macedonia | |||
| Norway | |||
| Pakistan | |||
| Papua New Guinea | |||
| Paraguay | |||
| Peru | |||
| Philippines | |||
| Poland | |||
| Portugal | |||
| Qatar | |||
| Republic of Korea | |||
| Republic of Moldova | |||
| Romania | |||
| Russian Federation | |||
| Rwanda | |||
| San Marino | |||
| Saudi Arabia | |||
| Senegal | |||
| Serbia | |||
| Seychelles | |||
| Sierra Leone | |||
| Singapore | |||
| Slovakia | |||
| Slovenia | |||
| South Africa | |||
| Spain | |||
| Sri Lanka | |||
| Sweden | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| Syrian Arab Republic | |||
| Tajikistan | |||
| Thailand | |||
| Togo | |||
| Trinidad and Tobago | |||
| Tunisia | |||
| Turkey | |||
| Turkmenistan | |||
| Uganda | |||
| Ukraine | |||
| United Arab Emirates | |||
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | |||
| United States of America | |||
| Uruguay | |||
| Uzbekistan | |||
| Venezuela | |||
| Vietnam | |||
| Zimbabwe |
* Requires presentation to local police and payment of special registration upon arrival
** IDP must be exchanged for a local driving licence.
- In relations between the Contracting States, the 1949 Geneva Convention terminated and replaced the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic and the International Convention relative to Road Traffic signed at Paris on 24 April 1926, and the Convention on the Regulation of Inter- American Automotive Traffic opened for signature at Washington on 15 December 1943.
- In relations between the Contracting States, the 1968 Vienna Convention terminated and replaced the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic and the International Convention relative to Road Traffic, signed at Paris on 24 April 1926, the Convention on the Regulation of Inter-American Automotive Traffic, opened for signature at Washington on 15 December 1943, and the Convention on Road Traffic, opened for signature at Geneva on 19 September 1949.