Are international driving licences really necessary for any country?

Question

When I first started travelling internationally about 20 years ago I was young and naive and bought an international driver's license for my trip to the United States.

Then I discovered that it was not at all needed. All that was needed was a licence from my own country with a photo. At that time photo licences were relatively new in Australia.

So my question is, is this the case everywhere or are there some countries which really do not permit foreigners to drive without an international licence?

(I don't need a full list of countries as an answer, just a yes or no with a couple of examples is fine)

Answer 1

It does vary a lot, depending on both the issuing and visited countries.

For visiting Australia for an example, you either need your license to be in English, or have an IDP that translates it. There's a much narrower list of countries for whom getting an Australian license doesn't require a test, see here for more details on those things.

As an Australian, RACV maintain a handy list of which countries need an IDP, which one's it's merely recommended for, and which ones you can just drive with your Australian license in. For some examples, UK doesn't require it, USA recommends it, and UEA requires it.

For how to get an IDP as an Australian, see smart traveller.

Also worth noting that they're more commonly called an International Driving Permit (IDP) in official circles, rather than an International Driving License.

Answer 2

Most Asian countries do not accept a foreign driving license as a valid document for driving vehicles, and legally most of them require International Driving Permits. In practice however, a lot of tourists do not bother to get an IDP and instead leave their passport wherever they are hiring a car/motorcycle from.

If you get stopped by the traffic police though - and in Asian countries, stopping anyone looking foreign driving a vehicle is a big business because they know most people break rules - you will be asked to pay a fine on the spot. Official fines should result in you getting a receipt for the transaction; otherwise, you know the payment you make is a bribe. Many tourists bribe their way out of a situation to save themselves from the 'hassle' of getting an IDP but it's worth remembering that encouraging corrupt practices is not the best thing to do as a traveller.

Even if technically you might be allowed to drive without one, awareness may be low among rental owners or local police. I see in Gagravarr's answer, for instance, on the Australian RACV list that for Indonesia they list 'recommended' instead of 'required'. I don't know whether this is a specific waiver for Australian driving license holders, but I know friends who got fined for trying to use an EU driving license when stopped by police. An IDP leaves no room for doubt.

Answer 3

I've always had one to rent a car, but I've never had a rental agent request the license. A USA drivers license, passport and credit card has been always been sufficient to rent a car. I've rented cars in Japan, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Portugal, France and Germany. I have never been stopped by the police and I do not know what would happen in this case. Given that the cost of getting a IDP is small (at least in the USA) and in theory it's required I would recommend you get one, but in practice it seems like they are not really necessary in many places.

Answer 4

For European countries, you're at least technically supposed to have one. My friends got fined 250 euros each for riding scooters without international licenses in Barcelona. The scooter rental didn't request the license, but the cops cared.