Online IDP - International Drivers Permit

[BryanS]

We had a client from the US who went to an Italian car rental location and they required an IDP to pick-up the rental, which he didn't have. He is resourceful and has lived and travelled worldwide - he used a website on his phone, e-ita.org, to obtain an IDP that he could then show the agency and drive away with the car. He was about an hour delayed but he made it work.

Their site looks like you can do this with many different countries' drivers licenses for very reasonable prices and obtain a digital and/or paper copy.

Online IDP

 

[Allen]

Great tip - especially in emergency. Thank you BryanS

 

[Sandrac]

Thanks, Bryan. I haven't bothered with an IDP for years but I think I've been lucky up to now. I'll feel a bit more secure getting an IDP (and this service works for domestic licences from Canada as well as US).
Cheers,
Sandra

 

[NoSpin]

Here's another tip (I think I posted this before). After my first IDP expired after one year I had another photo taken for a fee, went back to AAA, waited in a long line and paid them another fee. Well my name, place of birth, date of birth, and current residence didn't change. I aged one year, but I still looked the same. So why was I going through this expense and aggravation?

The next year and subsequent years, I simply got a white sticker, wrote a new expiration date and stuck it on the front. I'm not one to do anything illegal (and I doubt any law is broken), but it was just ridiculous to get a new IDP every year when nothing changed. Heck, my Massachusetts driver's license is good for 5 years. And even when it expires I don't have to go in, I just renew online.

 

[Jim Zurer]

Here's another tip (I think I posted this before). After my first IDP expired after one year I had another photo taken for a fee, went back to AAA, waited in a long line and paid them another fee. Well my name, place of birth, date of birth, and current residence didn't change. I aged one year, but I still looked the same. So why was I going through this expense and aggravation?

The next year and subsequent years, I simply got a white sticker, wrote a new expiration date and stuck it on the front. I'm not one to do anything illegal (and I doubt any law is broken), but it was just ridiculous to get a new IDP every year when nothing changed. Heck, my Massachusetts driver's license is good for 5 years. And even when it expires I don't have to go in, I just renew online.

Very resourceful...I agree that the IDP is something of a racket. I never showed my current IDP to anyone on my recent trip...not even the car leasing office.

 

[Jim Zurer]

We had a client from the US who went to an Italian car rental location and they required an IDP to pick-up the rental, which he didn't have. He is resourceful and has lived and travelled worldwide - he used a website on his phone, e-ita.org, to obtain an IDP that he could then show the agency and drive away with the car. He was about an hour delayed but he made it work.

Their site looks like you can do this with many different countries' drivers licenses for very reasonable prices and obtain a digital and/or paper copy.

Online IDP

Hi Bryan....I have seen much traffic on the internet calling into question whether the online IDP offers are legit. Do you have any evidence that the online IDPs are in fact real? Of course, I also believe that IDPs from AAA are basically a racket but they are a recognized racket.

International Driving Permit Scams​

There are hundreds of scam sites in the US alone trying to defraud customers with their International Driving Permit application processes. Please ignore them.

The scams are various. Fake website, unsolicited mail, and even people trying to sell International Driving Permits in person. Prices range up to as high as $400. Please do not be scammed. There is only one place in the US to get your permit – AAA. That’s it.

The scammers seem to be keen to promote the International Driving Permit as a way to allow US residents to drive without a state license. Clearly, this is not the case – you must have a recognized license to support your International Driving Permit. Moreover, if you are a US resident, you must have a state license. The International Driving Permit does exactly what it says – it allows you to drive internationally.

The Permit allows a local official to recognize the validity of your original license – the permit is not a license in itself. Think of it as a verified global translation of your own license and you are not far wrong.

The scammers also promote the Permit as an alternative method of official identification. It is not. It is not a piece of official identification, and must be used in conjunction with an actual driving license.

Ignore the scammers!

 

[BryanS]

Hi Bryan....I have seen much traffic on the internet calling into question whether the online IDP offers are legit. Do you have any evidence that the online IDPs are in fact real? Of course, I also believe that IDPs from AAA are basically a racket but they are a recognized racket.

Jim,

As noted in the original post, we only learned of this site (e-ita.org) as our client used it to obtain and IDP that was then accepted by the Italian car rental company in Potenza.

 

[Allen]

Guess I’ll stick to slightly annoying annual in-person AAA chore and fee.

 

[BryanS]

For a recent trip back to the US I used the website noted in my first post to get an IDP for my Italian license to use in the US. It was an easy and simple process. I had the paper copy mailed to where I was staying in the US and had a digital copy I downloaded on my phone.

Turns out I only needed my Italian drivers license and my passport to rent a car in the US.

 

[NoSpin]

So, where were you in the US? Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[BryanS]

So, where were you in the US? Inquiring minds want to know!

Our annual trip to visit our families in Ohio, in particular my parent's 70th wedding anniversary.

 

[NoSpin]

Wow, 70 years, congrats to them! I thought I've been married a long time at 48 years.

Funny story, we were in France for the 75th anniversary of D-Day. We were staying at a small hotel and were talking with an English couple on the patio. I happened to say that we were married 44 years, and then I added my usual joke, "but I don't think it's going to last".

The English gentelman had a great comeback, "44 years, you don't get that long for murder!"

 

[Alpinista]

For the second time in our years of driving here (40-ish), we were stopped yesterday in a police checkpoint and asked to produce an IDP. The rental agencies seldom ask for for them and the police, obviously, don’t often check, but I’d hate not to have an IDP when stopped or if it turned out to be an issue in an accident.

 

[LizMurph]

We were in Italy in October. We rented a car at the termini in Rome. The company required that I had an IDP, and luckily I had one. They were very clear that no one without one should drive the car.

 

[Alpinista]

Will revisit this topic to note that our rental car reservation for this summer contains a notice that "Driving laws have recently changed and an International Drivers Permit is now required in Italy".

 

[Mary Hanson]

It's a relatively new thing here in Italy but even small town local car rentals are asking for IDP. The random highway stops too. .
The whole "do I need an IDP" argument goes as far back as 1998 in the early days of AOL Italy travel and Pauline can confirm Slow trav has seen its share.
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