IDL – The International Drivers License Dilemma

by Mario 15-Jan 2010

I’ll be pilloried for saying this but someone better. Forking over cash money for an IDL to use in much of Western Europe, Italy included is a complete waste of time and money. Every armchair traveler is now doubling over in their recliner at such blasphemy. Laws will be rattled off with penalties ranging from severe fines to life imprisonment. But, before you hand over the cash equivalent of a good bottle of wine please hear me out. I have personally driven over a quarter of a million miles in Europe, 80% of them in Italy alone. I have been stopped on occasion by carabinieri, polizia and guardia di finanza (basically, everyone except the army) and have never been asked to produce an IDL. At the start of my travels, I fell prey to this scam and was fortunately stopped by Italian police officers early on. I immediately produced my IDL. They had no idea what an IDL was and demanded to see my real license and passport. Since then, no law enforcement person has ever asked me for one, nor has any car rental desk, gas station or parking lot attendant demand that I produce one either. Why should you?

It is an easy $15 to $50 bucks to peel off of folks prior to departure by: a) claiming laws the local police do not even claim to know exist and b) guaranteeing piece of mind to the uninformed. The IDL is simply a translation of your actual license. You most definitely need it when visiting countries that use a completely different alphabet such as Greece, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, Japan and anywhere else the ABCs of our alphabet appears as squiggles in the eyes of the beholder. Italy, France, England, Germany, Spain, Scandinavia, South America and a host of other countries use the very same alphabet and can easily figure out your name, address, height, hair color and license number.

So, I choose to save a few bucks and carry around one less meaningless piece of paper. While driving in Italy, I make sure that I always wear seat belts, pass only from the left and never hold a cell phone while driving — ignoring these laws will get one into real trouble.

 

Tags:

Driving in Italy

Permalink | Comments (12)

Comments

1/20/2010 12:09:53 PM #

I beg to differ.  I am an American living in Tuscany for a year.  Within my first month of living here, I was stopped by the Carabinieri in one of their "routine" checks for documents.  I handed over my passport.  The man stood their waiting.  I handed him my license.  Still he was not pleased, using his hand to indicate more. I asked him what else he needed.  "Documenta" he said. "What?" I asked and started to show him my rental car documents, my Permesso application, and finally my IDL.  "Si!" he said and took my IDL and passport and went back to his car. 10 minutes later he handed all back to me and told me I was essentially "in order". I asked at my local questura (police headquarters) about this and they told me that if I had not had all of my documents, including my IDL, I could be fined or put in jail until somebody could bring my documents to me.  I have learned to carry them at all times as I see the same Caribinieri doing regular checks in various places.  Better safe than sorry - especially for a mere $20 at my local AAA office.  AND much cheaper than getting my Permesso has been!

Caterina

1/20/2010 12:24:33 PM #

I once had my car (rental with a Milano license plate) towed while parked in a perfectly legal spot in Florence.  Our hotel proprietor told us that it is a money-making scam and told us where to pick-up the car.  After arriving shortly before closing time on a Friday with reservations in Rome for the next day and the lot closed on the weekend I was asked for my international license.  The officious individual at the car lot refused my Washington State drivers license and I literally had to run back to the B and B to retrieve my international license in 85 degree heat before he would release the car.  I made it in time to pay the "fine" but I am sure that without the international license we would have had to spend the weekend in Florence before the issue was resolved.  My wife, who is Italian, spoke with another attendant while I was gone who apologized to her for the inconvenience but told her that there was nothing he could do.  This occurred about 15 years ago and I have never been asked since for my international license but since this incident I always carry one.

Richard Johnsonq

1/20/2010 1:45:16 PM #

My husband and I each carried an IDL for 13 years on european vacations and never once had to produce it. But when we decided not to get one in 2008, and my husband's wallet was stolen in Barcelona, the Hertz rental car company in Spain and Italy refused to sign him up as a driver unless he could produce an IDL.  A copy of his USA driver's license was NOT good enough! Luckily my USA license was acceptable, but unfortunately I had to do all the driving.

joan franklin

1/20/2010 4:34:50 PM #

I agree with you Mario; and we were told by our Parker Villa travel consultant the same thing.  Don't waste your money!  We spent a delightful week tooling around Tuscany with a rental car;  staying at one of your marvelous villas near Castellina and were just fine with the U.S. drivers license we had.

Marsha Strong

1/21/2010 12:12:09 AM #

Marsha, you were just fine with your US DL because you did not happen to get stopped or because you had been stopped and it was sufficient documentation?  The rental car place may or may not ask for the IDL(auto europe tends to, Hertz and Avis tend not to), but is the many branches of the police departments that I would worry about.

As an American who is living here short term, has been stopped already by the Carabinieri once(which by the way is the military police), and has spoken to my local Italian police department regarding which documents I need, I would highly recommend that the $20 spent could save you a day of hassle.  Don't get me wrong, I love Italy but the bureaucracy here can certainly snarl you up.

And of course your Parker Villa Consultant told you to forego the IDL because they work under Mario.  

Caterina

1/21/2010 2:48:04 PM #

Hi,
This is turning into a fun topic. To move the needle beyond my own personal opinion and experiences, I have asked our office in Italy to do a little digging on the issue to see what they come up with as well. Specifically, I asked them to interview law enforcement people from different branches of Italy's police forces and to obtain a copy of the actual law, as it is written on the books.
Thank you for your posts, keep them coming and stay tuned.
Mario

Mario

1/21/2010 3:23:33 PM #

Hi again,
I felt the need to clear up some misinformation. Auto Europe is a low cost consolidator. Clients who rent cars through Auto Europe must look at their vouchers for the agency their car is reserved with. For instance, if picking up your car at Rome airport, the agency could be Avis, Hertz, or most likely Europecar. There is company called Auto Europa with no connection to Auto Europe. Rarely does Auto Europe use Auto Europa.

Second item, no car rental desk in Italy has ever asked me or anyone else we have ever rented a car for an IDL. Just as a bit of background, over 25,000 persons a year stay in Parker Villas and we rent thousands of cars per year. No one has ever been asked to produce an IDL when picking up their car in Italy through us. We certainly would have heard something in the past 17 years. Nor has anyone ever contacted us about being fined for not having one. I'd love to see the copy of an actual fine for not having produced an IDL.

Nonetheless, in deference to posters whose experiences were different than my own, I have removed the post from "practical advice" and left it solely in "mario's travel journal" for now.
Ciao
Mario

Mario

5/12/2010 8:55:28 AM #

It's very interesting post. I do agree the IDL is a waste of money, you can definitely drive in Italy with a foreign driving licence and there's no need of a copy of it!

CFD

3/11/2011 11:57:37 AM #

From the arguments and discussion on  IDL you need to do a follow up article.

Mark

4/15/2011 1:13:49 AM #

Well, it is midnight, and I found this blog in a panic.  I am flying to Italy tomorrow morning and guess what?  I forgot all about getting an IDL.  I have a car resevation through AutoEurope.  Hope it all works out.  If not, I will post a follow up when I get out of prison.

Sam

5/14/2011 11:09:31 AM #

It was necessary for me to have one in order to rent a car,Bad advise to say they are not needed ...

Jim Atkins

5/17/2011 4:08:14 PM #

Hi Jim,
I'm very curious about your experience. Did you rent from a US company? What is the company name? How exactly did they word their requirement for the IDL? Where were you asked to show it?

Please help shed some more light on this pesky subject. Again, I travel constantly and no car rental company has ever forced or cajoled me into buying or producing this document when renting a car anywhere in Western Europe.
mario

Mario

Add comment




biuquote
  • Comment
  • Preview
Loading



About this blog

Hi, my name is Mario Scalzi and it is time for me to give something back to Italy for all the wonder and joy it has brought me over a lifetime.  more....

 

Important Information

Blog Rules

Privacy Policy