Where can I get an International Driving Permit?

Traveling or a business trip outside your home country seems easier and more efficient if you do not use public transport services, but travel in your own car (or rented already on the spot). However, many drivers have faced the problem of not being able to drive a car in a foreign country without obtaining a driver's license valid in that territory. Of course, for a one-time short-term trip, obtaining foreign rights is not relevant, especially if the next business trip will be in a completely different direction.

In addition, the laws of many countries oblige all future drivers without exception (even those with experience of driving abroad) to take a course of training and practical training, pass a theoretical and practical exam, which is completely inconvenient for people going on a short trip.

To solve this problem, in the late 60s, a single International Convention was considered and signed, which allows free driving on the territory of the signatory countries to drivers with a general international driving license.

Thus, a resident of the Russian Federation can drive a vehicle without problems with law enforcement agencies, having international rights, of course, if you do not violate traffic rules. Accordingly, residents of friendly countries can travel around Russia with this document.

The procedure for obtaining general rights is not the only way out for those who want to try themselves as a driver on foreign roads.

The rights operating on the territory of the Russian state also allow driving abroad, but this applies only to those certificates that were obtained after March 1, 2011.

If the date of receipt of the rights is earlier than indicated above, Russian rights allow the vehicle to be driven on the territory of the countries that have signed the Convention, however, the rights must be translated into the national language of the country in which their owner will drive. In addition, the translation must be notarized and in no case should it be lost!

It is worth noting that in some countries of the former USSR, representatives of the patrol services may be biased towards Russian drivers and, on the basis of this attitude, issue a fine for not having an international driver's license to those who provide them with a national one for verification. However, such situations in court, if there are no other aggravating circumstances, are resolved in favor of the driver.

In order to obtain the rights of an international standard, it is necessary to submit a list of documents to the traffic police and pay a state fee (1600 rubles).

It is necessary to prepare:

application (you can write directly to the traffic police);
passport of a resident of the Russian Federation or a foreign passport;
a valid national driver's license;
a 35X45 format photo on matte photo paper (do not take pictures on the spot).

Before visiting the traffic police with the intention of submitting an application, it is better to find out by phone whether this department has such a function at all, since some departments do not deal with this issue.

The procedure for obtaining international driving licenses in the capital in 2016 is no different from the general procedure. That is, it is necessary to write an application of an approved form, attach the above documents and pay the state fee. The term for producing a document depends on the workload of a particular traffic police department.

Often, non-indigenous residents of Moscow are faced with the problem of having to travel to their small homeland in order to obtain international driving licenses. However, if you were refused the issuance of this document due to the lack of a capital residence permit, feel free to write a complaint to the higher authorities - the issuance of international rights is not tied to the city indicated in the "registration" column, this can be done anywhere.

The driver's license is a modern model and is an international license (after March 2011). That is, it is a plastic card (laminated paper), which is commensurate with a regular bank or discount card.

On the front side there is a color photograph of the driver on the left, his painting below it, and basic information about him on the right:

surname, patronymic;
year and place of birth;
date of receipt, date of expiration of the rights, information about the authority that issued them;
Document Number;
region;
categories of vehicles that are allowed to be driven.

On the back of the document there is a table with detailed information about the categories of vehicles that currently exist, in addition, the categories that are allowed to drive are once again indicated here.

The main color background of the certificate is pink-blue, not bright, interspersed with geometric patterns and other almost imperceptible signs that are necessary to make it impossible to make an illegal copy.

If the Russian rights were issued before March 1, 2011, then the international certificate is actually only their translation into the national language of the country where the vehicle will be controlled. It is worth noting that this translation has no value in the absence of national rights, just as national rights will not be able to protect against problems with road services if the application certified by a notary is lost. So it is worth paying attention to the two components of one document.

Before applying, you must pay only the state. a fee of 1600 rubles. This figure is approved by the state and cannot be changed. If at the traffic police department the employees demand a large amount, it is necessary to file a complaint with higher authorities or immediately go to court. Or, ask them to provide a list of services provided by the department with an official list of government sizes. duties.

However, in some departments of the traffic police, help desk workers offer to issue an application for the issuance of rights by them, on a computer through a special program. This eliminates the possibility of an error in the application and saves a lot of time. Of course, this service is carried out for an additional cost, usually from 300 to 500 rubles.

In addition, it is worth considering the options for paying the state fee. If this is done through terminals that do not give change, then it is necessary to prepare the required amount in advance, but if, for example, you put not 1600, but 2000 into such a terminal, then he will offer to transfer the difference to the account of the mobile operator. Also, some terminals take an additional commission for the transaction, but usually it does not exceed 200 rubles. In order to avoid a commission, you can pay for the service using a card of any bank, just be sure to keep your check or receipt!

The validity of the received document is 3 years. However, this applies, again, to those who received national rights before March 2011.

If the validity of national rights expires less than three years from the date of receipt of international ones, then both of these documents will become invalid on the same day.

Driver's licenses of a modern sample have a single validity period for all - 10 years from the date of issue. It is necessary to prepare for the replacement of the certificate before the expiration date, and it is better to completely change it ahead of schedule.

Replacing a document does not involve any complex manipulations. It is necessary to prepare all the documents, write an application (for replacement, not for receipt), pay the state fee in any way possible and, of course, take all these papers to the traffic police department.

If the expiration date of the rights coincides with the date of the trip abroad, where the owner of the document will drive the vehicle, it is necessary to replace it ahead of schedule.

An international certificate is obtained on the basis of an existing national one. Driving abroad, as well as on the territory of the Russian Federation, without a national driver's license is strictly prohibited.

We must not forget that driving a vehicle is an extremely responsible and dangerous business, accidents on the roads regularly take people's lives, in addition, not only drivers, but also pedestrians can suffer. That is why driving a vehicle is prohibited without special training and testing of acquired skills and knowledge.

Of course, you can drive around Russia with an international driver's license for those who have a new type of license (after March 1, 2011).

If the international certificate is only an annex to national rights, then representatives of law enforcement agencies have every right to issue a fine for driving without national rights available.

It is worth noting that in many countries that have signed the Convention, completely different traffic rules apply than in Russia. That is, the presence of one document - international rights is not enough to properly drive on foreign roads. First you need to get acquainted with local rules.