How to get an international driving license and why you need it

If you do not have time to receive this document, and you need to go abroad where transport management is supposed to be urgent, then you can make a translation of Russian rights, certified by a notary, into the language of the country where you are going. Any foreign car rental company, in principle, does not care whether you have an international driver's license (IDP) or not. But the police of many European countries may not be so supportive of a driver driving without such a license.

A little about old and new IDPs

International rights of a new type were approved by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in April 2011. Since then, the traffic police of the Russian Federation has been issuing a new type of IDP. Those who received international driver's licenses before the entry into force of Order No. 206 of April 18, 2011 should not rush to change them for new ones until their validity period has expired.

The new IDP looks like a booklet in A6 format. This document may be filled out by hand or in block type. All information must be entered using Latin letters and Arabic numerals.

The front side should contain the following entries:

• date of issue of this document;
• its duration;
• the name of the authority that issued the international driver's license, as well as the subject of the Russian Federation where they were issued;
• series and number of Russian driver's license;
• round stamp with the signature of the traffic police officer.

On the inside page of the second sheet, restrictions on the right to drive vehicles, if any, must be indicated. On the third sheet, on the inside, information about the driver is indicated: name and surname, date and place of birth, place of residence or registration. They are immediately marked with oval seals, crosses are placed opposite the rest.

Rules and conditions for obtaining international rights

In Russia, an international driver's license is issued on the basis of a Russian driver's license. You do not need to retake the exams to obtain this document. Its validity period is 3 years, but this period cannot exceed the validity period of the Russian certificate. In other words, if the national driving license can be valid for another year or two, then the international license will be issued for 1 or 2 years.

To obtain international rights, you must contact the regional traffic police department at the place of residence or registration. There you should provide the following documents:

1. Application for obtaining an IDL;
2. Identification document and confirmation of registration at the place of residence/stay;
3. Photo on matte paper measuring 3.5-4.5 cm;
4. National driver's license;
5. Receipt for payment of state duty.

In Russia, the passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation serves as an identity document. Military personnel (warrant officers, ensigns and officers) must present a passport, and soldiers of urgent or contract service - a military ID. Citizens living abroad and temporarily entering Russia can present a passport.

Photo requirements are also put forward by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in Order No. 206. According to them, the photo can be both black and white and color. It is allowed to be photographed in a headdress only for those persons whose religious beliefs require the appearance in public places with a covered head. However, the headdress should not hide the oval of the face. Those citizens who constantly wear glasses should be photographed with glasses, but with transparent glasses without darkening them.

After the delivery of all the necessary documentation, the traffic police officer issues a receipt for payment in the amount of 1000 rubles. You can pay the state duty through Sberbank or through a terminal at the traffic police department. Registration of an international driver's license begins immediately after you submit the documents. In terms of time, this procedure takes, on average, about 30-40 minutes, if you do not take into account possible queues at the traffic police departments.

Why make an IDL if the new Russian rights comply with international requirements?

Formally, the existing Vienna Convention of 10/08/1968, which defines a single standard for a document for the right to drive a vehicle, allows a driver with an appropriate national certificate to move around the countries parties to this convention and without an IDL. In theory, the new Russian driver's license should give our drivers the right to drive a vehicle on the territory of the countries participating in the Vienna Convention. In practice, however, things are different.

Firstly, many countries have established laws that require everyone to rent vehicles only if foreigners present an International Driving Permit. In addition, rental vehicle insurance contracts require the mandatory presence of an IDL. Secondly If you are planning a trip abroad on your own transport, the embassies of many countries may request a copy of an international certificate for issuing a visa. Third, a Russian driver's license, without presenting an international one, can cause problems with the police. For example, Italian police officers can easily be fined 300 euros for not having an IDP.

It becomes clear that an international driver's license is necessary even when driving a vehicle in those countries that are parties to the Vienna Convention. Here we should not forget that not all countries have signed this convention. Many states, when formulating requirements for documentation confirming the right to drive a vehicle, are guided by the Geneva Convention, signed on September 19, 1949. In these countries, you can drive vehicles only on the condition that you have both a national driver's license and an IDP.

If you need to drive a car in a country that has not signed either the Vienna or Geneva Conventions, then you will be allowed to drive the vehicle only on the territory of this state. Below are the member states of both conventions.

Advantages and features of an international driver's document

Having an IDP provides the following benefits:

1. An international driver's license gives you the right to drive a vehicle in more than 200 world countries.
2. Provides the opportunity to rent a car abroad, which gives freedom of movement.
3. Exempt from taking exams in different countries where you plan to rent a vehicle.

We should also not forget about the features of the IDP, for example:

• this document is often valid only with a national driver's license, and without it is not valid;
• may have a shelf life of up to 3 years;
• when staying in any of the countries for more than a year without going abroad, only 1 year is valid;
• the presence of international rights does not exempt from knowing the traffic rules of the country in which you are staying.

In conclusion, I would like to warn against. To date, there are many such proposals on the Web. No matter how attractive the conditions for acquiring international rights from such "organizations" may be for you - do not pay attention to them! The rights are issued and certified only by the state body!

That's all I wanted to say on the topic of international driving licenses. If you have something to add, leave your comments under the article, share your own experience in using an international driver's license. Your comments are valuable because they are based on the practice of using or not using an IDL. Tell us how they were useful or useless in your case.

Video about the process of obtaining an international driver's license

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