international drivers permit

We are planning to rent a car for one day in Vienna, to go outside of the city and I just learned about international drivers permit, we are leaving in four days and will not have time to get it. Is this an absolutely must or the U.S. driver license will work for one day trip? Thank you very much for your help.

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Yes, in a way it is a must, i.e. the law says so. Nobody may ask you for it, but if you - heavens forbid - should be involved in an accident chances are the cops will ask you for it.

The permit is just a translation of the data on your Minnesota Driver%26#39;s license. You can get it at any AAA (American Automobile Club) office in your city. It costs $10, requires 2 passport photos (which they can take right there). The whole proceduree won%26#39;t take 1/2 hour, including letteiung the pictures dry, unless there is a long wait.

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I%26#39;ve never hired a car anywhere in Europe without having to show my driver%26#39;s licence so I%26#39;m sure Vienna will be no exception and you will be asked for it. You and Treplow are quite right that, as an American, it will have to be an International Driver%26#39;s Licence.

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Thank you very much for all your responses. My husband was able to get international driving PERMIT within 30 minutes at the local AAA office but the cost is $26 dollars for everything but this gives me a piece of mind to enjoy our vacation.

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Just to clarify and add a little regarding the drivers license and auto rental.

The auto firm will most probably only be interested in seeing your valid US drivers license. Rarely will they ask for the international permit.

The international drivers permit you just acquired is required by law in some countries including Austria.

It is not a drivers license but rather a translation of various information of your US license and is not a drivers license replacement.

Hopefully you wil not need it as it is normally only asked for by the police if you are stopped for any reason. As mentioned hopefully this does not happen.

But very good to have and offers one less thing of concern for your trip.

for some added info you can look to this website

http://travel.state.gov

under international travel

You most probably already know that you need a vignette ( highway tax permit ) on your auto.

This will most probably already be on your rental auto , but check with the rental firm before taking the car.

Also watch speed limits, they can change quickly and police often lurk by these places with radar.

I recently received a private mesae from a traveler who found a %26quot;radar trap %26quot; even with a warning.

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Grivna it would be interesting if you let us know whether the hire company do ask for the international permit or just accept your US licence as this question%26#39;s bound to crop up again sometime.

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for what it%26#39;s worth, in over thirty trips to Germany and Austria over the last 40 years, I have yet to be asked for an %26quot;International Permit%26quot;. I had one the first time in 1971, then never again.

True, I never had an accident, but I was stopped once for speeding - all they wanted was money.

But as was advised above - the %26#39;letter of the law%26#39; requires one. Here from the %26quot;horses mouth%26quot;:

An international drivers permit (IDP) is required for Austria. It can be purchased through the AAA club and is valid for one year. When driving abroad, carry both your IDP and your state driver%26#39;s license with you at all times. An IDP serves as an official, internationally recognized translation of your license.

the rental agencies have never asked me for one.

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I will definitely report on whether we were asked to provide the permit for car renting. I still believe that 30 minutes in the AAA office and 26 dollars were well spent.

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For those who are interested I would like to report that when we were renting a car nobody asked about international permit, just our U.S. driver license, when we travelled we were not stopped so again there were no questions about the permit. The bottom line - we never used it. But I have no regrets we bought it, there are other things to worry about when you are so far away from your home country and is not fluent in German. If we go again, we will get another permit for sure.

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Thank you for taking time to post again.

Not needing to produce the IDP is good news as this means you have no encounter with the police.

Hopefully you never need to show this document but just having it means more comfort on your travels and it is a required item in numerous countries.

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I rented a car in France from Hertz last year and another one last month in Romania from Avis; both companies told me that they do not require an International Driving Permit; all they asked was a US driver license. I assume that all EU countries are guided by the same laws. I never had an encounter with a police officer and I can%26#39;t say what they might ask for. The rental company told me that an IDP is not necessary and I am inclined to beleive them. Best thing to do is to ask the rental company and see what they tell you.