International Driving Permit

Driving abroad? Get your IDP from RAC

If you're planning to drive a car abroad you'll need an International Driving Permit (IDP) for certain countries. This international driving licence is in addition to your UK driving licence - which you also need to take with you if you're driving and/or hiring a car abroad.

To be eligible for an IDP you must:

• Have a full UK driving licence (not provisional) covering the type of vehicle you're planning to drive abroad - be a permanent resident of the UK
• Be 18 or over

You can't get an IDP with a foreign driving licence unless it's an EU driving licence and you're resident in Great Britain.

What you need to know about getting an IDP:

• An IDP is valid for 1 year;
• You can only get an IDP 3 months in advance of needing it;
• You can't get an IDP issued retrospectively;
• There are 2 types of IDP (1949 and 1926) depending on which countries you visit (see list of countries) - RAC can issue both.

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