Which countries require an International Driving Permit, and where is a national license enough? There's no single yes-or-no answer — it depends on which road traffic convention your destination country has joined. GlobalDrive put that into a comparison table instead of the usual wall of text: in a minute you can see which convention applies to your route, whether an IDP is required, and which plan fits the length of your trip. If you already know your destination, you can get an International Driving Permit online in 2–4 hours right away, without reading the whole article first.
An International Driving Permit (IDP) isn't a separate license — it's a translation of your national license into a standardized format, recognized by countries that are parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. Most guides on this topic answer with one paragraph along the lines of "you need it almost everywhere, except…" followed by a list of countries with no connection to your specific route. Below is the same answer, broken down by convention, requirement, validity period, and plan for each destination.
What the Geneva and Vienna Conventions Actually Say
Both conventions solve the same problem: making a driving license readable to a police officer or rental agent who doesn't read the language on your national document. The difference is in the format and in which countries signed which convention.
The 1949 Geneva Convention is older and stricter about format: countries that apply it — among them the US, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam — only accept an IDP issued in that exact format. The 1968 Vienna Convention is newer and more common across Europe, the UK, most of the UAE, and CIS countries; permits issued under it don't always match the Geneva format.
For a traveler, that means one thing: you can't just get "an international permit" in a generic sense and assume it works everywhere. You need to know which convention your destination has joined — and get the IDP in the matching format. That's exactly why a plain list of country names doesn't work well as a reference: there are dozens of destinations with different formats, and it's easier to check a table than to memorize the whole list.
One practical consequence shows up most often when renting a car abroad without an IDP: a rental agent who doesn't read your national script can't quickly match your license to their records, while a standardized translation with Latin characters and dates in a fixed format is checked in a minute. For the same reason, there's no universal answer to how far a national license travels without an IDP — it depends entirely on the specific destination and its convention, covered row by row in the table below.
Checklist: Do You Need an IDP in Your Country
Below is a table for the most frequently asked destinations: which convention applies, whether an IDP is required there, and which plan makes sense for the length of your trip. Treat it as a reference point — exact requirements at the border or rental counter are always worth double-checking, especially for longer stays or work travel rather than tourism.
| Country / Destination | Convention | Is an IDP Required | IDP Validity | Which Plan Fits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EU countries (within the EU) | Vienna 1968 — regional recognition | Usually not required | — | If your route continues outside the EU — Digital $110 as a backup |
| United Kingdom | Vienna 1968 | Required for rental and as extra ID | Up to 3 years, never longer than your national license | Digital $110 for a short trip |
| Turkey | Geneva 1949 | Required | Up to 1 year, never longer than your national license | Standard $180 — rental counters often ask for the booklet |
| Georgia | Vienna 1968 | Required for rental and road checks | Up to 3 years, never longer than your national license | Digital $110 |
| Thailand | Geneva 1949 | Required | Up to 1 year, never longer than your national license | Standard $180 or Full $210 for a longer stay |
| Vietnam | Geneva 1949 | Required | Up to 1 year, never longer than your national license | Standard $180 |
| UAE | Vienna 1968 | Required for car rental | Up to 3 years, never longer than your national license | Digital $110 for a short trip |
| United States | Geneva 1949 | Required | Up to 1 year, never longer than your national license | Full $210 — with the Companion Card as extra proof |
| Japan (see below) | Geneva 1949, this format only | Required, strictly the 1949 format | Up to 1 year, never longer than your national license | Standard $180 or Full $210 — Geneva format matters |
Every row above ends with a specific plan, not a vague "get an IDP": a single short trip is almost always covered by the Digital plan at $110, a longer or repeat trip by the Standard plan at $180 with free delivery of the physical booklet, and destinations where rental companies are strict about the paper document (the US, Thailand) are best covered by the Full plan at $210.
Important Detail: Japan and the 1949 Geneva Convention Format
Japan is a case that's easy to miss. It only recognizes an IDP issued in the 1949 Geneva Convention format — a permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention (the format most CIS countries issue) won't be accepted there. Worth confirming before your trip, not at the rental counter.
The practical takeaway from the "Japan" row above: when applying for a trip to Japan, state the destination up front so the IDP is issued in the Geneva format, not the Vienna one, which won't work there.
How to Read the Table and What to Do Next
Working with the table above is simpler than with a list-style paragraph — three steps are enough.
- check_circleFind your destination in the "Country / Destination" column — if you're visiting several countries, go by the strictest one (for example, if Japan is on the route, plan around the Geneva format).
- check_circleCheck the convention and validity period — this tells you how long your IDP will last and whether that covers your travel dates.
- check_circlePick a plan from the last column and submit an application — a specialist will check your documents and confirm the format matches your destination.
How Long an IDP Is Valid and Which Plan to Choose
The validity period of an International Driving Permit is never a single number without context — it depends on the convention and on how long your national license is valid. A permit issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention lasts up to 3 years; one issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention (applied by the US, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other destinations from the table above) lasts up to 1 year. Either way, your IDP's validity is always capped by your national license — if it expires in 8 months, that's exactly how long your IDP stays valid too, even if the convention allows more.
That directly shapes which plan makes sense. For a single short trip (a vacation or a one-to-two-week business trip), the Digital plan at $110 is usually enough — an electronic PDF registered in the database that you can show on your phone or print. For a longer stay, frequent trips, or destinations where rental companies expect a paper document in hand (this is especially true for the US and Thailand), the Standard plan at $180 with free delivery of the physical booklet — or the Full plan at $210 with the added International Driver's Companion Card — makes more sense.
Carry both documents together: an IDP without a valid national license isn't valid, and vice versa — it's a translation, not a replacement for the original. If your national license is about to expire, getting an international driving permit online only makes sense for the time remaining on it — you can confirm with a specialist in your application which plan is justified for your specific case.
When a National License Is Enough
You don't need an IDP everywhere. If you're a citizen of an EU country traveling to another EU country, your national license is usually enough — regional agreements recognize it directly, without an extra translation. A similar logic applies to individual bilateral agreements between specific countries.
One important caveat: exact conditions always depend on the specific pair of "country of citizenship — destination country," length of stay, and purpose of travel (tourism, work, long-term residence) — there's no single rule that covers every case. If you're unsure whether you need an IDP in your situation, the difference between the two documents is covered in a separate guide: how an IDP differs from a national license. We also clarify this individually when reviewing your application.
How to Get an IDP with GlobalDrive: From Application to Document
Once you've found your row in the table and picked a plan, getting an IDP takes four steps.
- check_circleApplication — on the website or in a message on Telegram/WhatsApp: state your destination and the plan you want.
- check_circleDocument check — a specialist verifies your national license details and confirms the format (Geneva or Vienna) for your destination.
- check_circlePayment — we accept cryptocurrency, cards from Russia, Kazakhstan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Ukraine, and European bank transfers.
- check_circleDelivery — the digital version arrives within 2–4 hours of payment and document verification; if you chose the Standard or Full plan, the physical booklet ships the same day and arrives in 2–7 days.
No exam is required: getting an IDP with GlobalDrive is a translation of an already valid national license into a standardized format, not a new document granting you the right to drive. Your national license still needs to stay valid both before you receive the IDP and throughout your trip — the IDP doesn't replace it.
One clarification: GlobalDrive is a private document-processing service, not a government authority — we don't issue or replace national driving licenses, only prepare the translation and register it in our own database. The service handles applications from different countries, translates licenses into 10+ languages, and recommends double-checking the requirements of your specific destination and rental company before you travel.
If you're not sure which documents your application needs, the full checklist is in a separate article: which documents you need for an IDP application. The website form, Telegram, and WhatsApp take applications daily from 9:00 to 02:00 — you can message us as soon as you've found your destination in the table above.
What to remember: the checklist above is the fastest way to check your destination without reading a wall of text; IDP validity always depends on the convention (up to 3 years under Vienna, up to 1 year under Geneva) and is capped by your national license's own validity; Japan is a special case where only the 1949 Geneva format is accepted. From there it's simple: find your row in the table, pick a plan, and submit your application on the website or message us on Telegram/WhatsApp.
