International Driving Permit: $20 at AAA, £5.50 at PayPoint (2026)

You can only get an international driving permit in the country that issued your licence, and only from the issuer that government has authorised. In the UK that is a shop offering PayPoint, at £5.50 over the counter. In the United States it is AAA or the American Automobile Touring Alliance (AATA), and nobody else. Because no one can issue the permit once you are abroad, the purchase belongs on the to-do list before the flight or ferry, early enough to check which of the three convention formats your destination expects.

For the full list — 46 countries that require a permit for a non-EU licence and 42 that recommend one — see our IDP requirements by country. This page is about getting the right one.

Who is allowed to issue one

United Kingdom. GOV.UK sends you to “certain shops that have PayPoint”, where the permit costs £5.50 and you need a valid Great Britain or Northern Ireland licence. The Post Office no longer sells them. GOV.UK lists three types, built on the 1926, 1949 and 1968 conventions, and its country table says which one each destination accepts.

United States. USA.gov and the FTC both name the same two issuers authorised by the Department of State: AAA and AATA. Any other site offering an “international driver’s license” is, in the FTC’s word, a scam: the document has no legal value and can cause trouble if you are stopped.

Canada. Global Affairs Canada directs applicants to the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) for the application form.

Elsewhere. The issuer is fixed by your own government, usually a national motoring club or the licensing authority. Ask them directly rather than searching for a seller: the FTC notes that scam sites sell lookalike permits.

AAA IDP: the US route, step by step

AAA lists three ways to apply, all with a $20 permit fee, to which sales tax may be added:

1. At a branch. Bring the completed form, two original passport photos (branches can take them) and your valid US licence. Call ahead to confirm the branch offers the service. This is the route AAA recommends if you need the permit within seven business days.
2. By mail. Send the form, two signed passport photos, a photocopy of both sides of your licence and the fee to your nearest AAA office. From overseas, AAA warns return mail can take five to seven weeks.
3. Online at AAA-IDP.com. Add a $10 digital photo fee and shipping, and allow five business days for processing plus delivery.

A permit cannot be issued more than six months before the start date you choose, so a trip booked a year ahead still means a later trip to the branch. AATA is the alternative for anyone not near a AAA office.

IDP license or permit: what you are actually buying

People search for an “IDP license”, but the document is not a licence. It is a booklet that translates your national licence into a format set by the UN road traffic conventions, so it is valid only together with the original. Carry both, and make sure the home licence will not expire mid-trip: the permit cannot outlast it.

How long it lasts depends on the convention. A 1968-convention permit runs for up to three years, a 1949 one for a single year. Some countries accept only one of them: Japan takes only the 1949 permit, while Turkey and Morocco now want the 1968 version, according to UK government travel advice.

International driving permit by country: Europe’s main destinations

The status column below comes from TyreMap’s country data and describes a licence issued outside the EU/EEA, such as an American, Canadian or Australian one. Two exceptions change the answer for many readers. An EU or EEA licence needs no permit anywhere in the bloc. And GOV.UK states that a UK photocard licence needs no IDP “to visit and drive in the EU, Switzerland, Iceland or Liechtenstein”; an old paper licence, or one issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man, may still need one in some EU countries and Norway.

Three rows need a closer look. France accepts an official French translation instead of a permit. Italy fines a driver without an IDP or sworn translation EUR 408-1,634, and the permit must come from the country that issued the licence. Spain accepts a 1949 permit alongside a non-EU licence for up to six months from entry. For Turkey, UK travel advice says the 1949 permit is no longer accepted. The driving permit checker answers the same question for any pair of licence and destination countries, convention included.

Check the booklet before you leave the counter

A permit with an error is as much use as no permit, and it cannot be corrected abroad. Before you walk away, check four things:

1. The convention printed on the cover matches what your destination accepts. A UK buyer heading to Japan and then Turkey needs two different permits.
2. The vehicle categories stamped inside match those on your licence. A permit that omits motorcycles does not let you hire a scooter, whatever the licence says.
3. The validity dates start before your first day of driving and end after your last, and do not run past the expiry of the licence.
4. The photo, your signature and the issuer’s stamp are all in place, as the booklet’s own layout requires.

If the permit is lost or stolen during the trip, only the home issuer can replace it. AAA accepts mail applications from overseas, but warns that return post takes five to seven weeks, which is longer than most holidays. Keep a photo of every page and carry the licence separately from the booklet.

Who checks it, and when

Two people ask for the permit: a police officer at a roadside check and the clerk at a rental desk. The officer applies the law of the country, which is what the table above records. The clerk applies the rental company’s terms, which can be stricter, especially for licences not written in the Latin alphabet. A third check comes after an accident, when an insurer reviewing a claim may ask whether the driver was licensed to drive in that country at all, so a missing permit can become a cover question rather than just a fine.

When to buy, and what the permit does not fix

Buy as soon as the trip is fixed and inside the issuer’s window: same day at a UK PayPoint shop, up to six months ahead at AAA. Then deal with the parts the permit does not touch. A rental desk can refuse a booking for its own reasons, such as licence age or a missing credit card, so read the terms in our car rental in Europe guide. A permit is not insurance either; the cover you need for a road trip is set out in our travel insurance hub. And if you are driving in Germany, Austria or Greece, check the country page for the equipment and limits that apply whatever document you carry.