Driving in Europe with an International Driving Permit: What UK Drivers Need in 2026

Do You Actually Need an IDP for Europe?

For most UK drivers heading to the EU, the answer is refreshingly simple: no.

If you hold a valid UK photocard driving licence, you can drive in any EU country, plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, without an IDP. This has held steady since the post-Brexit dust settled, and it's still the position for 2026. Your photocard alone does the job.

Where things get more complicated is if your licence doesn't fit that standard profile.

When You Might Still Need One

An IDP becomes relevant if:

• You hold an old-style paper driving licence rather than a photocard
• Your licence was issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey or the Isle of Man
• You're planning to stay and drive somewhere for an extended period, beyond a typical holiday
• You're hiring a car from a company with its own stricter documentation policy, regardless of what the law technically requires

That last point catches people out more than any legal technicality. Car hire firms are private businesses, and some ask for an IDP anyway, especially in Spain and Italy, simply as a matter of internal policy. Ringing the rental company before you fly is a five-minute job that can save you standing at a desk in Palma arguing about paperwork.

The Three Types of IDP, and Why It Matters Which One You Get

Not all International Driving Permits are the same. They are issued under three separate international conventions, each recognised in different countries:

• 1926 Convention – now largely obsolete, relevant to very few remaining destinations
• 1949 Convention – still required by a handful of countries, including some outside Europe
• 1968 Convention – the one that covers the vast majority of European countries where an IDP might be needed

Applying for the wrong type wastes your time and your money, so check the specific requirement for your destination country rather than assuming. The government's own driving abroad checker is the most reliable place to confirm this, country by country, before you commit to anything.

How to Apply for Your IDP

The process changed a few years back, and it still trips people up who remember the old system. Post Offices stopped issuing IDPs at the end of March 2024. These days, you will need to visit a shop with a PayPoint counter that participates in the scheme.

To be eligible, you'll need to:

• Be at least 18 years old
• Hold a full, valid GB driving licence (a provisional won't do)
• Be a permanent resident of the UK

The permit itself costs £5.50 and you can apply up to three months before you travel. It's a quick process in person, and you'll walk out with the physical booklet there and then, which is handy given it can't be posted to you or picked up once you've already left the country.

One thing worth remembering: an IDP is never a substitute for your driving licence. You carry it alongside your UK licence, not instead of it. Turn up with only the permit and no licence, and you're no better off than turning up with nothing at all.

IDP application fees for each country 2026

Licence Origin	Fee (Local Currency)	Official Issuing Authority	Estimated USD Equivalent
Brazil	R$400	Detran (Departamento de Trânsito)	$77.97
Philippines	₱4,200	Automobile Association Philippines (AAP)	$72.41
Australia	A$55	Australian Automobile Association (AAA)	$36.67
Malaysia	RM150	Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan Malaysia (JPJ)	$31.91
Argentina	ARS 40,000	Automóvil Club Argentino (ACA)	$26.75
Canada	$32 CAD	Canadian Automobile Association (CAA)	$23.36
United States	$20	American Automobile Association (AAA)	$20.00
Russia	₽1,600	Russian Automobile Federation (RAF)	$17.78
France	€16	Prefectures and sub-prefectures	$17.39
Italy	€16	Automobile Club d'Italia (ACI)	$17.39
Germany	€15	Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club (ADAC)	$16.30
Ireland	€15	Automobile Association Ireland (AA Ireland)	$16.30
Portugal	€15	Instituto da Mobilidade e dos Transportes (IMT)	$16.30
Japan	¥2,400	Japan Automobile Federation (JAF)	$15.48
Singapore	S$20	Automobile Association of Singapore (AAS)	$14.81
Thailand	฿505	Department of Land Transport (DLT)	$14.03
China	¥100	Traffic Management Bureau (Temporary Permit)	$13.79
India	₹1,000	Regional Transport Office (RTO)	$12.05
United Kingdom	£5.50	PayPoint Counters (formerly Post Offices)	$7.05

Documents You'll Want Alongside Your IDP

An IDP might solve the language barrier around your licence, but it's rarely the only paperwork worth sorting before you drive abroad. Depending on your destination, you may also need:

• A green card confirming your motor insurance cover (still required for the EU, Andorra, Serbia and a few others)
• Your V5C vehicle logbook if you're taking your own car
• A UK sticker on the rear of the vehicle, since the old GB version no longer counts

Here's where it's worth thinking beyond the checklist. If you are relocating, buying property, or dealing with local authorities anywhere in Europe, an English-language document often isn't enough on its own. Some countries want official document translations to accompany your licence, insurance paperwork or ID before they'll process anything at all, and a home-made translation typically won't be accepted.

This is exactly the kind of gap cs-translation.co.uk fills. Certified translations of your driving licence, insurance documents or identification give you something officials abroad will actually recognise, rather than a document they have to puzzle over or reject outright.

Why a Certified Translation Still Beats an IDP for Some Situations

An IDP translates the categories on your licence into several languages, but it doesn't extend to insurance paperwork, vehicle registration documents, or anything else you might be asked to produce at a border, a rental desk, or a local vehicle registration office if you're moving permanently. For those situations, a proper certified translation through cs-translation.co.uk covers ground the IDP simply wasn't designed for.

Pitfalls to Watch For

A few errors come up again and again with UK drivers heading to Europe:

• Assuming an IDP is needed everywhere in the EU, when it usually isn't for photocard holders
• Applying for the wrong convention type for the country in question
• Leaving it until the last minute, only to discover you can no longer get one through the Post Office
• Forgetting that a rental company's own rules can be stricter than the law itself
• Travelling with only translated documents that aren't certified, which some authorities won't accept

Get these sorted early and the rest of the trip tends to run itself.

Ready for the Road? Final Thoughts

Most UK drivers won't need an IDP for a standard European holiday, provided their licence is a modern photocard. Where things get trickier—older paper licences, Crown Dependency licences, certain rental firms, longer stays—it pays to check the specific requirement for your destination rather than guess.

And if your trip involves more than a fortnight of sightseeing, whether that's a house purchase abroad, a longer relocation, or simply dealing with a foreign authority who wants your paperwork in their own language, get your documents properly translated before you go. Cs-translation.co.uk can turn around certified translations of your licence, insurance documents and ID quickly, so you're not scrambling for a stamp and a signature once you're already there.

Sort the paperwork now, and the driving part becomes the easy bit.