In order to drive a car abroad and not have problems with the law, you need to worry about getting an international driver's license in advance. There are countries where it is allowed to drive a car with a Russian license, but even then you must additionally present a certificate or a notarized translation. The vast majority of countries only require an international driver's license. For this reason alone, before traveling abroad, you should take care of drawing up a document that will not cause any complaints in any country in the world.
There are several ways to obtain an international driver's license in the current 2021, one of which is through State Services (EPGU). How this can be done will be described below with all the details.
Concept of international rights
An IDP is a document giving the right to drive a car in foreign countries. This type of document was introduced as a result of the signing of the Geneva Convention. In the countries that have signed it, such rights cannot be avoided.
Note! Without a basic driver's license, the IDP is not valid. Therefore, you need to take both this and this document on your trip.
In some countries that have signed the Vienna Convention, you can drive with a national license.
Important information! The validity period of the IDP depends on the validity period of the fundamental rights, that is, when replacing the national driver's license, international rights should also be replaced.
What documents make it possible to drive a vehicle abroad?
The right to drive vehicles outside the Russian Federation is given by documents confirming completion of training in a special educational institution, as well as documents confirming passing a qualifying exam for the right to drive a vehicle, based on the result of training.
Such documents include:
- VU, USSR model.
- VU, sample of the Russian Federation received before March 1, 2011.
- VU, sample of the Russian Federation received after March 1, 2011.
In the first two cases, the presence of an international driver's license when traveling outside the country is mandatory. If you have a driving license that was obtained after March 1, 2011, obtaining an international driving license may not be required in countries that have signed the Vienna and Geneva Conventions on Road Traffic.
Features of the use of driver's licenses issued after March 1, 2011 are due to the fact that starting from this date, issued licenses comply with generally accepted standards for the content and appearance of a driver's license, which are enshrined in the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.
To avoid possible misunderstandings on the part of police officers of a foreign country, it is recommended to obtain an international driving license. Since a business or tourist trip can take on a different character and turn out very badly.
In some countries, the legislation in this regard is so severe that as a punishment, the car can be taken away, and the person driving the vehicle can be detained for a long period until all the information available to the local police is received and verified.
This development of events is not beneficial for both a business trip and a tourist one. At the same time, it doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive – your own or a rented one.
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How to apply for an IDP through the website
It is very easy to submit an application through the information web resource. The main thing is that the account is verified. So, step-by-step instructions on how to obtain an international license in 2021 through State Services:
- Log in to your personal account on the portal by entering your username and password. If you are absent, register and confirm your identity at the MFC.
- Go to the “Transport” section and the “VU” item.
- On the next page, click on “Obtaining an IDP”.
- Next, you need to fill out an online application, where you must indicate the citizen’s personal data, information from the Russian passport and Russian driver’s license, and address of residence.
- Information from a medical certificate can also be provided (but this is not mandatory).
- The next point will be to select the date and department of the State Traffic Inspectorate, from where it will be more convenient to pick up the finished certificate.
- The traffic police department has been selected, then you must give permission to process personal data.
So, the application has been sent and queued. As soon as the application is reviewed and registered, the user will receive an invitation by email to the State Traffic Inspectorate office at the appointed time.
The letter will also contain a link for paying the state fee, by clicking on which you can immediately make the required contribution.
Where to get an international driving license
Only an accredited department of the State Traffic Inspectorate can issue a license for driving a car abroad. Not all divisions of the subordinate body
and they are doing this, so it is wise to clarify the information. Submit your application in person, without intermediaries. It is worth noting that registration does not matter where you get your international license.
It’s very convenient to order an international driver’s license on the State Services website; you don’t need to waste time waiting or queue in front of the inspector’s office. To do this, you need to register on the site, then select the desired tab and upload scanned documents. They take it to the traffic police, arriving at the indicated time and day, and it is important to have the originals with you.
The MFC also allows you to obtain an international driving license. The application form is downloaded from the State Services website and then completed correctly. Next, you will contact the MFC with the necessary package of documents. But before that, they take a place in advance using an electronic queue. This can be done by phone or online.
How long will it take to process the document and the cost of the state duty?
The fee is 1600 rubles.
Important! When paying the mandatory contribution online through the State Services portal, users are given a 30 percent discount. That is, you will need to pay 1,120 rubles for the IDP.
An application submitted through the State Services website must be registered within 15 minutes. And personal data is checked by State Traffic Inspectorate employees within 1 hour.
How to quickly replace a driver's license through the State Services portal?
To use the electronic service for replacing licenses through State Services, you need to click on the “Services” button on the main page of the resource, and then in the “Transport and Driving” information block, select the “Driver’s license” line.
On the website page that opens, select the required service. In the case of replacing a driver's license, these are the first 2 blocks from the list, including replacement due to the expiration of the document, when personal data changes (change of last name, patronymic) or loss of rights.
Next, a page opens with detailed information about the selected service, including information that when replacing rights through the State Services portal and paying the fee electronically, there is a 30% discount. Here you can choose not only to fill out an electronic application for a replacement driver’s license, but also simply make an appointment in advance at the traffic police department to replace the document in the standard way. After selecting the type of service, click on the “Get service” button.
The first 2 sections of the electronic application are devoted to basic personal and passport data. All these fields should already be filled in. The information is taken from the information specified in the user’s personal account. Please note that you cannot change these data in the application (if they suddenly change), to do this you need to go to your personal account and make changes there. After this, the new data will be displayed in the application.
The third information block is the residential address (usually it coincides with the place of permanent registration indicated in the passport). The fourth section of the application is the choice of the basis for replacing the driver’s license.
Next comes information about passing the medical examination, that is, about the medical certificate (its number and date of issue, as well as the name of the medical institution and the license number to conduct such activities). Medical examination information is not required in all cases of license replacement. For example, when changing personal data or restoring lost rights, a certificate is not required. Below we note the categories that are allowed to be opened based on information obtained during the medical examination.
The sixth block is information about the old driver’s license. If for some reason you cannot enter this information, then put a tick in the appropriate box. Next, we note the permitted categories that were noted in the previous rights.
All that remains is to choose the department of the State Traffic Inspectorate where you will need to obtain a new driver’s license. You can find the branch closest to your place of residence using a convenient Yandex map. After selecting the traffic police department, select the date and time of your visit. This can be done using the “Select appointment time” button. The selected date and time will need to be confirmed.
This completes the application. You must check the box next to the line “I am familiar with the procedure for submitting an application electronically” and click on the “Submit” button.
As soon as the application is submitted, a notification will be sent indicating that the state fee must be paid. This can be done by visiting any Sberbank branch in person or electronically through the State Services portal. In the second case, the state duty will be 1,600 rubles.
On the appointed date and time, you must visit the selected traffic police department and provide the inspector with the originals of all documents, the details of which were indicated in the application. After checking these documents for authenticity and correct completion of the electronic application, the driver will be issued a new driver's license.
Where are international licenses issued?
To obtain a ready-made driver's license, you must visit the traffic police department that was selected when filling out the application.
You must take with you to the State Traffic Inspectorate office:
- Russian Federation passport.
- National rights.
- Photo 3.5*4.5 cm (necessarily matte).
- Military ID (for military personnel).
- International passport.
Within 1–2 hours, employees will check the documents and issue the citizen with an internationally recognized document.
How to sign up for a retake if you fail
If the traffic police test to obtain a license was failed once, you can retake it again; usually 7 days are given for retraining. The driver has exactly six months to pass the practical part of the exam; after this period, he will have to retake the driving theory exam. After 3 unsuccessful attempts to obtain a license, the interval between tests will be increased to 1 month.
Registration is also carried out through the State Services resource:
To re-register with the traffic police for the exam, follow the same steps that you used on your first attempt. You need to join the electronic queue and register the time/place of the exam. You will not have to pay the state fee again. As described above, if you pass the theory component of the test, but fail the other two, you have exactly six months to retake without retaking the theory.
Important point! For many car enthusiasts, it was good news that when taking a repeat exam at the State Traffic Inspectorate, the license exam begins from the moment in which the mistake was made - if you failed driving, then no one will force you to take the theory again.
As you can see, applying for testing and obtaining a driver’s license through the State Services resource is not difficult, the main thing is to strictly follow the instructions presented above.
other methods
Using the State Services information portal, applying for an IDP takes a minimum of time; you do not need to visit the department in person.
If it is not possible to fill out an application through an information web resource for some reason, this can be done in other ways:
- Personally visiting the traffic police with all the required documents. But this procedure will take quite a lot of time, since you will have to stand in a live queue for a long time and wait until the employees check the documents and issue the finished document.
- In multifunctional centers. But the registration procedure will take from 3 to 7 days, since the MFC is only an intermediary between the citizen and the State Traffic Inspectorate.
There are several ways to apply for an IDP. But the simplest and most optimal way is to obtain an international driver’s license through State Services. The convenience lies in the fact that a citizen can apply for an IDP in a convenient environment and indicate a free date to visit the department. To obtain an international driver's license through State Services, you must have an account in the “Verified” status.
Production time and cost
An international driver's license is issued on the day the request is made. You can pick up the finished document at any time available for recording through “Government Services”. However, after compiling a questionnaire and indicating in it the address of a branch of the traffic police, it will not be possible to obtain an international standard license in another structural unit.
The state fee for obtaining an international driver's license is 1,600 rubles, and from 2021 a 30% discount has been established, but only when issued through the Unified Service Portal. In this case, the fee is 1120 rubles. Thus, registration of international rights through Gosuslugi is also profitable.
