What is it and what is it for?
An international driver's license (IDP) is a license translated into another language in the form of an A6 book. A document of this type cannot be issued without national rights.
Important! The main function of the IDP is translation into the 8 main UN languages. The certificate is not a separate document. It is always provided in conjunction with the main one. Its scope is determined by two conventions.
Vienna Convention
The IDP operates on the basis of the Vienna Convention of 1968 and contains provisions for safe travel on the roads. It was signed by several countries: Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Finland, Estonia, Brazil, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Czech Republic.
This is not the entire list. Before going on a trip, you should find out in advance where the international ID is valid.
Geneva Convention
There is also the Geneva Convention - countries that have not signed the Vienna Convention participate in the Geneva Convention. By law, the countries of the Geneva Convention take into account only the IDP, and the countries of the Vienna Convention take into account the DDP (new driver's license 2021) and the IDP. The new driver's license is a “revolution” in the field of international documents. It allows you to move around the territory of foreign countries in a personal car and rent them.
Countries included in the Geneva Convention: Albania, Andora, Vatican City, Ireland, Iceland, Cyprus, Malta, the Netherlands, Turkey.
There are countries that have signed both conventions, for example Austria. But there are countries that have not signed any of them; they recognize only the national rights of their country.
The procedure for obtaining an IDP in St. Petersburg
The procedure for obtaining an international license is much easier than obtaining a national certificate. The fact is that only drivers with a valid license can obtain an IDP. The step-by-step order looks like this:
- collect documents
- fill out an application online (if the driver wants to do this on the government services portal),
- appear at the MREO to submit documents,
- obtain a ready-made certificate from the traffic police.
Unlike a national license, obtaining an IDP does not require passing an exam on knowledge of traffic rules and driving practice. Therefore, obtaining such a certificate is much faster.
Where to get an international driving license in St. Petersburg
As in other regions of the country, residents of the northern capital can request an IDP in several ways:
- Contact the MREO directly at your place of registration. A list of all traffic police departments by district of St. Petersburg can be found here: https://mreospb.com/
- Apply at the nearest MFC. A list of all MFCs in St. Petersburg can be seen here: gu.spb.ru/mfc/list/. You can use any convenient compartment. Registration at the place of residence does not matter.
- Fill out an application online followed by a visit to the traffic police.
The main service that provides the opportunity to submit an application for an IDP is the government services portal at the address: www.gosuslugi.ru.
The system for using it is simple:
- The driver logs in to the service.
- Select the required service. To do this, you need to select the categories in order: “Transport and driving”, “Driver’s license”, “Obtaining an international driver’s license.
- Fill out the form. It indicates: the driver’s personal data, information about Russian licenses, and a convenient MREO.
- Pay for registration of an IDP.
- Receive a coupon for obtaining a certificate.
Attention! Regardless of which method the applicant chooses, he will have to receive the document in person; the only question is in the MREO or the MFC.
However, when placing an order through government services, you will be able to avoid queues, because the time of issue is indicated on the coupon.
What documents need to be prepared?
The service for acquiring an IDP requires the collection of certain documents.
You will need:
- driver's license;
- 1 photo on matte paper (glossy are not accepted) 35x45 mm;
- passport;
- international passport;
- paid state duty (you need to print it from the website);
- an application to be filled out on the spot.
Passing exams is not required when registering.
Do I need a medical certificate?
Previously, a medical certificate was required, which took a lot of time and money. This is now an optional document.
Important! A medical certificate is not required to obtain an IDP from 2021. The requirement has been abolished by law. There is such an item on the State Services website, but the fields are about.
In the application, which is issued at the traffic police station, you need to indicate your passport details, full name, place of birth, fill in the fields by entering your driver's license details, indicate the reason - obtaining an IDP. The reverse side is filled out by the employee.
Issuance and registration are not carried out without a passport, since without it it is prohibited to travel outside the country.
Legal force of IDP, fines
You should learn about the legal validity of the document and driving rules separately for each country. Everywhere has its own conditions and subtleties. For example, countries that have signed the Geneva Agreement do not rent a car, even if you have a new type of certificate - you need a translated license.
The IDP will indicate the driver’s personal data, validity period, series, number and categories of cars available for driving.
Important! If you travel without an IDP, the driver may not be allowed in/out of the country in a personal car. It is also impossible to rent a car.
If the police stop the car, and this happens often with foreign license plates, the driver will receive a fine of 300–400 euros. In the event of an accident, not a single company included in the state register of insurance companies will pay out money.
How to get an international driving license in 2021?
Good afternoon, dear reader.
This article will talk about an international driver's license, which may be required when driving vehicles abroad, and the features of obtaining them.
Any driver who is about to go on a trip abroad or a business trip and plans to get behind the wheel of a car in a foreign country has many questions about obtaining an international driver's license.
Therefore, today we will talk about how to obtain an international driving license in 2021 and what should be done for this.
articles:
International Driving License 2021
To begin with, I propose to find out what an international driver’s license (2021) and in what cases they may be useful to a domestic motorist.
Let's look at the territory of which world states you can use a Russian international driver's license. Of course, the first thing worth mentioning is the document that is the legal basis for international traffic - the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which was signed by a number of countries in 1968.
The Convention was adopted by 90 states: Austria, Azerbaijan, Albania, Armenia, Bahamas, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Vatican City, Great Britain, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, Guyana, Ghana, Germany, Greece, Georgia, Denmark , Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, Israel, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Spain, Italy, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Cuba, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Liberia , Luxembourg, Macedonia, Morocco, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, the Netherlands, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, UAE, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Romania, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Senegal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Thailand, Taiwan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Philippines, Finland, France, Croatia, Central African Republic, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Ecuador, Estonia, SOUTH AFRICA.
When driving a car in the territory of these states, unlike countries not included in the list, a minimal number of problems may arise.
Let's look at what documents allow you to drive a car in the territory of another state. Paragraph 41 of the Vienna Convention:
Article 41 Validity of driving licenses
1. The contracting parties will acknowledge:
a) any national driving license drawn up in their national language or one of their national languages or, if not drawn up in such a language, accompanied by a certified translation;
b) any national driving license complying with the requirements of Annex 6 to this Convention, and
c) any international driving license complying with the requirements of Annex 7 to this Convention,
valid in their territory for driving a vehicle corresponding to the category of vehicles for which the license is issued, provided that the said license is valid and that it was issued by another Contracting Party or one of its territorial subdivisions, or an association authorized to do so by that Contracting Party or one of its territorial divisions. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to a learner driver's license.
1. You can drive a car abroad if you have a certified translation of your Russian driver's license into the local language. Please note that this paragraph refers to Russian driver’s licenses that were issued before March 1, 2011.
Obviously, you can only certify the translation on the territory of the state where you are going to drive the car. However, in an unfamiliar country it may be difficult to find a notary. Especially if you are not staying abroad for a very long time (for example, you are on vacation for one or two weeks). Therefore, this option cannot be considered as the main one.
2. You can drive a car on the basis of a national driver's license , i.e. Russian, and at present this option should be considered as optimal.
The new driving licenses, which are issued in 2021, fully comply with the requirements of Annex 6 of the convention, and therefore the new licenses can also be used when driving a car abroad.
If your driver’s license was received before March 1, 2011, then you should turn to option 3.
3. You can drive a car abroad if the driver has an international driving license .
For Russians who have old-style national licenses, this option is the most suitable, so we’ll look at getting an international driver’s license step by step.
Documents for an international driver's license
Let's look at how to get an international driver's license in 2021.
So, to obtain an international license, you need to provide the same documents to the traffic police department as to obtain a national driver's license with one exception.
According to paragraph 34 of the rules for conducting examinations for the right to drive vehicles and issuing driver’s licenses:
34. To issue an international driver's license, the applicant submits the following documents to the State Traffic Inspectorate:
a) application; b) passport or other identification document; d) Russian national driver’s license; e) photograph measuring 35 x 45 mm, made in black and white or color on matte paper;
f) a document confirming the availability of a benefit for paying state duty - for persons who, in accordance with the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, have a benefit for paying state duty.
The peculiarity is that to obtain an international driver's license you need to provide the traffic police with a photograph measuring 35 by 45 mm on matte paper. Unlike obtaining a national driver's license, in this case it will not be possible to take a photo at the traffic police department. You will have to take a photograph in a specialized company or make it yourself.
Thus, to obtain an IDP you will need:
- Passport.
- National driving license.
- Photo.
The application can be filled out directly at the traffic police; it is not necessary to prepare it in advance.
Note. Benefits for paying state taxes are available to people associated with the Great Patriotic War (veterans, disabled people, concentration camp prisoners, prisoners of war). These drivers do not have to pay the fee. Instead, a document confirming the right to the benefit is provided.
Where can I get an international driving license?
With the documents listed above, you can go to any convenient traffic police department (in any region, regardless of your registration):
3. Conducting examinations for persons permanently or temporarily residing or temporarily staying on the territory of the Russian Federation, issuing Russian national and international driver's licenses and exchanging foreign driver's licenses are carried out in the departments of the State Traffic Inspectorate at the place of application of these persons.
I would like to note that not every traffic police department is involved in issuing international driver’s licenses, so I recommend calling in advance and clarifying this information. And if the police department closest to your home does not issue international identification cards, you will have to contact another one.
Do I need to take exams when obtaining an IDP?
When obtaining an international driver's license, you do not need :
33. An international driver's license is issued on the basis of a Russian national driver's license without passing an exam.
How much does it cost to get an international license?
Currently, the state fee for issuing an international driver's license is 1,600 rubles .
It is described in Article 333.33 of Part 2 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation:
Section 333.33. The amount of state duty for state registration, as well as for performing other legally significant actions...
44) for issuing an international driver’s license, including replacing a lost one or one that has become unusable – 1,600 rubles;
Attention! When obtaining an international license through the government services portal, you can receive a 30 percent discount on the state fee. Those. issuing a driver's license in this case will cost 1,120 rubles . The discount is valid from January 1, 2021 to January 1, 2023. You can find out more about it in this article.
Replacement of international driving license
Replacing an international driver's license is carried out in the same way as obtaining it for the first time. It is necessary to collect all the documents listed above in this article and contact the traffic police department with them.
If you wish, you can change your international rights earlier or later than their expiration date. Failure to promptly replace your license will not result in traffic fines or other penalties.
Is it possible to drive abroad without a national driving license?
International driving licenses are issued on the basis of national ones, so you won’t be able to drive abroad without a national license.
Thus, if a driver’s license is revoked in Russia, the driver will not be able to drive a car abroad. In this case, international rights are not withdrawn, but without a national ID they are invalid.
Is it possible to drive around Russia with an international license?
Driving around Russia with an international license is only possible if the driver also has a national ID. Moreover, you should not show your IDP to traffic police officers.
For driving a car only with an international license, a fine of 500 rubles may be imposed (Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Administrative Code). You can view the full list of fines using the traffic police fines table for 2021.
In conclusion, I would like to note that if you are going to drive a car abroad, be sure to familiarize yourself with the local traffic rules before your trip. They can differ significantly from Russian ones, and violations can lead to significant fines.
Good luck on the roads!
How to apply through the State Services website
You can easily obtain an international license. State Services support registration through their portal with a 30% discount and no queues.
Step-by-step instruction:
- Log in or register on the site.
- Click on the “Services” section in the top menu of the site.
- Then select "Transport and Driving".
- Find the inscription: “Driver’s license.”
- A list of all possible services will open. From them, select “Obtaining an international diploma.”
- After opening the section, you can see a blue “Get service” button on the right.
- Next, you need to fill out a form indicating your passport details, full name, and citizenship.
- Enter information about your current user account.
- If desired, add information from a medical certificate.
- At the bottom of the page you should select the traffic police department with a convenient location for the user.
- Click “Select appointment time.”
- Confirm your consent to the processing of personal data.
- A notification about the consideration of the application will appear in your personal account.
- The message will ask you to pay the state fee and visit the traffic police station with a full package of documents for further processing. Obtaining a new international license will take a few minutes.
Important! When making an appointment through the website, service occurs as quickly as possible; the appointment is scheduled for a specific time. You should arrive 10–15 minutes in advance, as they may call you a little earlier.
You can receive a new document in 1–2 days or less.
In the next block you can find out how to get that same international driver's license through State Services in the shortest possible time, even if you are not registered on the site.
If you are not registered on the State Services website
It is important to consider the situation when the driver first obtains a license. How to obtain an IDP through State Services if the site has not been used before?
The instructions will be identical for all citizens of the Russian Federation. However, new users can receive different levels of profile: simplified, standard and verified.
To register a simplified profile, just fill in the data with your phone number and email.
For a standard account, you need to register using SNILS and your passport. For a confirmed account, you must confirm your own identity by contacting the Service Center, online bank, using an electronic signature, or a universal electronic card.
Registration of an IDP on the State Services portal on the Internet
You can also make a preliminary application for purchasing an international driving license via the Internet. There is no difficulty in this. You need to register on the government portal in your personal account and select “All popular services.”
At the top of the page that opens, you must click the “Services for individuals” button. In the list that opens, you need to select the desired department. It will be the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Now you need to select a service from the proposed list. This will be “Taking qualification exams for driving vehicles, trams, trolleybuses, issuing driver’s licenses and temporary permits.”
The next step is to select the required one. On the newly opened page you can find detailed information about the service provided, the required documents and the deadline for issuing the certificate.
After carefully reading the information, you need to click the “Get service” button. Then confirm that you are familiar with the procedure for submitting an application and completing documents. Next, you need to indicate your place of residence and registration and select again.
The next page that opens will be an application form, which contains information about the driver, his license and medical certificate. All you have to do is upload your photo and a photo of a sample personal signature. After this, information will be issued about the time of visiting the required MREO to submit the original documents and obtain an international driver’s license.
How much does it cost to get an international license?
On the State Services website, the state duty costs 1,600 rubles. Until January 1, 2021, you can get a discount, then the cost will drop to 1,120 rubles.
The application for state duty must be submitted electronically through the State Services website. Payment is made cashless via a bank card, e-wallet or phone account. Under such payment conditions a 30% discount is provided.
Practical advice on obtaining an international driving license
- Before choosing the traffic police department, you should find out whether they issue licenses.
- Traffic rules abroad may differ from local ones; ignorance will not protect the driver from fines.
- The replacement of the card is carried out after 3 years, in the same order as registration. It is recommended to change your international license after the expiration date or in advance. It is prohibited to use an expired document.
- If a driver, driving a car in Russia, was able to provide only an IDP, without a main driver’s license, he will be fined 500 rubles.
- Persons who received the 2021 XIV may not order its translation into foreign languages. A DDP allows you to move freely in most countries and rent a car.
- Registration of a document at the MFC takes the longest – from 3 to 9 days. At the traffic police, the period is reduced to a few minutes, provided that the application was submitted on the State Services website.
You can obtain an international license in a short period of time without leaving your own home. Having spent a small amount and 1 day of personal time, the user receives the legal right to travel in a personal car anywhere in the world.
What is international law
It is immediately necessary to make a reservation that these rights themselves are not the main document, and can only be used together with internal rights. An international driver's license is produced in the form of a gray booklet with A6 sheets.
In essence, it contains a translation of the basic driver's license data into 4 European languages - English, Spanish, German and Portuguese. And also in Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.
In some countries, such as Italy, the traffic police fine a foreign driver without an international license 300 euros without any hesitation.
No arguments in favor of the fact that, according to the same Vienna Convention, the driver has the full right to drive a car with a new internal Russian license are taken into account by local law enforcement officers. In addition, without this document it will be impossible to rent a car.
Owners of companies that issued a car to a foreign driver without an international license are mercilessly fined. You will not be able to enter some countries without an IDP in your own car. In such countries, any insurance company will refuse compensation for damage to drivers who get into an accident without an international license, since they do not recognize the incident as an insured event.
Therefore, rather than guessing whether or not it is possible to drive a car in a particular country with only a Russian license, it is better to spend a little time and money on acquiring an international driver’s license.
