International driving license
Tips for motorists

International driving license

Often, when traveling to neighboring countries, people prefer a personal car to public transport. This decision forces you to think about how to acquire an international driver's license, which will allow you to move freely in foreign countries.

International driving license: what is it and why is it necessary

Throughout the twentieth century, the world community has made several attempts to regulate international traffic with the aim of facilitating the movement of people between countries in private vehicles. These efforts resulted first in the Paris Convention on Road Traffic of 1926, then in the Geneva Convention of 1949 and finally in the current Vienna Convention of 1968 on the same topic.

An international driving license is a document confirming that its holder has the right to drive vehicles of certain categories outside the borders of the host state.

According to paragraphs. ii paragraph 2 of article 41 of the Vienna Treaty, an international driving license (hereinafter also referred to as an IDP, international driving license) is valid only when presented together with a national license.

Consequently, the IDP, by its purpose, is an additional document to domestic law, which duplicates the information contained in them in the languages ​​of the parties to the Vienna Convention.

Appearance and content of the IDP

According to Appendix No. 7 of the Vienna Treaty of 1968, IDPs are issued in the form of a book folded along the fold line. Its dimensions are 148 by 105 millimeters, which corresponds to the standard A6 format. The cover is gray and the rest of the pages are white.

International driving license
The IDP model from Appendix No. 7 to the Vienna Convention of 1968 must be guided by all countries parties to the agreement

In the development of the provisions of the convention in 2011, the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 206 was adopted. In Appendix No. 1 to it, some parameters of the IDP were specified. For example, certificate blanks are classified as level “B” documents protected from falsification, as they are made using so-called watermarks.

International driving license
The basis of the IDP, manufactured in Russia, is an international sample, adjusted to the national specifics

As already mentioned, an IDL is a kind of annex to national rights, the essence of which is to make the information contained in them available to representatives of state bodies of the car owner's country of residence. For this reason, the content has been translated into more than 10 languages. Among them: English, Arabic, German, Chinese, Italian and Japanese. International law contains the following information:

  • surname and name of the car owner;
  • date of birth;
  • place of residence (registration);
  • the category of the motor vehicle permitted to be driven;
  • date of issue of the IDL;
  • series and number of the national driver's license;
  • the name of the authority that issued the certificate.

Driving a car in Russia on international driving and foreign rights

For Russian citizens who, after receiving an IDP, have decided to use them when driving a car in our country, the news is disappointing. In accordance with paragraph 8 of Art. 25 of the Federal Law "On Road Safety" No. 196-FZ for these purposes, the IDP is invalid. It can only be used on foreign trips.

That is, driving a car on the territory of Russia with an international certificate by representatives of law and order will be equated to driving a vehicle without documents. The consequence of such a violation may be bringing to administrative responsibility under Art. 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation with a fine of up to 500 rubles.

If the driver does not have valid national rights at all, then he will be attracted under Art. 12.7 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. By virtue of part 1 of this article, a fine of 5 to 15 rubles may be imposed on him.

The situation is more interesting with foreigners who decide to drive cars according to their national rights.

Paragraph 12 of Article 25 of the Federal Law "On Road Safety" allows people both temporarily and permanently residing on its territory in the absence of internal driving licenses to use foreign ones.

Before the adoption of the law in the current wording, there was a rule that a Russian citizen had the right to use foreign rights only within 60 days after receiving citizenship. During this period established by the Government Decree, he had to exchange his foreign driver's license for a Russian one.

As for foreign tourists, they never committed themselves to acquiring domestic rights. By virtue of paragraphs 14, 15 of article 25 of the mentioned Federal Law, foreigners can drive vehicles on the basis of international or national laws that have an official translation into the state language of our country.

The only exception to the general rule are those foreigners who work in the field of cargo transportation, private transportation: taxi drivers, truckers, etc. (paragraph 13 of article 25 of the Federal Law No. 196-FZ).

For violation of this legal provision, the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation provides for a sanction in the form of a fine in the amount of 50 thousand rubles under article 12.32.1.

International driving license
Foreigners working in Russia as drivers, truckers, taxi drivers are required to obtain a Russian driver's license

A special regime has been granted to drivers from Kyrgyzstan, who, even while driving vehicles on a professional basis, have the right not to change their national driver's license to a Russian one.

Thus, we encourage states that show their respect for the Russian language and enshrine this in their constitution, according to which it is their official language.

Head of the Committee of the State Duma of the Russian Federation for CIS Affairs Leonid Kalashnikov

http://tass.ru/ekonomika/4413828

Driving a vehicle abroad under national law

To date, more than 75 countries are parties to the Vienna Treaty, among which you can find most European states (Austria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, and so on), some countries in Africa (Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa), Asia (Kazakhstan, the Republic of Korea , Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia) and even some countries of the New World (Venezuela, Uruguay).

In the countries participating in the Vienna Convention, Russian citizens can, without issuing an IDP, use a new type of national driver's license: plastic cards issued since 2011, since they fully comply with the requirements of Appendix No. 6 of the said Convention.

However, this excellent state of affairs on paper does not fully correspond to practice. Many car enthusiasts, relying on the force of an international treaty, traveled around Europe with Russian rights and faced a number of difficulties when trying to use the services of car rental companies. Particularly instructive in the context of the topic under discussion is the story of my acquaintances who were fined a significant amount by the Italian traffic police for not having an IDP.

Many countries, for one reason or another, refused to join the international treaty, and therefore to recognize both national and international certificates on their territory. Such countries include, for example, the United States and almost all countries of North America and Australia. If you wish to drive a private car in such states, you will need to obtain a local certificate.

The case of Japan is of particular interest. It is a rare state that signed the Geneva Convention of 1949, but did not accede to the Vienna Treaty that replaced it. Because of this, the only way to drive in Japan is to get a Japanese license.

Thus, it is extremely important to find out if the country is a party to any road traffic convention before traveling in a private car.

In any case, on my own behalf, I would like to recommend not to save on the design of an IDL. With him, you are guaranteed not to have misunderstandings with local police and rental offices.

The difference between an international driver's license and a national one

National driving licenses and IDPs are not competing documents. On the contrary, international law is designed to adapt the content of internal law to authorities from other countries.

Table: Differences between IDL and Russian driving licenses

Russian driving licenseIDP
MaterialPlasticPaper
Size85,6 x 54 mm, with rounded edges148 x 105 mm (booklet size A6)
Filling rulesprintedPrinted and handwritten
Fill languageRussian and Latin dubbing9 main languages ​​of the parties to the Convention
Specifying scopeNoAttention!
Indication of another driver's licenseNoDate and number of national certificate
Use of signs for electronic readingThere isNo

In general, IDPs and national rights have more differences than similarities. They are regulated by different documents, they are visually and meaningfully different. They are united only by the purpose: confirmation of the proper qualifications of the driver to drive a vehicle of a certain category.

The order and procedure for obtaining an international driver's license

The procedure for issuing both national and international certificates is normatively established by one act: Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of October 24, 2014 No. 1097. Since the IDP is not an independent document and is issued on the basis of a domestic Russian driver's license, the procedure for issuing it is made as simple and fast as possible. For example, re-passing the exam when obtaining international rights is not required.

The state traffic inspectorate provides a public service for the issuance of an IDL in accordance with its Administrative Regulations No. 20.10.2015 dated October 995, XNUMX. Among other things, it specifies the terms for issuing a driver's license: up to 15 minutes are allotted for receiving and checking documents and up to 30 minutes for issuing the license itself (clauses 76 and 141 of the Administrative Regulations). That is, you can get an IDL on the day of application.

Traffic police officers can suspend the issuance of an international certificate or refuse it only in the following cases, determined by the Administrative Regulations:

  • lack of required documents;
  • submission of expired documents;
  • the presence in the submitted documents of entries made in pencil or with erasures, additions, crossed out words, unspecified corrections, as well as the absence of the necessary information, signatures, seals in them;
  • not reaching the age of 18;
  • availability of information about the deprivation of the applicant's right to drive vehicles;
  • submission of documents that do not meet the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation, as well as containing false information;
  • submission of documents that have signs of forgery, as well as those that are among the lost (stolen).

In all other cases, your documents must be accepted and the public service provided. If you are illegally denied an international driver's license, then such an action (inaction) of an official can be appealed by you in an administrative or judicial proceeding. For example, by sending a complaint to a higher official or prosecutor.

Required documents

According to paragraph 34 of Government Decree No. 1097, the following documents will be required to obtain an IDL:

  • application;
  • Passport or other document proving identity;
  • Russian national driving license;
  • photo size 35x45 mm, made in black and white or color image on matte paper.
International driving license
Unlike national driving licenses, international driving licenses do not take photos, so you will need to bring a photo with you

Until 2017, the list also included a medical report, but at the moment it is excluded from the list, since the state of health, like all other legally significant facts, is clarified when obtaining national rights.

The list from Government Decree No. 1097 does not say a word about the need to provide a document confirming payment of the state fee or a foreign passport. This means that representatives of state bodies are not entitled to demand these documents from you. However, I would still like to recommend attaching a valid passport to the required documents. The fact is that if you strictly adhere to the letter of the law and do not deviate from the list of documents, then the spelling of your name in a foreign passport and an IDL may differ. Such a mismatch is guaranteed to cause unnecessary trouble with the police on a foreign trip.

Video: advice to those wishing to get an IDL from the head of the department of the MREO in Krasnoyarsk

Obtaining an international driving license

Sample Application

The application form is approved in Annex 2 to the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 995.

Basic application details:

  1. Details of the traffic police department to which you are applying for an IDP.
  2. Own name, passport data (series, number, by whom, when issued, etc.).
  3. Actually a request for the issuance of an IDP.
  4. List of documents attached to the application.
  5. Date of preparation of the document, signature and transcript.

Where to get an IDP and how much does it cost

In accordance with the norm established by Government Decree No. 1097, an international visa can be obtained at the MREO STSI (interdistrict registration and examination department), regardless of the place of registration of a citizen indicated in the passport.

At the same time, no one promises that any traffic police department will be able to provide you with such a relatively rare service. Therefore, I would like to advise you to check whether the nearest MREO traffic police issues international certificates. This can be done both by the phone number of the institution you are looking for, and on the official website of the traffic police in your region.

An international certificate can also be obtained at the MFC. As in the case of the traffic police departments, the address of your registration for the provision of this service does not matter, since you can contact any multifunctional center. At the same time, additional money for the provision of the service will not be taken from you and will be limited only to the amount of the state fee, which will be discussed later.

In general, obtaining an international certificate occurs in the following order:

  1. Personal visit to the MFC. In order to eliminate or at least reduce the time spent in the queue, you can make an appointment in advance by calling the department of your choice or on the website.
  2. Payment of state duty. This can be done in the machines inside the MFC, or in any convenient bank.
  3. Delivery of documents. Application, passport, photo and national identity card. The necessary copies of your documents will be made on the spot by an employee of the center.
  4. Obtaining a new IDP. The turnaround time for this service is up to 15 business days. The process of working on your rights can be controlled by the receipt number by phone or on the website.

More modern and convenient is to send an application for an IDL through the corresponding page of the public services portal. In addition to the fact that at the application stage you will avoid the need to personally appear at the traffic police departments and defend long live queues, all those applying for international rights online receive a 30% discount on the state fee.

So, if the standard fee for issuing an IDP in accordance with paragraph 42 of Part 1 of Art. 333.33 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation is 1600 rubles, then on the public service website the same rights will cost you only 1120 rubles.

Thus, you have three ways to get an IDL: through the traffic police, the MFC and with online application through the public services website. The cost of obtaining a certificate is determined by the amount of the state duty and varies from 1120 rubles when using the public services portal to 1600 rubles.

Video: obtaining an IDP

Replacement of international driving license

According to paragraph 35 of Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 1097, IDPs are considered invalid and are subject to cancellation in the following cases:

In addition, in the event of the annulment of Russian rights, international ones also automatically become invalid and must be replaced (paragraph 36 of Government Decree No. 1097).

It should be noted that a strange metamorphosis occurred with the validity of the international certificate in Russia. According to paragraph 2 of clause 33 of Government Decree No. 1097, an IDP is issued for a period of three years, but not longer than the validity period of the national certificate. At the same time, Russian certificates remain valid for ten whole years. It remains a mystery why the legislator made such a significant distinction between the two documents.

Thus, during the validity of one Russian driver's license, you may need to change up to three international ones.

There is no special procedure for replacing an IDP in Russia. This means that international rights are replaced according to the same rules as during the initial issue: the same package of documents, the same amounts of the state fee, the same two possible ways of obtaining. For this reason, it makes no sense to duplicate them further.

Responsibility for driving a vehicle abroad without an IDL

Driving a car without an IDL is equated by the police of a foreign state with driving vehicles without any documents at all. Related to this is the severity of sanctions for such a relatively harmless violation. As a rule, fines, deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle, "penalty points" and even imprisonment are used as punishment.

The Ukrainian fine for driving a vehicle without a license is relatively small: from about 15 euros for driving licenses forgotten at home to 60 for their complete absence.

In the Czech Republic, the sanction is much more severe: not only a fine in the amount of 915 to 1832 euros, but also the accrual of 4 demerit points (12 points - deprivation of the right to drive a car for a year).

In Italy, a person driving a car without a license can get off with a relatively small penalty of 400 euros, but the owner of the vehicle will pay several times more - 9 thousand euros.

In Spain and France, the most malicious drivers who drive vehicles without a proper permit can be imprisoned from six months to one year.

So the driver should think several times before going on a trip to European countries on a private vehicle without the necessary documents. Indeed, it is better to spend one day and 1600 rubles to obtain an IDP than to risk getting caught in a violation and pay huge fines.

Most of the countries that are popular tourist destinations among Russians are parties to the Vienna Treaty of 1968, which means they recognize the Russian national driver's license. However, this fact does not at all make the registration of an IDP a waste of time and money. They help to avoid misunderstandings with the traffic police of a foreign state, insurance and car rental companies.

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