International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit, often referred to as an international driving licence, is a translation of a domestic driving licence that allows the holder to drive a private motor vehicle in any country or jurisdiction that recognizes the document. The term International Driving Permit was first mentioned in the document prescribed in the International Convention relative to Motor Traffic that was signed at Paris in 1926, and is a translation of the French 'permis de conduire international', or 'international driving licence'. The Paris treaty, and all subsequent, use the word 'permit' exclusively in relation to all kinds of driving licence.
International Driving Permits are governed by three international conventions: the 1926 Paris International Convention relative to Motor Traffic, the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, and the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. When a state is contracted to more than one convention, the newest one terminates and replaces previous ones.
The IDP, whose A6 size is slightly larger than a passport, has a grey cover and white inside pages. The outside and inside of the front cover shall be printed in the national language of the issuing State. The last two inside pages shall be printed in French, and pages preceding those two pages shall repeat the first of them in several languages, which must include English, Russian and Spanish.
IDPs are issued by a national government directly, or through a network of AIT/FIA organizations or by any association duly empowered thereto by such other Contracting Party. For the latter case those issuing organizations are mostly automobile associations, such as American Automobile Association in the United States, Norwegian Automobile Federation in Norway and Riksförbundet M Sverige in Sweden. As there are many unofficial sellers on the internet, the AIT/FIA has created an approved directory to all IDP issuing organizations in the world.
To be valid, the IDP must be accompanied by a valid driving licence issued in the applicant's country of residence. An IDP is not required if the driver's domestic licence meets the requirements of the 1968 convention; the domestic licence can be used directly in a foreign jurisdiction that is a party to that convention. In addition, other arrangements eliminates the need of an IDP in some countries, such as the European driving licence valid within the European Economic Area as well as member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations with each other.

Driver information

1968 convention (as amended in 2011)

The convention has been ratified by 83 countries/jurisdictions.
The main regulations about driving licences are in Annex 6 and Annex 7. The currently active version of those is in force in each contracting party since no later than 29 March 2011. According to the 1968 Vienna Convention, an IDP must have an expiration date of no more than three years from its issue date or until the expiration date of national driving permit, whichever is earlier, and it is valid for a period of one year upon the arrival in the foreign country.
Article 41 of the convention describes requirements for driving licences. Key of those are:

every driver of a motor vehicle must hold a driving licence;
driving permits can be issued only after passing theoretical and practical exams, which are regulated by each country or jurisdiction;
Contracting parties shall recognize as valid for driving in their territories:
* domestic driving permit conforming to the provisions of annex 6 to the convention;
* International Driving Permit conforms to the provisions of annex 7 to the convention, on condition that it is presented with the corresponding domestic driving permit;
driving permits issued by a contracting party shall be recognized in the territory of another contracting party until this territory becomes the place of normal residence of their holder;
all of the above does not apply to learner-driver licences;
the period of validity of an international driving permit shall be either no more than three years after the date of issue or until the date of expiry of the domestic driving licence, whichever is earlier;
Contracting parties may refuse to recognize the validity of driving licences for persons under eighteen or, for categories C, D, CE and DE, under twenty-one;
an international driving permit shall only be issued by the contracting party in whose territory the holder has their normal residence and that issued the domestic driving permit or that recognized the driving permit issued by another contracting party; it shall not be valid for use in that territory.

Category	Description	Category	Description
A	Motorcycles	A1	Motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 125 cm³ and a power not exceeding 11 kW
B	Motor vehicles, other than those in category A, having a permissible maximum mass not exceeding and not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat; or motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed ; or motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds but does not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed	B1	Motor tricycles and quadricycles
C	Motor vehicles, other than those in category D, having a permissible maximum mass exceeding ; or motor vehicles of category С coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed	C1	Motor vehicles, with the exception of those in category D, the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds but does not exceed ; or motor vehicles of subcategory C1 coupled to a trailer, the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed
D	Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat; or motor vehicles of category D coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed	D1	Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having more than 8 seats in addition to the driver's seat but not more than 16 seats in addition to the driver's seat; or motor vehicles of subcategory D1 coupled to a trailer, the permissible maximum mass of which does not exceed
BE	Motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds and exceeds the unladen mass of the motor vehicle; or motor vehicles of category В coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled exceeds	-	-
CE	Motor vehicles of category С coupled to a trailer whose permissible maximum mass exceeds	C1E	Motor vehicles of subcategory C1 coupled to a trailer the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds but does not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed
DE	Motor vehicles of category D coupled to a trailer whose permissible maximum mass exceeds	D1E	Motor vehicles of subcategory D1 coupled to a trailer, not used for the carriage of persons, the permissible maximum mass of which exceeds but does not exceed the unladen mass of the motor vehicle, where the combined permissible maximum mass of the vehicles so coupled does not exceed

1968 convention (original)

The convention had amendments on 3 September 1993 and 28 March 2006. There is a European Agreement supplementing the Convention on Road Traffic, which was concluded in Geneva, on 1 May 1971.
Note that before 29 March 2011 the convention demanded contracting parties to recognize as valid for driving in their territories:

any domestic driver's permit drawn up in their national language or in one of their national languages, or, if not drawn up in such a language, accompanied by a certified translation;
any domestic driver's permit conforming to the provisions of annex 6 to the convention; and
any international driver permit conforming to the provisions of annex 7 to the convention.

Prior to 29 March 2011, annex 6 and annex 7 defined forms of driving licences that are different from those defined after that date. Driving licences issued before 29 March 2011 that match older edition of the annexes are valid until their expiration dates.

Class	Description
A	Motorcycles
B	Motor vehicles, other than those in category A, having a permissible maximum mass not exceeding and not more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat.
C	Motor vehicles, other than those in category D, whose permissible maximum mass exceeds.
D	Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat.
E	Combination of vehicles of which the driving vehicle is in a category or categories for which the driver is licensed, but which are not themselves in that category or those categories.

1949 convention

, there are 102 states that are party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic by ratification, accession or succession. The 1949 Convention's description of a driving permit and international driving permit are located in Annexes 9 and 10. Switzerland signed but did not ratify the convention. The 1949 Geneva Convention states that an IDP remains valid for one year from the date of issue, with a grace period of six months.
Article 24 of the convention describes requirements for drivers of motor vehicles in international traffic. Key of those are:

Drivers with a valid driving permit are allowed to drive motor vehicles for which the permit has been issued.
A Contracting state may require that the driver carries an international driving permit conforming to the model contained in Annex 10
* especially if the domestic permit does not conform to the model contained in Annex 9, or if the driver comes from a country where a domestic driving permit is not required
The right to use a domestic or international driving permit may be refused the conditions of issue are no longer fulfilled.

There is a European Agreement supplementing the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic, in addition to the 1949 Protocol on Road Signs and Signals, concluded in Geneva on 16 September 1950.

Class	Description
A	Motor cycles, with or without a side-car, invalid carriages and three-wheeled motor vehicles with an unladen weight not exceeding.
B	Motor vehicles used for the transport of passengers and comprising, in addition to the driver's seat, at most eight seats, or those used for the transport of goods and having a permissible maximum weight not exceeding. Vehicles in this category may be coupled with a light trailer.
C	Motor vehicles used for the transport of goods and of which the permissible maximum weight exceeds. Vehicles in this category may be coupled with a light trailer.
D	Motor vehicles used for the transport of passengers and comprising, in addition to the driver's seat, more than eight seats. Vehicles in this category may be coupled with a light trailer.
E	Motor vehicles of category B, C, or D, as authorized above, with other than light trailer.

"Permissible maximum weight" of a vehicle means the weight of the vehicle and its maximum load when the vehicle is ready for road.
"Maximum load" means the weight of the load declared permissible by the competent authority of the country of registration of the vehicle.
"Light trailers" shall be those of permissible maximum weight not exceeding.