I got one about 5 years ago because our pilot had one and he got me one good for 10 years. You can specify how long otherwise it is good for one year. Cost me about $300 and never came out of my wallet. Waste of money.....................He took photos of my DR license and some form he had and got it..............
- Thread starter drstock
- Start date
Renting a car in the USA using a DR Driving Licence
Let's hope an International Driver's Permit is never required by any US states. It is just a translation of your license. But if for some asinine reason it is needed:
Dominican Republic - International Driving Permit - Official Document
Are you looking to find out more information about driving legally in Dominican Republic? Find out how to get your International driving permit in Dominican Republic here
internationaldrivingpermit.org
One of your major "overstayers" in the DR (over 30 years) had never had a valid license. When I got the IDL he got one also and drives with it here. He got stopped 2 times since and they accepted it. They were very impressed............
An International Driving Permit is NOT a requirement, only recommended as noted above by many car rental agencies. You can get one in the Dr...see my post #11 (just saw someone else replied and posted a link for this too...sorry about that)
As I noted above regarding the need for an IDP........depends.
Even beyond that are state specific requirements to drive legally.....here is one states take on its requirements courtesy of a client who operates multiple Enterprise rent a car locations;
Under MGL, Chapter 90, Section 10 , all foreign licensed drivers are subject to the following requirements when operating a vehicle in Massachusetts:
- Must be at least 16 years of age.
- Must be in possession of a valid driver’s license when operating a motor vehicle in Massachusetts.
- May operate a motor vehicle in Massachusetts of the same type in which licensed to operate in any other state or country.
- If the foreign license is not in English or does not have an English translation, must have one of the following:
- An International Driving Permit (IDP)
- A Translation into English of a Foreign License document, or similar acceptable translation
- An alternative translation document that contains a photo and English translation that closely matches the information from an IDP
- Must not be suspended or revoked.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
That is what I said. But you can extend the time for more money. That is what my pilot did for me.........And there are many places to purchase one................
I have also been renting cars in the US with my DR license for over 20 years. You do NOT need an IDL. Which I have ...........
The IDP is just another UN based scam. Hopefully I can avoid it forever.
Cool. I just need my DR license and my US passport. No problem and no IDP!!
At least with HERTZ. I recently rented with them on my last US trip. I only needed to show my DR license.
I didn't mean to pass off the cedula as the DL. I meant the format is probably about the same, so Google Translate should work for translating the DL into English too. Sorry for the confusion, I can see how what I wrote wasn't clear
Reiterating my point above...it depends.
Many of Hertz locations are NOT company owned and have different rules. I can tell you for sure, certain Enterprise locations would not rent without an IDP/IDL.
The reasons as explained to me by a multi location franchisee for Enterprise......imagine a 19 year old counter person looking at a license in Farsi/Mandarin/Japanese etc., and trying to ascertain information from it. Compounding the issue is when the person in front of them speaks no English.
It only takes a little effort to call ahead and verify............or you can take your chances.
It probably helps quite a bit if you produce a DR drivers license and passport and also speak English.
Finally, as an FYI, beginning next May 2025, US citizens will need a so called US REAL ID drivers license or a valid passport, to fly domestically and quite possibly to rent a car. This issue may arise for those US citizens living in the DR but still having a US drivers license/US passport......and there are rumors that REAL ID will be expanded to other areas.
Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
So, just to be on the safe side, I applied online to start the International Licence and got back the list of requirements, one off which is to have at least one year to run on your national licence. That makes sense, as the IDL is for a year, but my DR licence does not last a year. I haven't got time to both renew the licence and get the international one, so I'll just have to hope for the best, since most people here say I shouldn't have a problem.