One of the most common question that pops up in ones mind is ‘if the Indian driving licence is valid for driving in the country of visit’. Well the answer to it is Yes, there are countries where you can drive just with your driving licence issued in India rest require you to have a International Driving Permit.
At the time of writing following countries allow you to drive with just your driving licence, but to be on safe side, its better to get the same beforehand.
Applying for IDP
The whole process from filling the application to issue of IDP is very easy and straight forward.
You need to follow these steps to get an International Driver’s licence permit in India so that you can drive in the countries where Indian driving licence is valid:
1:— Go online at http://www.parivahan.gov.in
2:— Select online services
3:— Choose Driving License Related Services from the drop-down menu
4:— Select your state
5:— On the left of your screen you will see a menu, click on apply online
6:— From the drop-down menu, choose/click Services on driving license
7:— Click on continue to proceed to next page
8:— Fill details and proceed (Address on your passport and licence should be same. If it is different, then select Services, IDP and change in DL)
9:— Enter mobile no, Aadhar no, blood group etc. and confirm
10:— Select services and proceed
11:— Fill forms, upload required documents and make payment of Rs.1000 for IDP and Rs.1200 for IDP + Change in address
12:— Take the print out of payment receipt, pre-filled form, which will include form 1 and form 1A, get it filled and signed by an MBBS doctor, Self-attest the supporting documents and upload.
13:— Take your documents to RTO with your original Passport, Visa, License in between 10.30–2.30 get it signed by the officer and submit it.
14:— Go with your receipt to collect it from RTO in the evening.
The only catch in this is that one has to apply in the same RTO from where the driving licence has been issued. But at the same time only one pax of the party needs to have a IDP to rent a car, other pax can drive the vehicle provided they have a valid driving licence ( though extra charges are levied for the additional driver)
PROTIP 1: Its better to book the car directly from euro car, hertz etc rather than booking from third party, as the insurance given by them sometimes is not accepted by the original car company and one may end up paying again for same.
PROTIP 2:Also its way cheaper to pick up and return the car in same country, though one also has an option of dropping it in some other country but that will cost you extra money.
PROTIP 3:One can also explore the option of leasing the car, which works out even cheaper, only catch is the duration of leasing, which is 21 days.
PROTIP 4: It is also a good idea to pick the car on the day you are leaving the first country you arrive on ( in a multi country trip) as the actual requirement of vehicle will only come once you are leaving thus avoiding traffic filled cities and in turn saving money for those many days.
RoadtripMe 