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Practical

The International Driving Permit, explained for Indian travellers

By Live Traveller9 min readPublished September 7, 2026

An Indian IDP costs ₹1,000, lasts a year, and is not a licence at all — it is a translation of the one you already hold. Here is how to get it, and where it actually works.

What an IDP is — and what it is not

An International Driving Permit is not a driving licence. It is a standardised translation of the licence you already hold, issued in a booklet format that police and rental staff in other countries can read without speaking your language. It carries no driving privileges of its own.

That distinction matters more than anything else in this guide. An IDP is only valid alongside your original Indian driving licence, and it expires the moment that licence does. If your Indian licence is suspended, expired or left at home in a drawer, the permit in your bag is worth nothing. Carry both, always, and keep them together with your passport and travel documents.

The format itself is not arbitrary. It comes from an international treaty, and which treaty your country signed determines what your permit looks like and where it is honoured.

Who can apply in India

The eligibility rule is short: you must be a resident of India holding a valid Indian driving licence. There is no separate test, no additional driving assessment, and no requirement to prove driving experience beyond the licence you already hold.

The application is made to the Regional Transport Office in whose jurisdiction you reside — not the office that issued your original licence, if you have since moved. Applications can be started through the Sarathi portal on the Parivahan website, though the process still ends at your RTO.

One practical consequence of the residence rule: an Indian citizen already living abroad generally cannot obtain an Indian IDP by post from overseas in the ordinary way. If you are visiting India and want a permit for a later trip, apply while you are here.

What you need to bring

The Delhi Transport Department publishes the document list in full, and other states follow the same pattern:

Application in Form 4A. A copy of your valid driving licence. A valid medical certificate in Form 1A. Proof of passport. Proof of visa, where applicable. Four recent passport-size photographs. The prescribed fee.

Two of these catch people out. The medical certificate in Form 1A is a genuine requirement, not a formality waived for younger applicants — arriving without it is the most common reason an application is sent away. And the visa proof is conditional: it applies where a visa is applicable to your destination, so travellers heading somewhere visa-free may not need it, but the RTO will decide.

mParivahan also lists a copy of the air ticket for verification, so bring your itinerary even if your state does not insist on it.

What it costs and how long it lasts

The fee is ₹1,000, set under the fee schedule in the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. Individual states may add a small processing or user charge on top, so the figure on your receipt can be marginally higher.

The permit is valid for one year. Read that carefully: one year from the date of issue, not from the date you first drive on it. A permit taken out in January for a trip in November has ten months of life left when you land, not twelve.

This catches people planning long trips or repeat visits. If you expect to drive abroad twice in eighteen months, you will need two permits. There is no extension mechanism — you apply again.

Where an Indian permit is recognised, and why it varies

India is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic. The United Nations depositary record shows India signing on 19 September 1949 and ratifying on 9 March 1962. Your Indian IDP is therefore a 1949-format permit, and it is designed to be recognised by the other states party to that convention.

There is a second, later treaty — the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic — with its own permit format and its own list of parties. Most countries that matter to Indian travellers belong to the 1949 convention, and several belong to both. But a country that joined only the 1968 convention has no treaty obligation to honour a 1949-format permit, and this is the single most common reason a permit is refused at a rental counter.

The practical rule is therefore not to memorise a list. It is to check, for your specific destination, before you book the car — and to check the destination's own official guidance rather than a rental aggregator's summary. Countries where Indian travellers commonly drive, such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, are all parties to the 1949 convention alongside India.

Be aware too that recognition is not the same as permission. Some countries accept the permit but impose their own minimum age for hiring a car, or require that you have held your licence for a set period. Those are separate rules and the IDP does not override them.

What the rental desk actually checks

Recognition by a government and acceptance by a rental company are two different things, and the counter is where the difference bites. Rental firms set their own documentation policies, and they are usually stricter than the law requires because they carry the insurance risk.

Expect to be asked for the original Indian licence, the IDP, your passport, and a credit card in the driver's own name for the security hold. That last one ends more trips than any paperwork problem: a debit card is frequently refused for the deposit even when it is accepted for payment, and a card in a spouse's name is no help if the spouse is not the named driver.

If you intend to share the driving, every driver needs their own IDP and must be added to the rental agreement. An unlisted driver at the wheel typically voids the cover entirely.

Mistakes that cost Indian drivers at the counter

Leaving the original licence at home because the IDP looks more official. It is the opposite: the IDP is worthless alone.

Applying too early. Because validity runs from issue, a permit obtained months in advance can expire mid-trip on a long journey.

Assuming a permit obtained online from a private website is the real thing. Only an RTO issues a valid Indian IDP. Sites offering an "international licence" by email for a fee are selling a document no authority is obliged to accept.

Ignoring local road rules because the permit feels like permission. Driving on the opposite side, unfamiliar priority rules and different alcohol limits cause far more trouble than documentation ever does — read the destination guidance in our transport guide before you drive.

Before you travel

Confirm your Indian licence will remain valid for the whole trip. Apply for the IDP close to departure rather than far ahead, so its year of validity covers the driving. Carry both documents together, plus a credit card in the driver's name. Check the destination's official guidance on whether a 1949-format permit is accepted, and check the rental company's own policy separately.

And confirm whether you need one at all. Some countries accept an Indian licence on its own for short visits, while others require the permit even for a single day's hire. It is a ₹1,000 insurance policy against a ruined itinerary — but it is worth knowing which case you are in before you queue at the RTO. Our country guides for Iceland and Italy, where self-drive is often the point of the trip, are a good place to start planning.