When we get our driver’s license, we already feel free to drive our car freely throughout Spain. However, very few people know how to act when they decide to travel to other countries, since our driving license is usually not valid for other countries.
To avoid this problem, a special driving license called international driving license has been created, which allows you to drive for a whole year in all the countries belonging to the United Nations organization, without having any type of issue.
For this reason, it is essential to obtain an international driving permit if we are going to a distant country and need to drive any type of vehicle.
What do you need to apply for the international driving license?
- Have a driver’s license issued.
- National identity document.
- Color passport size photo.
- 10 euros to pay the fees.
- Telephone or Internet connection.
- Know where the traffic headquarters of your province is located.
Instructions to apply for an international driver’s license
- Driving in Europe: If you are going to travel to a country of the European Union, see Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Romania, you can stop reading this article, due to EU regulations, the driving license of a country A member of the union is valid for all the countries of the European Union, therefore, by presenting your normal driving license you will be able to travel freely throughout Europe as if you lived in Spain, yes, be careful if you are going to cross countries like Switzerland that do not belong to the union and for which you will need an international driver’s license.
- Prior appointment: The international driver’s license is requested at the traffic headquarters of your province, as usual it is necessary to request a prior appointment to be able to go to carry out the procedure. You must access the electronic headquarters of the general traffic directorate to be able to find the telephone number for a prior appointment, the time at which you can go to make the request, the address of the headquarters if you do not know it or even have the possibility of make an appointment online. When making an appointment, you will be assigned a date and time and you must come with everything we have said in the section you need.
- Fill out the form: We will go to the provincial traffic headquarters on the day and at the indicated time, we must wait our turn and present our ID explaining what we want to do, we will be given a form that we must fill out following the agent’s instructions in detail, then We must give you our Spanish card, the passport-size photo and pay the fee of 10 euros corresponding to the issuance of the international driving license. When paying, we will be issued the new international driving license right there, which is white and has book form.
- To travel: Once you have the card you can start your trip, we advise you to have it well planned since in addition to this card, you will need the passport and the corresponding vaccinations in case of visiting a tropical country. When you are stopped by the authorities there, take your international driver’s license and your identity document as a means of identification.
Tips for applying for an international driver’s license
- Be careful, this card is not valid in the country where it is issued: That is, while we are still in Spain (in case we have obtained it here) this card will not be a substitute for the Spanish driving license, so we must continue to carry ours, the of Spain to avoid complications with the agents of the authority. The same applies in other countries of the European Union, so what I advise is to take both with you.
- Get the card in another country: You may be wondering what happens when you have already left the European Union and you want to get the card, well don’t worry as it can be applied for in other countries in the same way as here. You will have to talk to your embassy so that they provide you with the pertinent information for the issuance of this international permit but in principle it should not be very different from what is here, the difference is that you would have to present your passport and residence permit in case of that you are residing in the country permanently and that the rates could be higher or lower depending on the purchasing power of the country. The card you get has the same validity as the one you get in Spain and the same duration and appearance.
