My travel agent recommends that I get an international driver's license for the four days we will be driving a rental car in France in early October. Has anybody done this recently? Did you get the license? Were you ever asked for it? Have there been recent changes that really require one?

I've been in France six or seven times in the last 20 years and got the license once. Nobody ever even glanced at it when I presented it, and no one asked for it, even when I had to visit a cop shop to report a theft (very instructive experience--I recommend it to all American visitors who think the French are really different from us).

Anybody "been there, done that recently"? I don't mind getting the license but don't want to waste the energy and money if it's just going to sit by my passport unused.

Mike Armstrong aka Mesa

I was recently in Spain and crossed over into France for two days. My CA license was fine, although rental car company and hotels always asked for passports.

Didn’t get pulled over or otherwise have need to deal with cops, but were I to jump on a plane tomorrow headed for France, I wouldn’t bother getting a different driver’s license unless a compelling reason I am not award of was brought to my attention.

Unless things have drastically changed, I wouldn't bother. I lived in London for a year and I traveled all over Europe. Never once did I need an "International Driver's License." Your U.S. Driver's License should be sufficient.

Was in england/scottland last year, rented a car, didnt need a special license, or was never asked about it. Gotta be careful over there tho, streets arent labeled well like they are over here. It can be very confusing, many street signs arent clear and are mounted in strange places, like on the sides of buildings you cannot see well from the street, etc. Also there are barely any police, but cameras everywhere! After we got home I got a bill for around $100 for driving on a street that was evidently bus/taxi only or something like that,I dont remember doing it, but they included a color picture of our rental car driving on the street, which was completely empty of traffic except for us driving down it, a little excessive if you ask me....

Slavyanka and I each got one before recent trip to Ukraine.

I think it's one of those things where you don't need it until you need it. It really depends on the country you're going to. Most just accept your license from your home country.

I'm not a world traveler by any means, but I have never known Americans having to get the International DL. Now I do know some of our Turks that were on contract with me in Afghanistan had it. After asking them why, they got it as they did not have a DL in Turkey due to costs of owning a car. By them getting the International DL, they were allowed to rent cars in other countries they went to visit.

You may have gotten billed twice if you were in a rental. Rental companies charge you for the time and trouble of ratting you out to the city council that fined you.

I'd get one. Helpful if you need it. And if they decide to hold onto it to keep you around so they can shake you down, you can quietly slip the noose, hopefully with the rest of your papers intact.

Another good one to have is the "passport card" which is a credit card sized plastic passport, issued by the State Department. Little known outside the US (and therefore people wont be looking for it), it costs a few bucks extra when you get your passport, and is enough to keep you in motion when you need to move.....

Another tip is to produce the right credit card when you go to pick up your rental car. Some of them offer car rental insurance, or excess insurance, even on foreign rentals. American Express has the best plan. The key to "excess" insurance is that it picks up where the underlying liability coverage ends. However if the underlying limits are zero or not much, "excess" can effectively mean complete coverage. Worth a shot at least. I've successfully argued this in the wake of a vehicle accident in France.