About International Driving Authority

Last updated: August 30, 2026

International Driving Authority (IDA) helps travellers drive abroad with confidence. We prepare translations of national driving licences, formatted in accordance with the 1949 Geneva and 1968 Vienna road-traffic conventions, and issue them as a physical document (booklet and ID card) or as an electronic document.

What we do

We translate the details of your valid national driving licence into multiple languages and issue the result either as a physical document — a booklet and an ID card — or as an electronic document. The document is designed to be presented together with your original national licence when renting a car, dealing with local authorities, or arranging travel insurance abroad.

Every application is checked by a member of our team before anything is produced. If something is missing or unclear, we contact you rather than issue a document we are not confident in.

Who we are

We are an independent private service. Applications are processed by our own team, orders are completed within the timeframes published in our Shipping Policy, and support is available through the contact channels listed below.

Phone: +44 74 888 47917
Email: [email protected]
United Kingdom: 207 Regent Street, 3rd Floor Suite, London, W1B 3HH
United States: 1321 Upland Dr., Ste. 3819, Houston, TX 77043

Our principles

These are not aspirations. They are the rules we hold ourselves to, and you are entitled to hold us to them too.

We are honest — always. With our customers and with our partners, in the good news and in the bad.
We will never knowingly process a forged document. Not for a fee, not under pressure, not as a favour. If an application is not genuine, we decline it.
We are honest down to the cent. The price you see is the price you pay. No hidden fees, no charges that appear at the last step, no subscription you did not ask for.
We tell you what the document is — and what it is not. Nobody should discover the limits of their document at a rental counter when we could have explained them at checkout.
A human looks at every application. Every document we issue was checked by a person. Nothing is approved or refused by a machine, and we do not use facial recognition.
We do not discriminate. Every applicant is served on the same terms and at the same price, whatever their nationality, citizenship, country of residence, ethnicity, religion, sex, gender, age, disability, or anything else about them. We may decline an application only for the reasons set out in our Terms of Service, including where the information is not genuine or where the law prevents us from proceeding.
We answer, and we say when. Real people, published response times, and the discipline to meet them.
We speak your language. Our documents and our support work in the language you actually use, not only in English.
We want to live in a more accessible world. An international driving document is our way of making the world a little easier to move through. A small contribution — but one we can actually make.
We stay ahead. We would rather be the first to adopt something that works than the last to abandon something that does not.

What we are not

We would rather be direct about this than have you find out later.

International Driving Authority is a private commercial company. We are not a government agency, a regulator, a transport authority, a driver-licensing authority, or a public body of any kind.

We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, authorised by, or connected to the United Nations, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the American Automobile Association (AAA), the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the American Translators Association (ATA), any national or regional transport ministry, any driver-licensing authority, or any other government, motoring, drivers', or trade association anywhere in the world. Any similarity between our name and the name of such a body is coincidental.

The word "Authority" in our name refers to our expertise in international driving documentation. It does not signify governmental, regulatory, or licensing authority of any kind.

We do not operate a roadside-assistance programme, an insurance programme, a membership club, or any other service typically associated with a motoring association. Preparing international driving documentation is what we do.

How the document works

Our document is a standardised translation of your existing driving licence. It does not replace a valid national driving licence and grants no driving rights on its own. You must carry and present your original national licence alongside it.

Whether the document is accepted in a given situation is decided by the party in front of you — the rental company, the insurer, the police officer, the border official — and that decision is theirs, not ours. We cannot guarantee acceptance in any specific country or by any specific provider. Please check the requirements of your destination before you travel; our country pages are a starting point, but the authoritative source is always the local authority.

Why travellers choose us

Fast processing — digital documents available within 24 hours, with an express option that delivers within minutes.

Trackable international shipping for physical booklets, with the delivery options and timeframes set out in our Shipping Policy, which lists the available methods and estimated timeframes; destination-specific costs and options are shown on our Prices page.

Translations covering a wide range of languages, prepared for the countries our customers actually travel to.

Transparent pricing and a clear Refund & Cancellation Policy — including what we will and will not refund, stated up front.

A real support team you can reach by phone or email, in the languages our customers write to us in.

Where to read more

The commitments summarised on this page are set out in full in our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Legal Disclaimer.