Do I need an International Driving Permit to drive in the USA with a Spanish licence?

Do you need the IDP for the USA with a Spanish licence?

Legally no at federal level; practically, yes. The United States is outside the EU and has no bilateral agreement with Spain, so the DGT lists it among the countries where the international permit is recommended. The final word belongs to each state and each rental company.

What the IDP does is simple: a police officer in Nevada or Texas does not have to read "Permiso de conducción" in Spanish. The grey DGT booklet says it in English, with your categories, in the format of the Geneva Convention of 1949, to which the United States is a party.

What each rental company asks a Spanish licence holder

Conditions published by the companies, reviewed on 24/10/2026. They change, and each counter applies them, so the safe option is to carry the permit.

• Enterprise: for licences in the Latin alphabet, Spanish included, the IDP is "recommended, not required"; required for non-Latin alphabets.
• Avis / Budget: accept licences from Geneva Convention countries such as Spain. The IDP alone is never enough: always with the licence.
• Hertz: recommends it with licences issued outside the United States in another language.
• Sixt: requires the IDP only for licences not in Latin characters; not with a Spanish licence.

Other conditions, such as credit cards and minimum age, are each company's own rules; we confirm them for your case rather than guessing.

The California exception

California does not accept the International Driving Permit as a driving licence. There, what counts is your valid Spanish licence; the IDP is still useful as a translation and counters may still ask for it, but never travel there with the IDP alone or with an expired licence. Elsewhere the DGT's general rule applies: recommended, with the state and the company deciding.

What to carry

Your Spanish licence, valid for the whole trip (the IDP is useless if it has expired); the IDP from the DGT, a grey 16-page booklet; your passport; and the rental contract. If stopped, show licence and IDP together. For a motorcycle you need category A on your Spanish licence, shown in the IDP as Geneva class A; category B is not a motorcycle licence, however relaxed the rental brochure sounds.

How to get it before you fly

Only the DGT issues it. Apply online with Cl@ve or a digital certificate and collect it two days later at the Jefatura you chose, no appointment, or let us apply for you: collect it at the Jefatura of your choice or have a chartered gestoría with a DGT agreement send it to your home by certified post (timeframe confirmed when you order). The €10.51 fee is included in both; choose below. Do not buy an "IDP" from a website that sends a PDF or card: no authority issues those and American counters reject them. Depending on the option you choose, the application is handled by our team or by a chartered gestoría with an agreement with the DGT. We are not the DGT and have no connection with it.

Already in the United States?

Spanish consulates do not issue the IDP. From abroad the only route is a representative in Spain, through the DGT Register of Powers of Attorney or with the free DGT form 24 signed by you. We can organise this and have the permit sent by certified post to an address in Spain or collected by a family member you authorise. Tell us your dates in the chat and we will say honestly whether it is feasible.