International driving permit

An international driving permit is an A6 booklet which is formatted to comply with all the requirements of the conventions. An IDP may be required to drive a motor vehicle in countries outside the European Economic Area. Please note that an IDP is only valid in conjunction with an Estonian national driving licence.

Which IDP should you apply for? The easiest way is to select a country on this page. Clicking on the country’s name will show the convention under which you may need an IDP. If the name of a country is not listed, it is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention or the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic.

The 1968 Vienna IDP is valid for three years. If the national driving licence expires within three years, the IDP is issued for the same period of validity as indicated on the licence. A sample IDP can be found here.

The 1949 Geneva IDP is always valid for one year. A sample IDP can be found here.

CONDITIONS FOR ISSUING OF IDP:

• Valid right to drive
• Valid Estonian national driving licence

YOU MUST SUBMIT THE FOLLOWING TO APPLY FOR AN IDP:

• an identity document;
• a colour unedited paper photo with a size of 35 × 45 mm (document photo requirements can be found here). If you want to apply for an IDP under both the Vienna and Geneva Conventions, you must submit two paper photos;
• a letter of explanation or a certificate from the police or rescue service if the old IDP has been lost, stolen, or destroyed;
• paid state fee (can also be paid on the spot with a bank card).

An IDP is issued as a waiting job at a service bureau. We do not offer a postal delivery service.

If it is not possible to come to the service bureau to apply on site, the application, authorisation and information about the payment of the state fee (payment order or receipt) must be sent to the Transport Administration via the e-service mailbox or digitally signed to the address [email protected]. In this case, the paper photo must be handed over to an authorised person who will pick up the IDP at the nearest service office. The power of attorney can also be in plain writing (on paper). The authorised person must carry a valid identity document of his/her own. An IDP is issued to an authorized person as a waiting job at a service bureau. If the state fee has not been paid in advance, the authorised person can also pay by card on the spot.

The texts of the conventions and the lists of their contracting states can be found here.

• Texts of conventions: Vienna 1968 (PDF); Geneva 1949 (PDF)
• Lists of contracting states: Vienna 1968; Geneva 1949 

Please note: Countries are considered contracting states if there is a date next to their name in the ‘Ratification, Accession (a), Succession (d)’ column. If communicating countries have joined both conventions, the later one (i.e the 1968 Vienna Convention) applies. For instance, when communicating with Russia, we are guided by the Vienna Convention, while we use the Geneva Convention as the basis for relations with the USA.

IMPORTANT:

• Driving licences and IDPs compliant with the convention are recognised by contracting states as long as the holder has not taken up residence in the territory of that state.
• Neither convention requires a contracting state to recognise a driving licence issued in another contracting state if it was issued while the holder resided in its territory. For example, Ukraine is not required to recognise an Estonian driving licence if it was issued at a time when the holder of the driving licence was residing in Ukraine.
• The exchangeability of driving licences between contracting states is not regulated by the conventions. Each country organises such exchanges pursuant to its national legislation.