International Driving Licence info please

SKY

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Apr 11, 2004
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Dont really think those international drivers licenses are legal, I used to arrest many people with them, just saying. You can use a license from your country for a limited time in most cases

They must be accompanied by a valid license. But some Countries want one to drive. Some rental car companies in Italy for example require one.
 

Dr_Taylor

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Oct 18, 2017
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Dont really think those international drivers licenses are legal, I used to arrest many people with them, just saying. You can use a license from your country for a limited time in most cases
IDLs are very legal. The holder simply needs to comply with the terms of the license. One term requires that you carry your state licenses with the IDL. Another term requires that you comply with the laws of the state that you are visiting, and the DR possesses a ninety-day limit upon the license.
 

cavok

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Jun 16, 2014
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IDLs are very legal. The holder simply needs to comply with the terms of the license. One term requires that you carry your state licenses with the IDL. Another term requires that you comply with the laws of the state that you are visiting, and the DR possesses a ninety-day limit upon the license.

This is exactly why I really don't see any point in getting one for the DR, plus I doubt any AMET or PN would have a clue what it was.
 

rhanson1

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Feb 23, 2012
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IDLs are very legal. The holder simply needs to comply with the terms of the license. One term requires that you carry your state licenses with the IDL. Another term requires that you comply with the laws of the state that you are visiting, and the DR possesses a ninety-day limit upon the license.

Imposing a 90-day limit on the IDL is contrary to the terms of the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic Treaty which the Dominican Republic has accepted and is a signatory to. Those terms state that IDL's be valid as long as the drivers license from the original country is valid. I understand the argument here - that if there is a 90-day limit on the validity of the home country drivers license, then that imposes a corresponding 90-day limit on the IDL. But that is not what the language in the Treaty says. Regardless of any limitation on the legality of the original country drivers license, the fact remains that it is still a valid drivers license in the issuing country. Under the terms of the Treaty, that is the only requirement for the IDL to be valid. In fact one of the main purposes of the Treaty was to eliminate exactly this type of confusion due to the different laws in different countries.

Now whether or not the local untrained AMET or PN would recognize it is as a valid license is admittedly a different matter. But their ignorance of the law would presumably be straightened out by an attorney or in the event of an issue that ends up in a Dominican court of law. The latter it where is really matters because that is where you could get into real trouble if you were involved in a major traffic accident without a valid drivers license.
 

rhanson1

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Feb 23, 2012
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You can get an International Drivers License for up to 10 years.

https://www.idltravel.com/services-fees/

IDL's are only valid for a period of 1 year. While many websites selling IDL's may offer longer periods of validity, they are not authorized to issue IDL's. The U.S. Department of State has authorized only two agencies in the United States to issue IDL's: the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Automobile Touring Association (AATA). Nobody else is authorized to issue them. The website referenced in the quote above which offers IDL's valid for up to 10 years does not appear to be authorized to issue IDL's and is apparently a scam. https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0050-international-drivers-license-scams
 

rhanson1

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Feb 23, 2012
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Upon doing further research, there is a possibility that I may have to eat some of my previous words. I hate it when that happens. The U.S. Department of State Travel Bureau has a section on International Drivers Permits and it states in part "IDPs may not be valid the whole time you stay abroad". https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...el/before-you-go/driving-and-road-safety.html
But that is still less than clear about specifics pertaining to the Dominican Republic. At the end of the day however, I guess this argument is probably irrelevant because anyone living here or staying longer than 90 days should have residency and with that, a dominican driver's license is clearly the way to go.
 

cavok

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Now whether or not the local untrained AMET or PN would recognize it is as a valid license is admittedly a different matter. But their ignorance of the law would presumably be straightened out by an attorney or in the event of an issue that ends up in a Dominican court of law. The latter it where is really matters because that is where you could get into real trouble if you were involved in a major traffic accident without a valid drivers license.

If you were to get ticked for driving w/o a drivers license due to ignorance of the law, it would cost you a whole lot more in attorneys fees to get it straightened out than to just pay the ticket.

Also, according to my insurance broker, if you were to get into a serious accident, you would have a lot more to worry about than driving on an invalid license if you also overstayed your tourist card or visa.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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IDLs are very legal. The holder simply needs to comply with the terms of the license. One term requires that you carry your state licenses with the IDL. Another term requires that you comply with the laws of the state that you are visiting, and the DR possesses a ninety-day limit upon the license.


If you are on a 30 day tourist card while visiting the DR, your out of country license is valid for 30 days. If you are on a longer term visa of 90 days or more, your out of country license may be valid for up to 90 days. The bottom line is that your out of country license is valid up to 90 days depending upon how you long you are legally in the DR.

This is exactly why I really don't see any point in getting one for the DR, plus I doubt any AMET or PN would have a clue what it was.

There is NO POINT in getting an International License for the DR. They are not honored here.Just use your out of country valid license and if you are here beyond your legal time, it probably won't matter if you are stopped. Probably.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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If you were to get ticked for driving w/o a drivers license due to ignorance of the law, it would cost you a whole lot more in attorneys fees to get it straightened out than to just pay the ticket.

Also, according to my insurance broker, if you were to get into a serious accident, you would have a lot more to worry about than driving on an invalid license if you also overstayed your tourist card or visa.

If you are here on a 30 day tourist card, your out of country license is valid for 30 days.

So, cavok, to be clear I have this question. Your broker said that having a non-expired license from another country will not be recognized as valid if you overstay a tourist card and have a serious problem while driving? Many people have said that the insurance companies have ignored this potential issue of a technically not legal license and pay out anyways.
 

Dr_Taylor

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Oct 18, 2017
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Upon doing further research, there is a possibility that I may have to eat some of my previous words. I hate it when that happens. The U.S. Department of State Travel Bureau has a section on International Drivers Permits and it states in part "IDPs may not be valid the whole time you stay abroad". https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...el/before-you-go/driving-and-road-safety.html
But that is still less than clear about specifics pertaining to the Dominican Republic. At the end of the day however, I guess this argument is probably irrelevant because anyone living here or staying longer than 90 days should have residency and with that, a dominican driver's license is clearly the way to go.
I respect you for acknowledging the error. IDLs issued in the U.S. have clear language regarding carrying the state license with the IDL. Moreover, the DR will accept a non-DR license without the IDL during the ninety-day period. As cavok stated, lacking the IDL will be the least of your worries if you find yourself in a serious accident without holding legal status and the proper insurance.
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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I have never seen anywhere that an IDL is of any use in the DR if you hold a valid license from another country and are legally in the country, then that license is valid for up to 90 days. The validity period is 30 days if you are on a tourist card and here legally for that 30 day period without any type of extensions involved to the tourist card.
 

lifeisgreat

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I have never seen anywhere that an IDL is of any use in the DR if you hold a valid license from another country and are legally in the country, then that license is valid for up to 90 days. The validity period is 30 days if you are on a tourist card and here legally for that 30 day period without any type of extensions involved to the tourist card.

Not true it’s not 30 days.. it’s 90 days and 6 months with international DL
 

lifeisgreat

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Does the Car Insurance pay if I do not have a Dominican driver license?

The traffic law (Ley No. 241) of the Dominican Republic determines in Art. 29, that every person needs a driver license who participates in the public road system. The Art. 30 explain that a foreign license is valid for 3 month (international license 6 month).
The insurance law for traffic (Ley No. 4117) obligates in Art. 1 that every owner of a vehicle has to have an valid liability insurance for their vehicle. The Art. 10 shows that if judged guilty by the juristic authorities, the insurance company has to pay every damage or injury of third party till the cover of the insurance.
Nevertheless by violence of the Law 241, Art. 30 the Full insurance is not obligated to pay the damage of the owner!
Insurance never has to pay the damage of the other party if they are violating the law!
To get a Dominican driver license you need to have a Cedula, which comes with the residence permit. The Recidencia is an obligation for every foreigner who stays more than 4 month in the Dominican Republic.
CONCLUSION: Every valid car insurance pays the damage or injury of the third party = liability in case of guiltiness! The Full insurance is not obligated to pay the owners damage, but does it in most cases (99%). Every Insurance provides the Guarantee (Fianza) and a Juristic assistance. The insurance from the other party is not obligated to pay your damage when you are guilty!

Insurance companies are ones who have to pay out and we all know they don’t want to ;)
http://www.insurance-sosua.com/FAQ/?idq=11
 

windeguy

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Jul 10, 2004
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Does the Car Insurance pay if I do not have a Dominican driver license?

The traffic law (Ley No. 241) of the Dominican Republic determines in Art. 29, that every person needs a driver license who participates in the public road system. The Art. 30 explain that a foreign license is valid for 3 month (international license 6 month).
The insurance law for traffic (Ley No. 4117) obligates in Art. 1 that every owner of a vehicle has to have an valid liability insurance for their vehicle. The Art. 10 shows that if judged guilty by the juristic authorities, the insurance company has to pay every damage or injury of third party till the cover of the insurance.
Nevertheless by violence of the Law 241, Art. 30 the Full insurance is not obligated to pay the damage of the owner!
Insurance never has to pay the damage of the other party if they are violating the law!
To get a Dominican driver license you need to have a Cedula, which comes with the residence permit. The Recidencia is an obligation for every foreigner who stays more than 4 month in the Dominican Republic.
CONCLUSION: Every valid car insurance pays the damage or injury of the third party = liability in case of guiltiness! The Full insurance is not obligated to pay the owners damage, but does it in most cases (99%). Every Insurance provides the Guarantee (Fianza) and a Juristic assistance. The insurance from the other party is not obligated to pay your damage when you are guilty!

Insurance companies are ones who have to pay out and we all know they don’t want to ;)
http://www.insurance-sosua.com/FAQ/?idq=11

This is article 30 . I see no reference to an "International License" being valid for 6 months".

There is a 90 day limit to driving on a foreign license, but it is my understanding that this 90 day limit is also based upon being legally in the country for that period of time. Please correct me if I am wrong on that.

Artículo30.- Personas exentas del requisito de licencia.a) Toda persona que este debidamente autorizada para conducir un vehículo de motor en cualquier país extranjero donde se exijan requisitos similares a los establecidos por esta ley para la concesiónde Licencias de Conductor, y que posea y lleve consigo una Licencia y en vigor en dicho país extranjero, estará autorizada para conducir tal tipo de vehículos de motor en la República Dominicana, durante los primeros noventa (90) días desde su arribo. b) Toda persona que poseyere una Licencia de Conductor de las señaladas en el inciso anterior, podrá solicitar y obtener una Licencia de Conducir, sin cumplir otro requisito que el pago de los derechos correspondientes, presentando una certificación del representante diplomático o consular del país de donde procede dicha Licencia, acreditado en la República Dominicana, certificando que la referida Licencia es válida, y un certificado médico expedido según se dispone en el inciso a) del artículo 32.

chrome-extension://gphandlahdpffmccakmbngmbjnjiiahp/https://dgii.gov.do/legislacion/leyesTributarias/Documents/241-67.pdf
 

lifeisgreat

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It’s (international license 6 month) after short synopsis of what’s legal...you would think an insurance company would know rules , they one losing money and have actuary make sure they in the $$$
 

rhanson1

Active member
Feb 23, 2012
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Does the Car Insurance pay if I do not have a Dominican driver license?

The traffic law (Ley No. 241) of the Dominican Republic determines in Art. 29, that every person needs a driver license who participates in the public road system. The Art. 30 explain that a foreign license is valid for 3 month (international license 6 month).
The insurance law for traffic (Ley No. 4117) obligates in Art. 1 that every owner of a vehicle has to have an valid liability insurance for their vehicle. The Art. 10 shows that if judged guilty by the juristic authorities, the insurance company has to pay every damage or injury of third party till the cover of the insurance.
Nevertheless by violence of the Law 241, Art. 30 the Full insurance is not obligated to pay the damage of the owner!
Insurance never has to pay the damage of the other party if they are violating the law!
To get a Dominican driver license you need to have a Cedula, which comes with the residence permit. The Recidencia is an obligation for every foreigner who stays more than 4 month in the Dominican Republic.
CONCLUSION: Every valid car insurance pays the damage or injury of the third party = liability in case of guiltiness! The Full insurance is not obligated to pay the owners damage, but does it in most cases (99%). Every Insurance provides the Guarantee (Fianza) and a Juristic assistance. The insurance from the other party is not obligated to pay your damage when you are guilty!

Insurance companies are ones who have to pay out and we all know they don’t want to ;)
http://www.insurance-sosua.com/FAQ/?idq=11

I was encouraged when I read your post referencing an actual Dominican law about the validity of the IDL's. Everything else posted here has been strictly opinions and anecdotes. However when I looked up the law that you referenced, I find no mention of IDL's in Art. 30 or anyplace else in that law. https://dgii.gov.do/legislacion/leyesTributarias/Documents/241-67.pdf
Can you point us to something that confirms your statement about a 6-month validity for IDL's?
 

rhanson1

Active member
Feb 23, 2012
284
54
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Does the Car Insurance pay if I do not have a Dominican driver license?

The traffic law (Ley No. 241) of the Dominican Republic determines in Art. 29, that every person needs a driver license who participates in the public road system. The Art. 30 explain that a foreign license is valid for 3 month (international license 6 month).
The insurance law for traffic (Ley No. 4117) obligates in Art. 1 that every owner of a vehicle has to have an valid liability insurance for their vehicle. The Art. 10 shows that if judged guilty by the juristic authorities, the insurance company has to pay every damage or injury of third party till the cover of the insurance.
Nevertheless by violence of the Law 241, Art. 30 the Full insurance is not obligated to pay the damage of the owner!
Insurance never has to pay the damage of the other party if they are violating the law!
To get a Dominican driver license you need to have a Cedula, which comes with the residence permit. The Recidencia is an obligation for every foreigner who stays more than 4 month in the Dominican Republic.
CONCLUSION: Every valid car insurance pays the damage or injury of the third party = liability in case of guiltiness! The Full insurance is not obligated to pay the owners damage, but does it in most cases (99%). Every Insurance provides the Guarantee (Fianza) and a Juristic assistance. The insurance from the other party is not obligated to pay your damage when you are guilty!

Insurance companies are ones who have to pay out and we all know they don’t want to ;)
http://www.insurance-sosua.com/FAQ/?idq=11

I asked my insurance agent when I began driving in this country whether my insurer would pay damages from an accident if I was not in this country legally or did not have a Dominican driver's license. He said that this might be technically possible, but that in his 20 years of brokering car insurance in this country to both legal and illegal gringos, he has never seen this happen. He also said that the gringo will almost always be seen as at fault regardless of whether he is a legal resident or has a Dominican drivers license. His comment was, "once a gringo, always a gringo. There's no way to change that."
 

lifeisgreat

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Call your insurance company guys! Ask from the Horses mouth yourself!!! Don’t tell them your real name if your worried...
I can only tell you from personal experience on making sure I’m legal for my time here which is under 3 months a time , on this forum you get all sorts of opinions and some things develop legs of there own and people believe as fact after awhile there always was fight here about 30-90 days rules , 3 yrs ago it developed legs that you legal only 30 days long as your tourist card was valid ... the insurance company I posted up above is from well known respected expat insurance broker website...
 

lifeisgreat

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I asked my insurance agent when I began driving in this country whether my insurer would pay damages from an accident if I was not in this country legally or did not have a Dominican driver's license. He said that this might be technically possible, but that in his 20 years of brokering car insurance in this country to both legal and illegal gringos, he has never seen this happen. He also said that the gringo will almost always be seen as at fault regardless of whether he is a legal resident or has a Dominican drivers license. His comment was, "once a gringo, always a gringo. There's no way to change that."
So true... in North Coast most don’t have conductor rider on policy and know one I knew was ever thrown in jail ... all police care is who is paying is there sufficient insurance cover damages...and in North Coast there are a lot of accidents and quite a few bad gringo drivers Ive seen and known it’s not only Dominicans