The permit
The 1949 and 1968 road traffic conventions
Every International Driving Permit refers to a treaty. Knowing which one explains most of the surprises travelers meet abroad.
Which road traffic convention has this country joined?
Germany
1968 only
| 1949 Geneva | not a party |
| 1968 Vienna | party since 1978 |
| Our reading of the rule: IDP or official translation required | |
Party to the 1968 Vienna convention only, which the United States has not joined. The United States is a party to the 1949 convention only; a country's own law can still ask for more, or less.
Two United Nations treaties organize the recognition of driving licenses between countries. The Convention on Road Traffic signed in Geneva on September 19, 1949 created the international permit that AAA and AATA issue today. The Convention on Road Traffic signed in Vienna on November 8, 1968 modernized it, with a new permit model and, for its parties, the recognition of each other's national licenses. The United States ratified the 1949 convention and has not joined the 1968 one. According to the United Nations Treaty Collection, read on November 1, 2026, 101 of the countries tracked on this site are parties to the 1949 convention and 90 to the 1968 one, many of them to both. A country party to 1949 is bound to recognize the US-issued permit; a country only in 1968, or in neither, applies its own law, which may accept the US license, require a translation or accept nothing at all.
Do you need an International Driving Permit there?
Driving in Brazil on a US license
US license accepted for visitors
| US license counts | 180 days of a stay |
| IDP | Not required by the rule we read, but rental desks and insurers may still ask for one. |
| Conventions | Party to the 1968 Vienna convention only, which the United States has not joined (1968: 1980) |
| Rule | State Department The State Department advises an Inter-American Driving Permit, carried with the valid US license, for stays of more than 180 days. |
Source: U.S. Department of State, Brazil country information (updated August 6, 2026). Not legal advice; the country's own authorities decide.
Driving in Brazil: the full rulesRules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
The countries in each treaty
| Position | Countries tracked |
|---|---|
| Party to both | 54 |
| Party to 1949 only, like the United States | 47 |
| Party to 1968 only | 36 |
| Party to neither | 73 |
What the treaty settles, and what it does not
Membership of the 1949 convention is the reason a permit printed in the United States is recognized in Japan, South Korea or India. It does not decide whether a permit is needed. The UK and Portugal, both in the 1949 convention, accept a US license alone for visitors; Spain and Greece, also parties, require the permit. National law fills the gap.
The treaty records can also disagree with practice. The UN lists Vietnam as a party to both conventions, yet the State Department says US licenses and permits are not valid there. Brazil, a 1968 party, is the one where the State Department points to a third document, the Inter-American Driving Permit. The country checker under the summary shows Brazil by default.
Reading a country's entry
The tool at the top gives, for any country, the year it joined each treaty and our reading of its rule. The years come from the dates of ratification, accession or succession in the UN records; declarations and reservations are not reproduced. Successor states such as Czechia appear with the date of their succession notice, which is why some dates are later than the country's actual application of the treaty.
The 1926 permit
An older Paris convention of 1926 also created an international permit. Germany's licensing regulation still mentions it. It plays no part for US travelers today, since AAA and AATA issue only the 1949 permit and, on request, the Inter-American one.