How Long Does It Take To Get An International Licence?

How Long Does It Take To Get An International Licence? When hiring a car in another country you are often required to have an international licence. The reason for this is that your licence may be in another language therefore it’s hard to identify for the car rental company if the information on the licence is correct. If your licence is from inside the EU then its fine.

One of the problems we often find with this is that people are unsure whether they actually need one or not as the confusion is caused because you don’t actually need an international licence to drive in the UK but in order to hire a car, you do and several of these unsure people leave it until the last minute to call us.

With so many people leaving it until the last minute the worry turns to whether you can actually get an international licence in this short period. One example we had was a Kenyan customer arriving into Heathrow who left it until the last minute, he applied for a licence and got it that day, although this was an exceptionally quick return and on several locations it takes longer than this but it’s often not as long as people think.

We suggest that you check on your countries government website as they have several FAQs about applying for international licences, one of which is the time it will take to apply and receive your new international licence.

In order to be able to pick up a car if you aren’t based inside the EU or a country which has a driving licence written in English then you need to present your valid driving licence for your company and a valid international licence.

Despite the turn around time being quite quick we urge you to get your car booked as soon as possible so we can sort any possible issues well in advance. If you have any questions about international licences or just car hire in general then please ask our experienced reservation agents on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email us at [email protected].

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.