International Drivers Permit

[oceansandseas]

My son, wife and 2 pre-school age children just arrived in Japan for a vacation. I am in Ontario, Canada and have his forgotten International Drivers Permit. They have trains scheduled, so not sure how many days he is renting car.

 

Any thoughts in getting it to him would be appreciated. I have looked at FedX but checking it out on line they say that fastest time for delivery would be May 7th. I will phone tomorrow but in the meantime I thought I would ask here in case someone had a solution.

 

I could send it to him electronically. Would the actual hard copy be needed?

 

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Host Hattie]

You might get answers on the Port of call section or on Tripadvisor.

[Underwatr]

As you're probably aware, the IDP is just an approved translation of pertinent details of the driver's regular drivers license. In my experience rental agency workers aren't interested in seeing the IDP even in countries where nominally it's required (Italy).

 

In the unlikely event that your son has an encounter with a police officer an electronic copy might be better than nothing, but on the other hand I'd be wary about handing my unlocked smartphone to any authorities in the US or overseas. A printed hardcopy from an email or fax would be preferable to a purely electronic copy (but the original document is generally what's expected).

[oceansandseas]

Thanks for the help. However, he wants to stay on the safe side. It would take too long to courier the International Licence. They will find other transportation.

 

I guess I raised him to live by the law.