International driving license and bike rego papers

[Gummikuh]

Hi all,

Planning a trip to north and South America this year. Just wondering… on recent trips to Canada and the US did you need the international driving license and rego paperwork?

Cheers for now!

[markharf]

I live in the US, so I'm in a different position from you. Still, I'll offer that you definitely need paperwork which indicates you own the vehicle or are using it with the owner's permission. That's an absolute in Canada and the US because any authority (police or other) will demand to see it. In Central and South America you won't be able to bring your vehicle across borders without it.

The International Driver's Permit is something else again. I always get one, but it's rarely needed (and even then more often than not the request to see it is merely a pretext for demanding a bribe). Every so often it's been really necessary, and it never hurts. But for the US and Canada your license is already in English, so the permit--really just a translation--isn't necessary at all AFAIK (and the question of bribes is totally irrelevant).

Hope that's helpful.

Mark

Edit to add: I assumed your license is in English because you're listed as living in Alice Springs. If you're German or have a license which is in another language, get the International Permit.

[ibahabs]

Depends on how long you stay at certain places.
In Canada, US and Mexico we never had to show our international papers. Austrian paperwork was enough.
Can't tell you for the rest as I am still in Mexico.

If you wanna be on the save side get it. Better having it as beeing turned away at a boarder and mybe overstaying a visa and TIP (can get expensive).

If you ship your bike over to north America, start with Canada, as it is less paperwork.
If you need further infos drop me a pm. Starter our trip past April

[Gummikuh]

Hi all,

When we traveled in SA 10 years ago we had both international (pretty much only translated) documents with us and never used them.
We were just wondering what the deal is atm.

@mark : yes German/Australian could go with the oz license but the bikes are registered in Germany. We definitely don’t want to confuse the border officials

[markharf]

Yes, in my country both uniformed personnel and petty bureaucrats are easily confused, largely because they can't fathom that the entire world doesn't revolve around the USA and its desires. Giving them what they want is usually the safer course of action.

This becomes more important if through no fault of your own you set off their xenophobic alarm bells---say, you're from the wrong nation, culture, religion or ethnicity.

As best I recall, I needed my International Driver's Permit just once in South America--in Guyana. I've also needed it in Africa once or twice, and possibly Cuba (can't remember). But non-nationals sometimes need one to, for example, rent a car in the USA.

Mileage definitely varies. Safe journeys!

Mark

[Alanymarce]

re IDP, it's not expensive and it's easy to obtain, I suggest getting it. Although you may never need it, if you run into a problem with your national licence it may save you from big problems. We've carried them for many years - rarely have they been requested, however there have been several occasions where they were required (most recently in Prague, surprisingly, to rent a car) and a few where they saved the day (Paraguay springs to mind).

[manzini]

sometimes the cops want to see your documents and i had never problems(the last 10 years)with my international driving license and the national(german)vehicle documents(both for car and bike) in south america