How to Avoid International Driving Permit (IDP) Scams

Scams for International Driving Permits (IDPs) are all over the internet. It's crucial to know that, for US drivers, only IDPs issued by AAA (the American Automobile Association) and AATA (the American Automobile Touring Alliance) are recognized and authorized by the US government. Companies like Fast IDP can expedite the process for obtaining IDPs from AAA or AATA, but no other organization can legally issue an IDP in the US.

FTC struggles to fight fraudulent IDP scams as fast as they appear

While the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has pursued some of the companies offering illegal IDPs in the past (see here), their efforts struggle to keep pace with the influx of new scam sites popping up on the internet. Don't fall victim to the misinformation from these companies. Many of them say that they offer official IDPs or have flashy websites, but remember that only IDPs issued by AAA or AATA are legitimate.

How to spot a fake IDP website

Spotting a scam site is straightforward if you know what to look for. Most scam sites show signs of foreign or AI-generated language patterns, sounding unnatural to a native English speaker or being highly repetitive. They also sometimes list a US-based address, but if you search that address on street view on Google Maps, you'll find that it actually belongs to another business even if they have the tag for their business on Google Maps.  The most important rule, though, is to only trust websites aligned with AAA or AATA. 

Again, the only way to get a legitimate IDP in the United States is to get one through AAA or AATA, either directly or through an expediter like Fast IDP. If you're looking to get an IDP, see this blog post from Fast IDP about How to Get an IDP in the US. 

Safe travels and stay away from those scams!