International Drivers License Information on idlicense.com

Using International Driving License

It is valid for 30 days. If you extend your trip in Peru, you should request the authorization for the extension at the "Touring Automóvil Club" (Automotive Touring Club) of Peru. In office hours from 09:00 to 16:45, the office is located at César Vallejo Street No. 699, Lince, in Lima. Telephones +(51 1) 440-3270 and 422-5975.

If you travel in your own vehicle, you should bring "Libreta de Paso de Aduana" (Customs Notebook), emitted by the "Touring Automóvil Club" of the origin country.  The "Touring Automóvil Club" of Peru can provide you the best guides in the Peruvian Highway. 

Driving a car is considered a privilege -- and a state won't hesitate to take it away if a driver behaves irresponsibly on the road. A state may temporarily suspend your driving privileges for a number of reasons, including:

• driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• refusing to take a blood-alcohol test
• driving without liability insurance
• speeding
• reckless driving
• leaving the scene of an injury accident
• failing to pay a driving-related fine
• failing to answer a traffic summons, or
• failing to file an accident report.

In addition, many states use a "point" system to keep track of a driver's moving violations: Each moving violation is assigned a certain number of points. If a driver accumulates too many points within a given period of time, the department of motor vehicles suspends her drivers license.

Main steps for rental cars in Peru:

1. Aside from knowing how long your trip is going to be, you might want to at least have a rough plan for where you take the car rental. Calculate the driving and sightseeing time so that you have the car for as long as you would actually need it. Once you've determined this, you are ready to start planning where and how you are going to find the best rental cars in Peru.

2. Obtain or make sure your current drivers license will be valid during the period you will be driving any car rentals. You may want to obtain an international drivers license as well if you plan on booking car rentals, it is valid in all the member countries of the United Nations. If you unsure whether or not the country you are visiting is a United Nations be sure you do a little research before your trip.

3.Contact a travel agent at least a month prior to the date you need the car rental. You need to tell them where you are planning to take the rent car, along with the dates you would like to have the auto rental. It's also easy and simple to look on the Internet, where you can easily compare rates or book reservations.

4. Mainly you get to select the vehicle class, size and dates for your automobile rental. Also, this is where you determine what locations you are planning to drop off the auto rental. If this location is different than where you are picking it up, there is going to be a fee, depending on the country.

5. Pay for your deposit if it is required.

6. Brush up on traffic signs and driving laws for the country you plan on visiting.

The ease with which you can rent a car in a country can vary based on regulations, rates availability and driving conditions. You generally do not have the flexibility to travel in between countries in rental cars, especially in South America. Generally, however, if you have a valid license, a passport, a major credit card, and you are over 25, you are able to book rental cars in Peru. Another factor to consider is the driving hazards. In undeveloped and third world countries traffic laws are not followed or enforced regularly. Drivers are very aggressive. To some degree you will have to adjust your driving style, but not to such an extent that you end up in a traffic accident. That will be a major headache to deal with in a car rental from another country.

South America, the one continent where you can actually elect not to stop for the police, escape them and yes, even BRIBE them. Peru is absolutely no exception to this rule.

In Case You Get Pulled Over:

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  • Be friendly and cooperative, but DO NOT get out of the vehicle to talk to the police. There is no need to and it can be dangerous.
  • Have your driver’s license and Identification (DNI, CE, Legalized copy of Passport) in hand. If you do not have an International driver’s license or your Brevete then tell them that you just returned from out of country or you are visiting. You have 15 days to drive on the driver’s license from your country of origin. Since the police do not have computers to verify this, they will usually drop the issue with you once you inform them of this exception. The reason for a legalized copy of your document prevents the police from walking away with your original. They have been known to steal documents. They CANNOT issue a ticket against a foreign driver’s license, so that’s one less thing for them to try.
  • Have SOAT in hand. Even if you don’t have it, it’s really an administrative issue, you tell them that you are going to purchase or renew it. If there was an accident you would personally be liable for the damages, plus the other vehicle’s SOAT would cover the expenses, so you’d have to hit a Pedestrian or another vehicle without SOAT to get into trouble.
  • If you do not have your Plate or Placa yet, but you need to drive around, get a Permiso from the Ministerio de Transportes, this usually takes 4 days to acquire. You can still get past this issue (if you don’t have the Permiso) and tell the police that the dealer told you you could drive around, just be sure to have your receipt of purchase in hand. Without the plate you cannot get SOAT, but you are in TRAMITE which technically means that you are abiding by the rules.
  • If the police tell you to follow them to the Commissary or Comisaria, CALL THEIR BLUFF and agree to follow them. Guaranteed they will stop a few blocks from the Comisaria to ask you a couple of questions and then ask for a bribe. The fact is, it’s too much paperwork for them to do if they take you, which means they have less time to fish for bribes.
  • You can “agree” to pay the police a bribe, but show them that you are going to record it on you cell phone w/camera. They will back down almost right away since they know it could mean trouble for them. If you can, video record your entire interaction with them.
  • Another way to bluff is to tell the police that you are a lawyer. The police do not know the laws that well and lawyers normally tend to scare them off.
  • QUESTION THEM! That’s right, ask them “why?!” One police officer in Miraflores told us he was going to take our car to be impounded at the Comisaria, when my husband asked him “Why?!” He didn’t have a reason. This is Peru, you can argue or talk back to the police!
  • Finally, if they keep insisting or fishing for the bribe (this is obvious, because they will tell you the same thing over and over again) you kindly say (in your best Spanish) “Thank you, how nice of you, I’m going to go home now, have a good day/evening.” They will get the clue and walk back to their police car. 
• The police can surely be a hassle in Peru, and it is quite obvious that they aren’t really policing anything. That’s an unfortunate downside to this country, but the following tips above should help you avoid the hassle and even the bribe.