Our sources

For anything involving law, driving requirements, country rules, or the international conventions behind IDPs, we prefer official and primary sources over second-hand summaries. This page explains the order of preference we use.

Source hierarchy

• Government and official authorities. National road, transport, or licensing authorities and official government travel guidance for the destination country.
• International convention texts. The 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic and the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which define the recognised IDP formats.
• Embassies and consulates.Official guidance published by a country's diplomatic missions.
• Reputable institutional sources. Established motoring and travel bodies, used to add context — not to override official guidance.
• General guidance. Practical, real-world observations (for example, common rental-desk practice). We label these clearly as guidance, not law.

How we handle uncertainty

Requirements change and can differ by region, licence origin, and visitor status. When a point is unsettled or varies, we say so plainly and point you to the official authority for your destination rather than presenting a single answer as universal.

What we avoid

• Presenting one rental company's policy as if it applied everywhere.
• Publishing a requirement without a source we could point to.
• Implying official status or authorization we do not have.

Tell us about a source

If you have an official source that corrects or improves a page, please share it via our contact page. See also our editorial policy and content-review methodology.