The International Driving Permit application is short. Most rejections and delays come from one document being unreadable, mismatched, or in the wrong format, not from the applicant being ineligible. This guide lists every required document with the exact format specifications that pass on the first try, then explains the file-quality details that separate a fast 2-hour approval from a 48-hour manual review.
What documents do I need for an International Driving Permit application?
The standard International Driving Permit application requires four documents: a clear color scan of the front and back of an unexpired national driver's license, a passport-style photograph taken within the past 6 months, a government-issued identity document such as a passport bio page or national ID card, and a valid email address for digital delivery of the IDP PDF. A residential address record may be requested for verification of the address printed in the IDP booklet.
Every document is uploaded during the online application, no physical submission is required. The full document set is reviewed in 1–2 hours during business days. Incomplete or low-quality documents trigger manual review and add 24–48 hours to processing.
What are the photo requirements for an IDP?
The IDP passport-style photograph follows the international travel-document standard: a 2-inch by 2-inch (51mm × 51mm) color image, taken within the past 6 months, showing the head and shoulders against a plain white or off-white background, with a neutral facial expression, eyes open and visible, no head coverings except for religious purposes, and no eyeglasses regardless of prescription strength.
Five technical specifications govern acceptance: file format is JPG or PNG; file size is between 100 KB and 5 MB; minimum resolution is 600 × 600 pixels; head height occupies 50–69% of the frame from chin to crown; and lighting is even with no shadows on the face or background.
Practical tip from 20+ years of application review: smartphone photos taken against a plain white wall, in indirect natural light, with the photographer two arm-lengths back from the subject, pass the spec consistently. Indoor flash photographs almost always fail for reflection and shadow.
How do I scan my driver's license for an IDP application?
Scan the national driver's license at 300 DPI minimum, in full color, showing the entire card edge-to-edge with no cropping of the corners, no glare from the card's holographic security elements, and both the front and back of the card as separate files. A smartphone photo taken on a dark non-reflective surface in even light is acceptable when a flatbed scanner is not available.
Three common rejection causes: photographing the license through a clear plastic wallet sleeve (the sleeve reflects and obscures detail), cropping the card edges (the issuing authority's printed border must be visible), and using JPEG compression below 80% quality (text on the card becomes unreadable). The license-scan file should be between 500 KB and 4 MB for optimal balance of size and clarity.
What identity documents are accepted?
Five identity documents are accepted as supporting identification for the IDP application: a national passport bio page, a Real ID-compliant US state ID card, a US passport card, a national identity card issued by a recognized national government, or a permanent resident card (US green card) for US-resident applicants whose primary ID is non-US. The identity document must be unexpired and must show the same legal name as the national driver's license.
The identity document's purpose is name and date-of-birth verification, it cross-checks the driver's license fields. A common rejection cause is a driver's license issued in a married name and an identity document still in a maiden name, or vice versa. Resolution: provide both documents plus a legal name-change record (marriage certificate, court order) as a supplementary upload.
Do I need to provide proof of residence?
Proof of residence is not required for every application but is requested in three situations: when the application address does not match the address printed on the national driver's license, when the application is for an international shipping address, and when the issuer's risk-screening system flags the application for manual review. When requested, three document types satisfy the proof: a utility bill issued within the past 90 days, a current lease agreement, or government correspondence (tax statement, voter registration card, social security letter) showing the residential address.
Mobile phone bills, credit card statements, and bank statements are accepted at most issuers but may require a secondary verification step.
What file formats and sizes does the IDP application accept?
The IDP application accepts JPG, JPEG, PNG, and PDF file formats. File size limits are 5 MB per file for photographs and identity documents, and 10 MB per file for multi-page PDF uploads such as passport bio pages with annotations. Minimum image resolution is 600 × 600 pixels for the passport photo and 1200 × 900 pixels for the license scan and identity document.
Heic format (the iPhone default) is automatically converted to JPG by the upload system, but the conversion sometimes degrades image quality. Best practice: convert iPhone Heic images to JPG manually before upload using the Files app or a free converter.
What happens if my documents are rejected?
A document rejection triggers an email to the applicant within 1–4 hours of submission, identifying the specific document that failed review and the rejection reason. The applicant can re-upload the corrected document through a secure link in the email without restarting the application or paying again. Most rejections are resolved on the second submission and add 24–48 hours to total processing.
Five rejection-reason categories account for over 90% of failures: poor image quality (blurry, dark, or low-resolution), incorrect document type, expired document, name mismatch between documents, and incomplete document (missing pages or cropped edges). The corrected document must address the specific reason cited in the rejection email, submitting the same file a second time does not resolve the issue.
For drivers holding non-US licenses
UK, EU, Canadian, Australian, and other Commonwealth and treaty-nation applicants follow the same four-document checklist with two adjustments. UK photocard licenses are scanned front and back without the paper counterpart, which is no longer recognized. EU drivers from countries where the national license is a non-Latin-script document (Greece, Bulgaria) submit the standard scan and a romanized transliteration of the name as it appears on the passport. Canadian drivers submit a provincial license; federal Canadian IDs are not used in place of provincial licenses.
The identity document standard is uniform: a national passport bio page is the universally accepted form.
Key Takeaways
- Four documents are required: license scan (front and back), passport-style photograph, identity document, and email address.
- The photo must be 2"×2", 600×600 pixels minimum, taken within the past 6 months against a plain white background, with no glasses.
- The license scan must be 300 DPI minimum, full color, edge-to-edge, with no glare or cropping.
- Accepted file formats are JPG, JPEG, PNG, and PDF, with files between 100 KB and 10 MB.
- Document rejections are resolved by re-upload through a secure link, adding 24–48 hours to processing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use my US passport bio page photo as the IDP photo?
No. The IDP passport-style photo must be taken specifically for the IDP application within the past 6 months. Using an older passport photo or a screenshot of the passport bio page is rejected.
Can my spouse photograph my license for the IDP application?
Yes. There is no requirement that the applicant produce the documents personally, only that the documents themselves meet the specifications.
What if my driver's license has my address on the back instead of the front?
Both sides of the license must be uploaded as separate files. The order does not matter; the system identifies the front and back automatically from the printed content.
