How much does a AAA IDP cost?

The permit itself is $20. It is the same $20 whether you are a AAA member or not. The only things that push your total higher are passport-style photos if you do not already have two, and postage if you apply by mail. Anyone quoting $40, $60 or a rush upgrade is not selling a real IDP.

Do I need to be a AAA member to get an IDP?

No. AAA issues International Driving Permits to any eligible US license holder, member or not, and the price does not change either way. There is no member discount on the IDP. If one branch insists on members only, call another branch in your area or use AATA instead.

Can I get a AAA IDP the same day?

Sometimes. Some AAA branches print the permit at the counter while you wait, and others only forward your paperwork and mail the permit back. It varies branch to branch, so call the branch you plan to visit and ask whether they issue the IDP while you wait.

What is AAA IDP processing time?

In person at a branch that issues on the spot, it is a single visit. By mail, plan on roughly two to three weeks door to door once you account for postage both ways and processing. If your trip is under three weeks away and you cannot reach a branch that issues while you wait, start immediately.

How do I get an IDP through AAA?

You need a valid US driver license, two passport-style photos, a completed IDP application form and the $20 fee, and you must be 18 or older. Take those to a AAA branch that handles IDPs, or mail them with a photocopy of both sides of your license to the address AAA lists on its IDP page.

How do I find a AAA branch near me that issues IDPs?

Start from the office locator on aaa.com and look for branches listing travel services. Not every office handles International Driving Permits, and among those that do, some issue at the counter and some only mail. Call ahead and ask whether they process IDPs and whether they issue while you wait.

Is a AAA IDP the same as an international driver license?

There is no such thing as an international driver license. The IDP is a translation booklet that has legal standing only when carried together with your valid US license. It grants no privileges on its own and expires when your US license does, even if the year is not up.

Should I use AAA or AATA?

Use AAA if you can reach a branch, especially one that issues while you wait. Use AATA if no AAA branch is convenient, because AATA takes the application online with uploaded documents and mails the permit. Both are authorized by the US State Department and both charge about $20.

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AAA International Driving Permit: Cost, Documents and How to Apply (2026)

⚡Quick answer

AAA charges $20 for an International Driving Permit, and you do not need to be a AAA member to get one. Bring a valid US driver license, two passport-style photos and a completed application to a AAA branch that handles IDPs, or mail the same documents in. The permit is valid for one year.

Fee: about $20, identical for members and non-members.
Eligibility: 18 or older with a valid US state or territory license.
Two ways in: in person at a branch, or by mail.

AAA and AATA are the only two organizations authorized by the US State Department to issue IDPs to US license holders. Everything else on the internet is a novelty document.

Who AAA Is, and Why It Can Issue Your IDP

AAA is the American Automobile Association, the motoring club most Americans know for roadside assistance and travel services. Its relevance here has nothing to do with towing. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, each signatory country designates the bodies allowed to issue International Driving Permits to its own drivers. In the United States, the State Department has designated exactly two: AAA and the American Automobile Touring Alliance, better known as AATA.

That designation is the entire reason a travel-club counter can hand you a document foreign police recognize. It also means the IDP is not a DMV product. Your state motor vehicle office does not issue them, cannot issue them, and will send you away if you ask.

What the permit actually is: a small booklet that translates the details already printed on your US license into several languages. It carries no privileges of its own. You carry it alongside your US license, never instead of it, and it stops being valid the moment that license does. Our what is an IDP guide walks through the document itself in more detail.

What a AAA IDP Costs in 2026

The permit fee is about $20. It has been stable for years, it is the same for members and non-members, and it does not vary by state, by branch, or by how many countries you plan to drive in. The only real variables are photos and postage.

Line item	Cost	Notes
AAA IDP fee	about $20	Same for members and non-members.
Two passport-style photos	$0 to roughly $17	Free if you already have a spare pair. Many AAA branches take them on site for a small fee — ask when you call. Pharmacy photo counters are the most expensive route.
Postage, mail applications only	roughly $10 to $20	Outbound with tracking plus the return envelope AAA asks you to include.
AAA membership	$0 — not required	Joining does not reduce the IDP fee. Skip it unless you want the roadside benefits for their own sake.
Realistic total, in person	about $20 to $35	Depends entirely on photos.
Realistic total, by mail	about $30 to $50	Permit, photos and postage both directions.

If you searched for what an international driver license costs and landed on a site quoting $49, $79 or a discounted three-year bundle, close the tab. There is no such product. A full cost breakdown across both authorized issuers lives on our IDP cost page.

Exactly What to Bring to AAA

Turning up short one item is the most common reason people leave a branch without a permit. The list is short, and every line matters.

Item	Required	Detail that trips people up
Valid US driver license	✅	The physical card, not a photo of it. It must stay valid through your whole trip, because the permit expires with it.
Two passport-style photos	✅	Two inches square, colour, plain light background, recent. Two identical prints, not one.
Completed IDP application	✅	Download it from the AAA IDP page and fill it in at home, or complete one at the counter. The signature box near the bottom is the field most people miss.
The $20 fee	✅	Most branches take cards. A handful are cash only — worth confirming on the same phone call.
A pen, blue or black ink	✅	Your signature on the permit should match the one on your license.
Photocopy of your license, both sides	Mail only	Not needed in person, since they see the card. Essential in the envelope.
AAA membership	Not required	Any eligible US license holder qualifies.
Passport	Not required	You need it for the trip, but it is not part of the IDP application.
Social Security card	Not required	It is not on the IDP application. Leave it at home.

Photo specifications are stricter than most people expect and are the leading cause of a rejected mail application. Our full application guide covers the specs and the form field by field.

Applying In Person at a AAA Branch

This is the route most people want, because it removes the postal system from the equation entirely. The sequence at the counter is straightforward.

Call the branch first. Ask whether they process International Driving Permits, and whether they issue while you wait or forward the paperwork for mailing. Both answers vary by office, and the call takes a minute.
Fill in the application at home if you can. It is one page. Doing it in advance means you are not deciphering a form at a counter with a queue behind you.
Bring the documents. License, two photos, the completed form, the fee, a pen.
Tell the front desk what you are there for. The phrase I am here for an International Driving Permit is all the staff need. It is a routine travel service for them.
Pay the $20. Add the photo fee if you are having them taken there.
Check the permit before you walk away, if the branch issues on the spot. Name spelling, license number, photo attached, stamp and signature present. Corrections at the counter take seconds; corrections by post take weeks.

A branch visit is not automatically same-day. Some AAA offices print the permit while you wait and some only accept the paperwork and mail it back. If speed is the reason you are reading this page, the whole question gets proper treatment here: can you get an IDP the same day →

Applying by Mail Through AAA

Mail works from anywhere in the country, including places where the nearest branch is hours away. It is slower than people expect, so start it early.

Print the current AAA IDP application from the AAA IDP page. Use a real printer. A photo of the form on your phone is not an application.
Complete every field and sign it. An unsigned form is the number one reason a mailed application comes back to you unprocessed.
Attach two passport-style photos. Sign the back of each one lightly, so the ink does not press through to the image.
Photocopy your license, front and back. Both sides. The reverse carries endorsement and restriction codes.
Include payment in the form AAA specifies on the current application, and a return envelope if one is requested.
Confirm the mailing address on aaa.com before you send it. Do not copy an address off a forum post. Send it with tracking.
Budget two to three weeks door to door. Postage each way plus processing adds up quickly, and the summer travel season is the slowest stretch of the year.

Ordering ahead is allowed. An IDP can normally be issued with a future start date some months out, so a permit obtained in spring can be dated for an autumn trip. If you know a trip is coming, applying early by mail costs nothing extra and removes all the time pressure.

How to Find a AAA Branch Near You That Issues IDPs

Searching for AAA near me returns every office in your area, and that is a wider net than you want. Insurance-only offices and small satellite counters inside other businesses often do not handle travel documents at all.

Start at the office locator on aaa.com and filter for branches offering travel services or International Driving Permits where that filter is available.
Shortlist two or three, not one. Regional AAA clubs run their own service menus, so neighbouring branches can behave differently.
Call each until one confirms both things you need: that they process IDPs, and how they hand the permit over.
If none of them work out, AATA takes the whole application online and mails the permit, which removes the geography problem entirely.

Two questions to ask on the phone: Do you process International Driving Permits at this office? and If I bring everything, do I leave with the permit or does it get mailed? Those two answers determine your entire plan. We deliberately do not publish branch addresses or promise that any specific office issues on the spot, because the answer changes by office and over time.

You Do Not Need a AAA Membership

This is the single most common misconception about the AAA IDP, and it costs people real money. AAA is authorized to issue the permit to US license holders. Not to members. To license holders. The fee is the same either way.

There is no member discount on the permit. If someone implies there is, they are describing a membership benefit that does not exist.
You may still get the pitch. Branch staff sell memberships as part of their job. Declining is normal and nobody minds.
A members-only branch is rare but possible. If you hit one, the fix is another branch or AATA, not a membership purchase.
Membership can still be worth buying — for roadside assistance and travel discounts. Just do not buy it believing it is a prerequisite for the IDP, because it is not.

AAA IDP Processing Time: What to Expect

Processing time depends far more on which route you take than on anything about your application. Here is the honest shape of it.

Route	Realistic timing	Plan for
Branch that issues while you wait	One visit	Confirm by phone first. Not every branch does this.
Branch that forwards for mailing	Roughly one to two weeks after your visit	You hand over documents in person, the permit arrives by post.
Mail application through AAA	Roughly two to three weeks door to door	Add a buffer in summer and around holidays.
AATA, online application then posted	Roughly one to two weeks	Useful when no AAA branch is convenient.

The rule of thumb: if your departure is more than a month away, any route works and mail is the least effort. Inside three weeks, you want a branch. Inside a week, a branch that issues on the spot is effectively your only option.

Travelling in the next few days? This page covers AAA as a provider. The speed question — which branches issue on the spot, what makes a same-day visit fail, and what to do if you fly tomorrow — has its own guide: same-day IDP: can you get one today →
Route-by-route timings for both issuers live on our IDP processing time page.

AAA vs AATA: Which Authorized Issuer to Use

Both are authorized by the US State Department, both charge about $20, and the permit itself is legally identical whichever one issues it. The difference is purely how you get it into your hands.

Factor	AAA	AATA
State Department authorized	Yes	Yes
Fee	about $20	about $20
Walk-in counter service	Yes, at branches that offer it	No
Online application	No — in person or mail	Yes, with document upload
How the permit reaches you	At the counter or by post, depending on branch	Always by post
Best when	A branch is convenient, or you need it fast	No branch nearby, or you prefer applying online
Validity of the permit issued	One year	One year

Short version: AAA wins on speed when you can reach a branch, AATA wins on convenience when you cannot. Read the AATA guide or go straight to the full AAA vs AATA comparison.

Mistakes That Send People Home Empty-Handed

Driving to a branch without calling. The service menu varies by office. One phone call replaces one wasted afternoon.
Applying on a license that expires mid-trip. The permit dies with the license. Renew at your state DMV first, then apply.
Bringing one photo instead of two. The application needs a matched pair.
Leaving the signature box blank. By far the most common reason a mailed application comes back.
Booking the trip first and the permit last. Reverse the order. Nothing about the IDP is difficult, but nothing about it is instant either unless you get lucky with a branch.
Buying a membership you were told you needed. You did not need it.