International Driving Permit Standards for the International Driving Permit were established by the International Conventions on Road Traffic and Safety. For today, there are four International Conventions on Road Traffic of 1926, 1943, 1949, 1968. Every of them determined the form, size, and contained information of the International Driving Permit. Each new Convention contains the revised previous Conventions with the International Driving Permit and the certificate at its core and cancels action of the previous conventions for countries signed it. Governments of most countries of the world have signed and ratified the Conventions on Road Traffic that was open for signature at Vienna from 8 November 1968. Thus, the International Driving Permit established by the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic is usually issued and is recognized in most countries.
The 1968 Convention on Road Traffic require that the International Driving Permit strictly conform the requirements specified in its Annexes. According to the Annex 7, taking into consideration the amendments to the 1968 Convention which entered into force on 3 September 1993 and the amendments which entered into force on 28 March 2006, the International Driving Permit is a booklet in format A6 (148 x 105 mm). Its cover is grey and the inside pages are white. The outside and inside of the front cover are printed in the national language, or in at least one of the national languages, of the issuing State.
The first page contains: the number of domestic driving permit; the validity period (it is either no more than three years after the date of issue or the date of expiry of the domestic Driving Permit, whichever is earlier); the name and stamp of association issuing the International Driving Permit.
The second page applicable from 29 March 2011 contains information about territory where this International Driving Permit is not valid, the name of the country in which the holder of this International Driving Permit is normally a resident. On the second page you can also read following:  “It is valid for the territories of all the other Contracting Parties on condition that it is presented with the corresponding domestic driving permit. The categories of vehicles for which the permit is valid are stated at the end of the booklet” and that the International Driving Permit “shall cease to be valid in the territory of another Contracting Party if its holder establishes his normal residence there”
The last two inside pages are printed in French. The left hand page applicable from 29 March 2011 contains: the family and given names; the place and date of birth; the place of normal residence; categories (A, B, C, D, BE, CE, and DE) and subcategories (A1, B1, C1, D1, C1E, and D1E) of vehicles, with the corresponding codes, for which the permit is valid; restrictive conditions of use.
The right hand page applicable from 29 March 2011 contains: information about a driver (name, place and data of birth); the holder’s picture; stamp of the association issuing this International Driving Permit (this stamp has to be affixed against the designation of the categories or subcategories only if the holder is licensed to drive the appropriate vehicles); information about disqualification; the signature of the holder. The inside pages preceding the last two inside pages repeat the first of them in several languages, which must include English, Russian, and Spanish. Other pages contain a list of counties which ratified the Convention. Handwritten or typed entries made on the permit shall be in Latin characters or in English cursive script.

Pic. 1. Sample of the International Driving Permit

Some counties, that ratify the Convention on Road Traffic signed at Geneva on 19 September 1949 and didn’t ratify the Convention on Road Traffic signed at Vienna on 8 November 1968, use the standards for the International Driving Permit approved by the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic. The International Driving Permit established by the 1949 Convention has much in common with the International Driving Permit established by the 1968 Convention. Thus, the dimensions and page colour are the same. Dimensions are 105 x 148 mm; the cover is grey and the inside pages are white. Pages 1 and 2 are printed in the national language or languages; they are identical with the corresponding pages of the International Driving Permit established by the 1968 Convention. The last page is printed in French. Additional pages repeat in other languages the test of the part 1 of the last page; they are printed in the following languages: language(s) prescribed by the legislation of the issuing country; the official languages of the United Nations; at most six other languages at the discretion of the issuing country. The written remarks have to be written in Latin characters or in so-called English script.
The structure of two last pages for two International Driving Permits (1949, 1968) is the same, but their contents are different. In the International Driving Permit established by the 1949 Convention, the 1 of the last page contains information about a vehicle for which this International Driving Permit will be valid (there are five categories: A, B, C, D, and E) and exclusions, country or countries in which territory the holder of this International Driving Permit is deprived of the rights to drive and in which reason.
As the right hand page of the International Driving Permit of 1968, the part 2 of the last page of the International Driving Permit of 1949 contains: information about a driver (name, place and data of birth); the holder’s picture; stamp of the association issuing this International Driving Permit (this stamp has to be affixed against the designation of the categories or subcategories only if the holder is licensed to drive the appropriate vehicles); the signature of the holder; exclusions (countries).

Today, three countries, Iraq, Nigeria, and Somalia, only issue the International Driving Permit based on the 1926 Convention. In accordance with the provisions of the Convention on the Regulation of Inter-American Automotive Traffic signed at Washington, D.C., in 1943, the printed size of the Inter-American Driving Permit is: 145 x 85 mm. The first page of the Inter-American Driving Permit contains: its number; the date of issue; the name and signature of association issuing this Driver License; information about the validation (the Inter-American Driving Permit valid for one year from date of issue).
The second page concerns the holder of the Inter-American Driving Permit; it contains the driver’s photograph with stamp of the issuing association and information about the holder: name, place and date of birth, home address.
The third page contains the information about revocation, namely, the name of country in which the holder is deprived the rights to drive and reason. In the last page, the three categories of driving – A, b, and C – are indicated. They are established in order to permit States which have special requirements differentiating among drivers of light vehicles, heavy vehicles and combinations, and motorcycles. A separate stamp is provided for use in such case or cases.