In a recent ruling, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) of South Africa partially ruled against a company offering 20-year international licences through street pole advertising. In essence, the complainant submitted that the ad is misleading as an international license is only valid for one year, and that the Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) is the only authority that can issue these licences. Research determined that while the AA is not the only company allowed to issue them, in terms of the 1968 United Nations Convention on Road Traffic, "the international driving permit may only be valid for a period of no more than three years after the date of issue or the date of expiry of the domestic driving permit, whichever is earlier."
