International Driving Permit in Chad

🗓 Facts checked against official government guidance for Chad and other official sources. Research last updated: 30 October 2026. You may copy this information only if you provide a link back to this page.

⚠ This page is general information about driving rules, not legal advice. Rules change, and each authority applies its own — confirm your case with the relevant authority before you drive.

ℹ We are a private company. We are not a government body, a licensing or issuing authority, or a treaty organisation, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any of them. The International Driver's Document we sell is a translation of your national driving licence: it is not a driving licence, and it is not a government-issued document.

• Driving in Chad: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Chad?
• What side of the road does Chad drive on?
• How long can you drive in Chad with a foreign licence?
• Is Chad a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Chad with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Chad? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Chad tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Chad
• Sources

Driving in Chad: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Chad?

Chad is a party to neither the 1949 Geneva nor the 1968 Vienna road-traffic convention — confirmed by absence from both UN treaty status registers (XI-B-1, 103 parties; XI-B-19, 91 parties), while Chad's neighbours the Central African Republic, Niger and Nigeria are parties to both, and its other neighbours, Cameroon, Libya and Sudan, to neither. Neither convention therefore obliges Chad to honour an International Driving Permit, and no Chadian text was found that says whether one is accepted; do not rely on a commercial "international driving licence". UK government guidance states that a UK licence must be converted to a Chadian one in order to drive in Chad. France Diplomatie says that a French licence is recognised and can be used for the first three months of stay; no Chadian text that says so was found. Under the CEMAC road code, which applies in Chad, a licence issued in another CEMAC member state (Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea or Gabon) is valid, subject to a check of its authenticity with the issuing state (art. 8). The code applies to drivers from outside CEMAC in accordance with reciprocity agreements made under the international conventions, and names none. The text of Chad's own road code of 2017 (loi N°27/PR/2017 du 30 décembre 2017, as the Chadian press names it) was not located, and which of its provisions are in force is not established. Whether any other foreign licence, or an IDP, lets a visitor drive in Chad is therefore not established: check with the Chadian transport authorities before you travel.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: carry your national licence together with the document named in the row for your country of issue, in the table below — for most origin licences that document is not an IDP, so read your own answer rather than assuming one.
• Car renters: UK government advice is that police checkpoints are common and that officers may ask to see your passport, driving licence and vehicle registration documents. Carry originals plus entry stamp, rental authority and written insurance evidence.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source.

What side of the road does Chad drive on?

Chad drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Cars in Chad are left-hand drive.

How long can you drive in Chad with a foreign licence?

No visitor period is established: the CEMAC road code recognises licences from the other CEMAC member states (art. 8) but names no visitor period, and no Chadian text on other foreign licences was found. France Diplomatie says that a French licence can be used for the first three months of stay; UK government advice is that a UK licence must be converted to a Chadian one to drive in Chad. Check with the Chadian transport authorities before you travel. (France Diplomatie Tchad - Informations utiles (three-month French rule); UK FCDO Chad road travel (conversion required))

Planning to move to Chad? Different rules apply once you become a resident — see the residents section below.

Is Chad a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?

Chad is party to neither the 1949 Geneva Convention nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. An official convention IDP cannot be issued in Chad, and convention rules do not bind it — licence acceptance is governed purely by local law and bilateral arrangements.

Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place

Whether a foreign country accepts your driving licence hangs on a tangle of variables: three different road-traffic conventions signed decades apart (1926, 1949, 1968) — the oldest predates the United Nations itself, and only the latter two were concluded under it — countries at different stages of joining each (signed vs. accepted vs. ratified), licences printed in alphabets local police can't read, vehicle-category systems that don't line up between countries, document generations that may not meet a convention's format even when the country is a member, bilateral deals between individual states, and local laws that are looser in one place and stricter in the next. The same licence can be fine at one border and rejected at the next — even at the next rental desk. The International Driving Permit exists to cut through most of it: a standardized, multilingual presentation of your existing licence, with harmonized category symbols, that most officials can read at a glance. It doesn't replace your national licence or grant new rights — you carry both — and it doesn't guarantee acceptance: a handful of destinations still require a local permit alongside or instead of it, but for most it meaningfully improves your odds.

Can you drive in Chad with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Chad as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Chad is party to neither the 1949 nor the 1968 road-traffic convention, so neither convention obliges it to honour a foreign licence or an International Driving Permit. Under the CEMAC road code, which applies in Chad, licences issued in the other CEMAC member states (Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) are valid, subject to a check of their authenticity with the issuing state (art. 8). For any other licence the rule is not established: the code applies to drivers from outside CEMAC in accordance with reciprocity agreements it does not name, and the text of Chad's own road code of 2017 was not located. UK government guidance states that a UK licence must be converted to a Chadian one in order to drive in Chad; France Diplomatie says that a French licence is recognised for the first three months of stay. Check with the Chadian transport authorities before you travel. UK government advice is against all travel to parts of Chad and against all but essential travel to the rest of the country, including N'Djamena, and it describes medical facilities in Chad as poor. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: October 2026.

Legend: "1949" — Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (IDP valid up to 1 year); "1968" — Vienna Convention (IDP valid up to 3 years).

What the Status column means on this page:

• National licence OK — the destination lets a visitor drive on the national licence itself. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis, and any period or condition that qualifies it.
• Not established — the record does not settle whether you may drive here on this licence; confirm with the destination's licensing authority before you rely on it. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what could not be confirmed.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] CEMAC Règlement n°04/01-UEAC-089 du 3 août 2001 portant adoption du Code communautaire révisé de la route, scope clause and art. 8

Where to get an International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit must be obtained before you travel, and only certain countries may issue one to you — you cannot buy an official IDP from an unrelated country. Under the 1968 Vienna Convention it may be issued only by the Contracting Party where you normally reside and which issued or recognizes your licence — by that Party's competent authority or by an association it has duly empowered. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention it is issued by the competent authority of a Contracting State, or by an association that authority has duly empowered. Which body that is varies by country: a government agency in some, an authorized motoring club in others.

• Travelling from Chad? Chad's IDPs are issued by Ministere des Transports et de l'Aviation Civile (Ministère des Transports et de l'Aviation Civile). Official site. Chad is party to neither road-traffic convention, so the permit is issued outside the UN convention framework and is not an official convention IDP — check that your destination accepts it.
• Travelling from another country? Ask that country's driving-licence authority which body it authorizes to issue IDPs — a government agency in some countries, an authorized motoring club in others.

Separately, IDA offers a digital International Driver's Document — a translation of your national licence that you carry alongside it. It is not an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 or 1968 conventions by the body your country authorizes for that purpose, and it is not a certified, sworn or otherwise official translation: no authority certifies it, and where a country requires an official or certified translation by law, our document does not satisfy that requirement. It is a private translation meant to make your national licence readable at rental desks and roadside checks.

Moving to Chad? Rules for new residents

Under the CEMAC road code, a licence issued in another CEMAC member state is valid in Chad, subject to a check of its authenticity with the issuing state (art. 8); no Chadian text was found on other licences held by residents. UK government guidance states that a UK licence must be converted to a Chadian one to drive in Chad; France Diplomatie says that a French licence can be used for the first three months of stay. Check the rules for residents with the Chadian transport authorities. Foreign-government travel advice.

Driving rules in Chad tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: The CEMAC road code, which applies in Chad, requires every four-wheeled motor vehicle to carry a red warning triangle, to be placed at least 30 m from the vehicle after a breakdown or accident (art. 49), and every motor car to carry a fire extinguisher (art. 54); the driver and front-seat passengers of a car must wear a seat belt at all times (art. 51), and motorcyclists and their passengers a helmet (art. 52). For essential travel confirm four-wheel-drive capability, tyres, multiple spare wheels, fuel and water reserves, recovery equipment, first aid and satellite communications.
• Drink-driving: Under the CEMAC road code, which applies in Chad, a driver testing above 0.8 g/l of blood alcohol risks licence seizure and up to a year's suspension (art. 9 and 11); the text of Chad's 2017 road code was not located. A visibly drunk driver's licence can also be seized (art. 9), and the 2017 code bans driving under the influence of alcohol, according to the Chadian press. Treat the limit as zero. No published figure located. Impaired driving can bring detention, prosecution and loss of insurance cover.
• Speed limits: The CEMAC road code, which applies in Chad, sets 60 km/h in built-up areas (40 km/h for vehicles over 3.5 t) and, outside built-up areas unless a lower limit is set, 110 km/h for cars and motorcycles up to 3.5 t other than taxis and public transport, 90 km/h for public transport and for vehicles of 3.5 to 12.5 t, and 60 km/h for heavier vehicles and vehicles towing a trailer over 750 kg (art. 90). Chad's own 2017 road code also sets limits in and outside built-up areas, according to the Chadian press, but its text was not located. Obey posted km/h limits, roadblocks and security directions; surface condition, visibility and livestock frequently require much lower speeds.
• UK government advice is that police checkpoints are common and that officers may ask to see your passport, driving licence and vehicle registration documents. Carry originals plus entry stamp, rental authority and written insurance evidence.
• The FCDO advises against all travel to Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est and Tibesti provinces, the western part of Kanem Province including Nokou, the Lake Chad region, and within 30km of all of Chad's other borders; and against all but essential travel to the rest of Chad, including the capital N'Djamena. Use a vetted local driver, communications and a security plan for essential journeys.
• UK government advice is not to travel by road after dark, due to the risk of crime and poor road conditions. Road travel can be dangerous because of road conditions and the standard of driving; accidents involving motorbikes are common. Fuel shortages are frequent — travel in convoy, keep doors locked, carry spare fuel and supplies. Avoid driving near government buildings at night and take extreme care on the road in front of the Presidential Palace.

Read more about driving in Chad

• 10 Interesting Facts About Chad
• Best Places to Visit in Chad

Watch what driving in Chad looks like

A few minutes of real POV footage is the fastest way to feel confident before your first drive in Chad:

Open the video on YouTube if the player does not load.

Sources

1. France Diplomatie Tchad - Informations utiles (three-month French rule); UK FCDO Chad road travel (conversion required)
2. France Diplomatie, Tchad - Informations utiles (source of the three-month French-licence sentence)
3. UK FCDO Chad travel advice, advisory levels and regions
4. UK FCDO Chad, emergency service numbers (1212 / 2020)
5. UN MTDSG XI-B-1, status of the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic - Chad absent from the 103 parties
6. UN MTDSG XI-B-19, status of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic - Chad absent from the 91 parties
7. CEMAC Règlement n°04/01-UEAC-089 du 3 août 2001 portant adoption du Code communautaire révisé de la route, as published by the Secrétariat général du Gouvernement of the Republic of the Congo — licence ages (art. 4), licences from other CEMAC member states (art. 8), alcohol (art. 9 and 11), equipment (art. 49, 51, 52 and 54), speed limits (art. 90)
8. Portail de la Renaissance du Tchad (news site), 21 September 2024 — Chad's road code revised by loi N°27/PR/2017 du 30 décembre 2017
9. Tchadinfos (news site), 29 September 2023 — the road code adopted in 2017 enters into force that day
10. Ialtchad Presse (news site), 29 September 2023 — the new road code, with its alcohol ban and speed limits, to enter into force on 20 October 2023
11. Ministere des Transports et de l'Aviation Civile — authorized IDP issuer in Chad
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
13. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic