International Driving Permit in Senegal

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

Driving in Senegal: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Senegal?

Senegal's own texts do not settle whether a visitor's licence is valid. The only rule found is in a 2004 decree (décret n° 2004-13 of 19 January 2004, art. 106): it makes valid, and exchangeable for a Senegalese licence, the driving licences of states that grant reciprocity to Senegalese licence holders and the international driving permits issued to people not domiciled in Senegal. It does not require an IDP, names no reciprocity state and leaves the details to a ministerial order, which was not found. The decree was made under the 2002 Code de la route, which the 2022 Code de la route (Loi n° 2022-04 of 15 April 2022, art. L.104) repealed; the 2022 code does not say whether the decree still applies. The 2022 code itself has no article on foreign licences: it requires a valid licence issued by the road-transport services (art. L.4), and a driver of a vehicle in international traffic must present the documents required by the conventions and international agreements in force (art. L.74). Senegal is a party to both road-traffic conventions: it succeeded to the 1949 Geneva Convention on 13 July 1962 and acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention on 16 August 1972 (UN Treaty Collection, chapters XI-B-1 and XI-B-19). No Senegalese text found says whether membership of either convention counts as the reciprocity the decree asks for. So it is not established whether your licence alone is valid, or whether the decree's IDP rule still applies: check with the Senegalese road-transport authorities before you travel. UK government advice is that a 1968 IDP 'may be helpful in offering a translation for traffic officials'; Canadian government advice is that beyond 90 days you must have an international driver's licence with your Canadian licence.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: Senegal's 2004 decree (art. 106) makes valid the licences of states granting Senegal reciprocity, which no published list names, and IDPs issued to non-residents; the 2022 Code de la route does not say whether that decree still applies. Check with the authorities before you travel; the answer below says what is known.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Foreign-government travel advice.

What side of the road does Senegal drive on?

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

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

Conflicting sources — no single verified period. UK government advice states: 'You can drive in Senegal with a UK driving licence for up to 6 months.' Canadian government advice states: 'You can drive with a valid Canadian driver's licence for a period of 90 days. Beyond this period, you must have an international driver's licence, accompanied by your valid Canadian driver's licence.' Senegal's own texts do not settle it: neither the Code de la route (Loi n° 2022-04 of 15 April 2022) nor the 2004 decree made under the code it replaced (décret n° 2004-13 of 19 January 2004) names a visitor period, and the 2022 code does not say whether that decree still applies. Article 106 of the decree makes two kinds of foreign document valid, and exchangeable for a Senegalese licence: driving licences from states that grant reciprocity to Senegalese licence holders, which no published list names, and international driving permits issued to people not domiciled in Senegal; the details are left to a ministerial order, which was not found. Plan on the shorter 90-day figure and carry an IDP from day one. (gov.uk Senegal travel advice; travel.gc.ca Senegal)

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

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

Senegal is a Contracting Party to both United Nations Conventions on Road Traffic — the Geneva Convention of 19 September 1949 and the Vienna Convention of 8 November 1968. International Driving Permits of both the 1949 and the 1968 type are therefore issued against its framework; the answer below says what is established about which types Senegal accepts from visitors.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: succession on 13 Jul 1962.
• 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic: accession on 16 Aug 1972.

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 Senegal with your country's licence?

This answer is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Senegal as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Senegal is a party to both road-traffic conventions — the 1949 Geneva Convention (since 1962) and the 1968 Vienna Convention (since 1972) — but its own texts do not settle which visiting licences are valid. The only rule found is in a 2004 decree made under the code that the 2022 Code de la route (Loi n° 2022-04 of 15 April 2022) repealed: it makes valid the licences of states that grant Senegal reciprocity, which no published list names, and international driving permits issued to non-residents, and the 2022 code does not say whether that decree still applies. Check with the Senegalese road-transport authorities before you travel. How long a visitor may drive is not settled either: UK government advice says up to six months, Canadian government advice says 90 days, and neither the 2022 code nor the 2004 decree names a visitor period, so plan on the shorter figure and carry an IDP from day one. French is the administrative language; no Senegalese text found says whether a licence in another language or script needs a translation. UK government advice is that anyone staying longer or living in Senegal must get a Senegalese driving licence. 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).

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 answer below says what could not be confirmed.

What you need to carry — Check with local authorities before travel

Why — Senegal's 2004 decree (art. 106) makes valid the licences of states granting Senegal reciprocity, which no published list names, and IDPs issued to non-residents; the 2022 Code de la route does not say whether that decree still applies. [1]

Sources and notes for the answer above

[1] Décret n° 2004-13 du 19 janvier 2004, art. 106; Loi n° 2022-04 du 15 avril 2022 portant Code de la route, arts. L.4, L.74 and L.104

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 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 Senegal? Rules for new residents

UK government advice: 'If you're staying longer or living in Senegal, you must get a Senegalese driving licence.' No Senegalese text found says when a resident must exchange a foreign licence: the 2004 decree (décret n° 2004-13, art. 106), whose survival under the 2022 Code de la route is not settled, makes the licences of states granting Senegal reciprocity valid and exchangeable for a Senegalese licence and names no deadline, and the 2022 code has no article on foreign licences. Check with the Senegalese road-transport authorities before you settle. Foreign-government travel advice.

Driving rules in Senegal tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Wear an approved seat belt in any seat fitted with one: not doing so is an offence that automatic enforcement cameras can record (Loi n° 2022-04 portant Code de la route, art. L.102). Use appropriate child restraints. Using a hand-held phone while driving, or holding any other device that can reduce your attention or movement, is banned, and so is wearing in the ear any device that can emit sound, except a hearing aid (art. L.57); the penalty is three to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 CFA francs (art. L.87). Carry the vehicle registration, valid third-party insurance and your identity documents at all times — police checkpoints are routine.
• Drink-driving: Driving with 0.20 g/l or more of alcohol in the blood, or 0.10 mg/l or more in exhaled air, or while obviously drunk, is a criminal offence (Loi n° 2022-04 portant Code de la route, art. L.84). Do not drink before driving. The penalty is one to three years' imprisonment and a fine of 500,000 to 5,000,000 CFA francs (Loi n° 2022-04 portant Code de la route, art. L.84), and the same penalties apply to driving under the influence of narcotics or psychotropic substances. If the driver causes an accident that kills or injures someone, the penalties are doubled and the fine is at least 600,000 CFA francs. Offences against the driving rules may also lead to the vehicle being immobilised (art. L.98). The 2004 decree made under the code that the 2022 code repealed lets the police and gendarmerie immobilise the vehicle of a driver who is obviously drunk or under the influence of alcohol (décret n° 2004-13 du 19 janvier 2004, art. 112); the 2022 code does not say whether that decree still applies. The 2022 Code de la route has been law since April 2022, but in March 2026 the transport minister still spoke of pushing for its effective entry into force ('l'entrée en vigueur effective du nouveau code de la route') in the first half of 2026; how far police and courts already apply its figures is not known.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right. Obey posted km/h limits. The Code de la route (Loi n° 2022-04, art. L.58) sets maximum speeds for normal conditions, for rain or other precipitation, and for visibility under 50 metres: on motorways 130, 100 and 50 km/h; on roads with two carriageways separated by a central reservation 110, 90 and 50 km/h; on sections with at least two lanes in the same direction 100, 80 and 50 km/h; on two-way roads without a central divider 90, 70 and 50 km/h; and in built-up areas 50 km/h in all conditions. Near schools, hospitals and religious buildings the limit is 30 km/h (art. L.60). The road operator may lower these limits on particular sections because of the road's layout or condition. Breaking a speed limit is punishable by three to six months' imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 to 500,000 CFA francs; if it causes a fatal accident, no suspended sentence is possible and the fine is at least 200,000 CFA francs (art. L.87). How far these limits are already enforced is not known: in March 2026 the government was still pushing for the 2022 code's effective entry into force. Expect heavy congestion around Dakar and during major religious festivals (notably the Magal and Gamou pilgrimages).
• Carry the original national licence plus your IDP (1968 for 1968-party origins, 1949 for 1949-only origins), passport with entry stamp, vehicle registration and insurance. Checkpoints are common.
• After a crash: 'you must contact the police on 17 and wait for them to arrive at the scene' (UK advice). Canadian advice adds that you should remain at the scene until an official report is completed.
• 'Most main roads are of good quality, but minor roads can be in very poor repair.' 'During the rainy season from June to September, torrential rains can cause floods and landslides which damage roads'.
• 'Driving after dark is more dangerous because of poorly lit roads and vehicles without lights.' 'Drivers can make sudden movements without signalling and speeding is common.' 'Many taxis and public mini-buses are not roadworthy by UK standards.' Canadian advice recommends avoiding driving at night between cities.

Read more about driving in Senegal

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

Watch what driving in Senegal looks like

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. gov.uk Senegal travel advice; travel.gc.ca Senegal
3. UK IDP table — row 'Senegal | 1968' (advice to UK licence holders)
4. UK FCDO Senegal — emergency numbers 15 / 18 / 17 / 123
5. UN Treaty Collection XI-B-1 — Senegal succeeded to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, 13 Jul 1962 (with an Art. 2(1) declaration excluding Annex 1)
6. UN Treaty Collection XI-B-19 — Senegal acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, 16 Aug 1972
7. Loi n° 2022-04 du 15 avril 2022 portant Code de la route (partie législative), JO n° 7520 du 27 avril 2022 — alcohol limit and penalties (art. L.84), speed limits (art. L.58, L.60), phone ban (art. L.57), seat belts (art. L.102), penalties (art. L.87)
8. Décret n° 2004-13 du 19 janvier 2004 (Code de la route, partie réglementaire) — minimum ages (art. 95), foreign licences and international driving permits (art. 106), immobilisation (art. 112)
9. Agence de presse sénégalaise, 11 March 2026 — the transport minister on the effective entry into force of the 2022 Code de la route
10. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic