International Driving Permit in South Sudan

🗓 Facts checked against official government guidance for South Sudan and other official sources. Research last updated: 29 July 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 South Sudan: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in South Sudan?
• What side of the road does South Sudan drive on?
• How long can you drive in South Sudan with a foreign licence?
• Is South Sudan a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in South Sudan with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to South Sudan? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in South Sudan tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in South Sudan
• Sources

Driving in South Sudan: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in South Sudan?

South Sudan has acceded to neither the 1949 Geneva nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (UN Treaty Collection participant lists — neither Sudan nor South Sudan appears in either). No IDP edition therefore has treaty force in South Sudan and no accepted type can be asserted. An IDP works there only as a de facto translation and identity aid: the Canadian government advises 'You should carry an International Driving Permit', and the UK FCDO states 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in South Sudan. If you still have a paper driving licence, you may need to update it to a photocard licence or get the correct version of the international driving permit (IDP).' Carrying an IDP alongside the home licence is prudent but is not a verified legal requirement.

• 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 non-exempt licences that is an IDP.

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 South Sudan drive on?

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

How long can you drive in South Sudan with a foreign licence?

No official maximum period for driving in South Sudan on a foreign licence as a visitor could be verified. Secondary sources claim the Traffic Act, 2003 (reported ss. 31-32) caps foreigners' licences at one year, but the statute text was not retrievable and this figure is not confirmed. Assume no documented visitor allowance and confirm locally before driving. (No period stated in UK FCDO or Canadian government South Sudan guidance; national statute unretrievable)

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

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

South Sudan is party to neither the 1949 Geneva Convention nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic. An official convention IDP cannot be issued in South Sudan, 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 South Sudan with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to South Sudan as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. South Sudan is party to neither the 1949 Geneva nor the 1968 Vienna road-traffic convention, so no treaty obliges it to recognise foreign licences and no IDP edition is treaty-grounded there. In practice visitors drive on their home national licence, with an IDP or certified English translation strongly advised — the UK FCDO confirms a UK photocard licence can be used and Canada advises carrying an IDP. No official maximum visitor driving period, minimum age, BAC limit or fine tariff could be verified. The FCDO advises against all travel to South Sudan and describes driving there as extremely dangerous. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: July 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:

• No convention basis established for your licence — IDP advised — no road-traffic convention basis for your licence could be established at this destination, so this row settles neither that the licence alone is enough nor that anything must be carried with it; carrying an IDP is advised as a practical translation of your licence rather than as a legal entitlement. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, says what could not be established.
• 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] UN Treaty Collection, Multilateral Treaties Deposited with the Secretary-General — status of the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-1) and of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (chapter XI-B-19) — XI-B-1, XI-B-19

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 South Sudan? Rules for new residents

This is a separate clock from any visitor allowance. Anyone taking up residence or long-term work in South Sudan is expected to obtain a South Sudanese driving licence rather than rely indefinitely on a foreign licence. News reporting indicates foreigners are issued a short-validity 'expat' licence (reported as reduced to one year), against five years for citizens — reportedly under the Traffic Act, 2003 — but neither the statute nor the reporting could be verified on the date checked.

Driving rules in South Sudan tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Carry your home driving licence, an IDP or certified English translation, passport and visa, vehicle registration/ownership or rental papers and insurance. If overland travel is unavoidable, carry recovery gear, satellite communications, spare fuel and tyres, water and supplies — Canadian government guidance recommends shovels, traction ramps, GPS and communication equipment.
• Drink-driving: No statutory blood-alcohol limit could be verified from any official source. Treat the limit as zero and do not drink and drive. No penalty tariff verified. Expect police, checkpoint, criminal and insurance consequences.
• Speed limits: No verified national speed-limit table. Obey posted limits and security instructions; conflict, checkpoint and road-surface risk override ordinary journey planning.
• The FCDO advises against all travel to South Sudan. Verbatim: 'It is extremely dangerous to drive in South Sudan due to armed robbery, violent attacks and poor driving standards.' Driving standards are described as well below UK and other European levels.
• Avoid travel after dark. Verbatim: 'At night there is almost no street lighting, and many vehicles have no lights. Motor vehicles share the road with pedestrians, donkey carts and rickshaw-style cabs.' Roadblocks and checkpoints are commonly set up after sunset.
• Verbatim: 'Very few roads are surfaced and maintained, particularly outside Juba.' and 'During the rainy season from April to November, most roads outside of Juba become impassable.' Road traffic accidents are common, particularly on the Juba-Nimule road.
• Canadian government guidance (updated 22 July 2026) states verbatim: 'You should carry an International Driving Permit.' It also recommends avoiding all overland travel, notes frequent armed attacks, kidnappings and landmines outside Juba, and says a four-wheel-drive vehicle is essential outside Juba.

Read more about driving in South Sudan

• Best Places to Visit in South Sudan

Watch what driving in South Sudan looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. UK FCDO — advises against all travel to South Sudan (updated 26 May 2026)
3. UK FCDO — 'There are no central emergency numbers in South Sudan'
4. Government of Canada — 'You should carry an International Driving Permit' (updated 22 July 2026)
5. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic participant list (South Sudan absent)
6. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic participant list (South Sudan absent)
7. Transitional Constitution of South Sudan, 2011, art. 6(2) — English is the official working language
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
9. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic