International Driving Permit in Sudan

🗓 Facts checked against Sudan'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 Sudan: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Sudan?
• What side of the road does Sudan drive on?
• How long can you drive in Sudan with a foreign licence?
• Is 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 Sudan with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Sudan? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Sudan tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Sudan
• Sources

Driving in Sudan: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Sudan?

Sudan is a party to neither the 1949 Geneva nor the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (per the UN Treaty Collection participant tables for chapters XI-B-1 and XI-B-19 on 2026-07-29 — Sudan appears in neither). No International Driving Permit therefore has treaty force in Sudan, and no IDP can be legally 'required'. Sudan's own Traffic Act 2010 recognises foreign documents: a person entering Sudan in transit or for tourism or investment may drive on a valid licence issued by another country for up to 90 days from entry (art. 17(4)), and a foreigner holding a valid licence issued by another country, or an international driving permit, needs no Sudanese licence for up to one year from entry and may exchange it for a Sudanese one (art. 17(5)). The Act does not say which of the two periods governs a foreign tourist; if you will drive for more than 90 days, check with the traffic police before you travel. The Government of Canada's Sudan travel advice states 'You should carry an international driving permit.' For UK licence holders the FCDO says: 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Sudan for up to 3 months.' Paper-licence holders are told they may need to update to a photocard.

• 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.

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

What side of the road does Sudan drive on?

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

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

A visitor in transit or for tourism or investment may drive on a valid foreign licence for up to 90 days from entry (Traffic Act 2010, art. 17(4)); whether the one year of art. 17(5) also applies is not established. Art. 17(5) exempts any foreigner holding a valid foreign licence or an international driving permit from needing a Sudanese licence for up to one year from entry, and the Act does not say which of the two periods governs a foreign tourist; if you will drive for more than 90 days, check with the traffic police before you travel. For UK licence holders the FCDO says: 'You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Sudan for up to 3 months'. (Traffic Act 2010 (Law No. 1 of 2010), art. 17(4) and (5); UK FCDO Sudan travel advice, 'Road travel')

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

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

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 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 Sudan with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Sudan as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Sudan sits outside both driving-licence conventions — it is a party to neither the 1949 Geneva nor the 1968 Vienna Convention — so no International Driving Permit has treaty force there and none can be legally required. Sudan's own Traffic Act 2010 lets a person entering in transit or for tourism or investment drive on a valid foreign licence for up to 90 days from entry (Article 17(4)), and exempts a foreigner holding a valid foreign licence or an international driving permit from needing a Sudanese licence for up to one year (Article 17(5)); it does not say which of the two periods applies to a tourist, so check with the traffic police before driving beyond 90 days. For UK photocard licences the UK FCDO gives 3 months. The Act names no translation requirement, so an Arabic translation (and, as Canada advises, an IDP) should be treated as a practical precaution. With FCDO advising against all travel because of the ongoing conflict, the security plan, the documentation you carry and the honest information gaps below matter far more than nominal licence eligibility. 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.
• National licence OK — IDP advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, but carrying one is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.
• 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.
• National licence OK — IDD/translation advised — the destination does not require an IDP for this licence, and no official convention IDP can be issued for it; carry an IDD or a certified translation instead. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the reason and any conditions attached.

Sources and notes for the table above

[1] Traffic Act 2010 (Law No. 1 of 2010), art. 17(4) and (5)

[a] Licence categories do not follow the convention A–E scheme — rental staff may ask for an IDP to map them.

[b] IDD = International Driver's Document, a standardized translation of your national driving licence. You can apply here: https://idaoffice.org/apply-now/.

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 Sudan? Sudan's IDPs are issued by Automobile & Touring Club of Sudan (ATCS). Official site. Sudan 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 Sudan? Rules for new residents

A foreigner holding a valid foreign licence or an international driving permit needs no Sudanese licence for up to one year from entry and may exchange the licence for a Sudanese one (Traffic Act 2010, art. 17(5)); after that a Sudanese licence is required. Official source.

Driving rules in Sudan tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: No verified statutory carry-list (warning triangle, vest, extinguisher). Practically: a reliable vehicle — four-wheel drive off the main highways — with fuel, water, communications, first aid and recovery supplies. Carry the licence, any Arabic translation/IDP, registration, insurance, photographic ID and any movement permits at all times.
• Drink-driving: The Traffic Act 2010 sets no numeric alcohol limit: driving, or attempting to drive, under the influence of alcohol or a drug is a crime (art. 59). Alcohol law: Sudan's blanket prohibition was amended in July 2020 so that non-Muslims may consume alcohol in private; consumption by Muslims, and public sale/consumption, remain prohibited, and some governments (e.g. Canada) still advise flatly that 'it is prohibited to import or consume alcohol, even in private.' Treat drink-driving as a criminal, not a tariffed traffic, matter and do not drink before driving. Driving, or attempting to drive, under the influence of alcohol or a drug is punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 5,000 Sudanese pounds, on top of any penalty another law sets (Traffic Act 2010, art. 59). Under art. 66(5), the traffic court must also impose an additional penalty from paragraphs 2 and 3 of the same article: up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 2,000 pounds, and a warning endorsed on the licence or its temporary or permanent withdrawal. The flogging that art. 66(2) also provided for was repealed by Law No. 12 of 2020.
• Speed limits: The Traffic Act 2010 sets no national speed limits: a state governor may set the limit on any road in the state on the traffic police's recommendation, and the limit must be published and signposted (art. 37); speeds on national highways are left to regulations (art. 56). Drive on the right, obey military and police checkpoints and local movement controls; in practice conflict conditions and road surface, not signage, determine safe speed. The UK FCDO states that 'Sudanese law prohibits the use of mobile phones while driving'; the rule is not in the Traffic Act 2010 itself.
• FCDO advises against all travel to Sudan because of the ongoing military conflict in Khartoum and other parts of the country. Travel insurance could be invalidated by travelling against that advice. Road travel 'will involve heightened levels of risk due to the current conflict and should only be undertaken if strictly necessary'.
• 'It is a legal requirement to carry photographic ID, such as a passport, with you at all times.' FCDO also advises drivers to 'keep doors locked and windows closed when driving' and not to leave valuables on display, citing widespread violent crime, demands for money at checkpoints, drive-by bag-snatching by thieves on motorbikes and attempts to open the doors of stopped vehicles. If stopped or attacked, comply with demands and do not resist.
• 'Road conditions are poor. Roads, even major ones, might be untarred or unsurfaced' and have potholes. Roads are shared with pedestrians, donkey-carts and rickshaws; night-time visibility is poor. Canada's advice adds that many routes outside the main cities need four-wheel drive, except the highways linking Khartoum with Kassala, Atbara and El Obeid.
• Sudan drives on the right (it switched from left-hand to right-hand traffic in 1973).

Read more about driving in Sudan

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

Watch what driving in Sudan looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. UK FCDO Sudan — road travel (UK photocard, 3 months), mobile-phone ban, crime and road conditions
3. UK FCDO Sudan — advice against all travel and insurance-invalidation warning
4. UK FCDO Sudan — emergency number 999 (ambulance, fire, police) and reliability warning
5. Government of Canada Sudan travel advice — 'You should carry an international driving permit', alcohol, 4WD routes, emergency numbers 999/333/777
6. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic participants; Sudan not a party
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic participants; Sudan not a party
8. UK DVLA IDP country table — Sudan absent, i.e. no UK-recognised IDP type for Sudan
9. Sudan Ministry of Justice — Official Gazette No. 1904 of 13 July 2020: Law No. 12 of 2020, which repealed the flogging penalty of Traffic Act 2010, art. 66(2)
10. Automobile & Touring Club of Sudan (ATCS) — authorized IDP issuer in Sudan
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic