International Driving Permit in Togo

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

Driving in Togo: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Togo?

Togo is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (succession 27 Feb 1962) and is not a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so only the 1949 IDP is relevant — there is no 1968 permit route. An IDP is not documented as legally mandatory for a short visit: UK government guidance states a national photocard licence alone may be used for up to 6 months. A 1949 IDP is nevertheless strongly advised, is what UK guidance requires for stays beyond 6 months, and is routinely demanded by rental firms and at checkpoints. An IDP is never valid on its own — it must be carried together with the original national licence.

• 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.
• Car renters: Carry the original national licence at all times, plus a 1949 IDP where applicable, and keep the vehicle registration and insurance in the car. Rental companies frequently require an IDP from day one regardless of the 6-month guidance.

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 Togo drive on?

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

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

UK government guidance states verbatim: "You can use a UK photocard driving licence to drive in Togo for up to 6 months" and "If you're staying for longer than 6 months, you'll need get the 1949 version of the international driving permit (IDP)." This is UK-licence-specific guidance; no Togolese primary legal text setting a general recognition period for all foreign licences could be retrieved. Treat 6 months as a practical benchmark, and carry a 1949 IDP from day one for any other origin. (UK FCDO travel advice for Togo, Safety and security)

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

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

Togo is a Contracting Party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, but not to the 1968 Vienna Convention.

• 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic: succession on 27 Feb 1962.

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 Togo with your country's licence?

This table is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Togo as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Find your licence's country of issue below. Togo is a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (succession 27 Feb 1962) but not to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the 1949 IDP is the only permit type in play. UK government guidance documents driving on a national photocard licence alone for up to 6 months, with a 1949 IDP carried alongside the original licence for longer stays. That 6-month figure is UK-licence-specific guidance rather than a verified Togolese statute covering every origin, so travellers from other countries should carry a 1949 IDP with the original licence from arrival. 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:

• Treaty recognises licence — IDP advised — the 1949 Geneva Convention obliges this destination to recognise your national licence, and separately allows a destination to require a 1949-type IDP; this row states the treaty position and does not settle which of the two this destination chose, so carrying an IDP is advised. The row for your country of issue, in the table below, gives the basis.
• 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 Togo? Togo's official IDPs are issued by Direction des Transports Routiers et Ferroviaires (DTRF).
• 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 Togo? Rules for new residents

Someone settling in Togo should convert to or obtain a Togolese licence rather than rely indefinitely on visitor documents. Note that the only documented period (6 months) comes from UK visitor guidance — no separate, verified residence clock was found, so it is unclear whether 6 months is a stay-length rule or a residence-establishment rule. Official source.

Driving rules in Togo tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: No verified Togolese equipment list was found; the UK FCDO Togo page mentions none (the previous dossier's warning-triangle and first-aid-kit claims were misattributed to it). Regional practice is seat belts for all occupants, helmets for motorcycle riders and passengers, and carrying complete vehicle documents — treat as prudent practice, not as confirmed Togolese law.
• Drink-driving: UK government guidance states there are no set blood alcohol limits in Togo, and that "if traffic control officers suspect you of drink-driving they can order a medical exam". Absence of a published threshold is not permission — treat the practical limit as zero. UK guidance, verbatim: "Punishments range from a fine and a prison sentence of one to 3 years." No numeric fine figure is published.
• Speed limits: Traffic drives on the right. No official Togolese speed-limit schedule was retrievable on 29 July 2026 and the UK FCDO page publishes none; obey posted limits and drive well below them at night, on unlit rural roads and in the rainy season.
• Carry the original national licence at all times, plus a 1949 IDP where applicable, and keep the vehicle registration and insurance in the car. Rental companies frequently require an IDP from day one regardless of the 6-month guidance.
• UK guidance, verbatim: "You may encounter official and unofficial roadblocks. Stop at control points if asked. Turn on your interior vehicle lights and only continue when you're told you can".
• UK guidance, verbatim: "Driving standards in Togo are poor and add to the risk of accidents" and "Roads outside towns and cities are poorly lit." During the rainy season minor roads may be blocked. Avoid driving at night outside urban areas.

Read more about driving in Togo

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

Watch what driving in Togo looks like

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

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Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Resident licence conversion rule
3. UK government IDP table — row: "Togo | 1949"
4. UK FCDO Togo — emergency numbers (Ambulance 8200, Fire 118, Police 117 or 177)
5. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Convention on Road Traffic status: Togo, 27 Feb 1962 (succession)
6. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic status: Togo absent from both the 91 parties and the 36 signatories
7. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
8. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic