Driving Permit for Chad

Chad has not ratified either UN road-traffic convention, and official advice treats one as effectively mandatory: Canadian government travel guidance states plainly that you must carry an IDP to drive in Chad. Take it together with your original national licence — an IDP is a certified translation, not a stand-alone licence — and note that the 1949 format includes French, an official language of Chad, which makes roadside document checks far smoother. Traffic drives on the right-hand side, as it does in every one of Chad's neighbours.

The paperwork is the easy part. Police and military checkpoints are routine, and officers commonly ask to see your passport, driving licence and vehicle registration, so keep everything within reach. Road travel beyond N'Djamena normally requires an authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior, typically granted after a few days. Most of the network is unpaved — even parts of the capital — and the July-to-October rainy season regularly makes routes impassable. Official advice is unambiguous: do not drive after dark, travel in convoy outside towns, and carry spare fuel, a spare tyre and provisions, because fuel shortages are common even in major cities.

Don't expect a conventional rental-desk experience. The big international hire brands have little to no presence in Chad; vehicles — usually 4x4s — are arranged through hotels or local agencies in N'Djamena and very often come with a driver, which most visitors should prefer given local conditions. If you settle in Chad long term, the visitor arrangement ends: UK government guidance notes that residents must convert their licence to a Chadian one.