Driving Permit for Mauritania
Driving in Mauritania on a foreign licence: Mauritania is in neither the 1949 nor 1968 road traffic convention, so an IDP is not legally required, just useful. Traffic drives on the right.
- Drive on
- Right
- Convention
- Not a party
- IDP validity
- Varies
- Processing time
- 24-48 hours
Do you need an IDP to drive in Mauritania?
Mauritania sits outside the international driving permit treaty system. United Nations depositary records show it is not a contracting party to either the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic or the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, so no treaty obliges Mauritanian authorities to accept an IDP, and Mauritania issues no IDP under either convention. In practice the IDP is a translation and credibility document rather than a legal entitlement. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office states that a UK photocard driving licence can be used to drive in Mauritania, and does not mention an IDP at all.
The legal position and the practical one can still diverge. Arabic is the official language and French is also widely used, so a licence printed only in English or in a non-Latin script may be hard for a rental agent or a police officer to read, and that is the gap a standardised translation fills. Traffic drives on the right and overtakes on the left. The FCDO warns that driving standards can be poor, that traffic rules are rarely respected and that paved roads are generally in poor condition.
Two points catch visitors out. It is illegal for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to import or consume alcohol in Mauritania, so there is no drink-drive threshold to work with. Outside the towns the FCDO advises using a four-wheel-drive vehicle, avoiding travel at night, and travelling in convoy with an experienced guide when leaving urban areas. Police checkpoints are common outside Nouakchott, so carry copies of your photo ID. If you plan to bring your own vehicle overland, check customs, insurance and import rules with the Mauritanian embassy before you travel.
Mauritania has not ratified either UN road-traffic convention.
Mauritania is not a contracting party to the 1949 Geneva or 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, so no treaty obliges it to recognise an International Driving Permit. That does not automatically make an IDP useless: rental companies and police often ask for a readable translation of a foreign license, and many drivers carry one for exactly that reason. Read the country detail below and confirm the current rules with your rental company before you travel.
What you need to drive in Mauritania
Have these ready before you pick up the keys.
Original national driving licence, carried at all times; a photocard is easier to present than a paper licence, and the FCDO advises UK drivers to update a paper licence to a photocard
No treaty requires an IDP: Mauritania is party to neither the 1949 Geneva nor the 1968 Vienna road traffic convention. An IDP is optional, but gives a standardised translation of your licence
Rental firms set their own age, deposit and licence-held conditions; confirm these with the supplier before booking rather than relying on any published minimum age
Carry copies of your photo ID; the FCDO advises this especially outside Nouakchott, where there are police checkpoints
UN depositary records list 103 parties to the 1949 Geneva Convention and 91 to the 1968 Vienna Convention; Mauritania appears on neither list.
Because it is not a contracting party, Mauritania issues no IDP under either convention, and no treaty binds it to recognise one issued elsewhere.
The FCDO states a UK photocard driving licence can be used to drive in Mauritania, and does not list an IDP as a requirement.
Arabic is the official language and French is also widely used, so a licence in English or a non-Latin script benefits from the IDP's standardised translation.
The FCDO states that it is illegal for both Muslims and non-Muslims to import or consume alcohol in Mauritania.
Mauritania's estimated road fatality rate per 100,000 people is well above the global average, and the FCDO notes traffic rules are rarely respected.
What to know before you turn the key
Mauritania drives on the right — the driver sits on the left, and roundabouts flow anti-clockwise.
Carry your IDP and your original license together — rental desks and police checks will ask for both documents.
An IDP is not demanded by law, but as a standardised translation it can reduce friction at a rental counter or a checkpoint where your home licence may not be readable.
The FCDO states it is illegal for both Muslims and non-Muslims to import or consume alcohol in Mauritania, so drivers should assume zero tolerance rather than look for a published blood-alcohol limit.
Police checkpoints are common outside Nouakchott; the FCDO advises always carrying copies of your photo ID.
No national schedule of traffic fines is readily published for visitors, and we could not verify one from an authoritative source, so treat any specific figure quoted online with suspicion. The realistic risks are practical rather than tariffed: being stopped at one of the frequent checkpoints outside Nouakchott without readable documents, and being pressed for informal payments, which the FCDO notes can happen at border crossings. Because no convention binds Mauritania to recognise an IDP, the permit will not by itself settle a document dispute, though it does make your licence legible to the officer in front of you. Alcohol is a separate and more serious matter: the FCDO states it is illegal for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to import or consume it, so it is not merely regulated for drivers.
Local rules to watch in Mauritania
Low-emission zones, tolls, and city-specific rules that catch visiting drivers out.
Nouakchott: the capital and the usual base for hiring a vehicle. The FCDO advises carrying copies of your photo ID especially outside Nouakchott, where there are police checkpoints.
Nouadhibou: the northern port city, reached from the capital on the coastal route and a common waypoint on journeys towards the Moroccan border.
Chinguetti and Tichit: desert heritage sites that the FCDO says you should reach by travelling in convoy with an experienced guide rather than driving alone.
Signs you'll meet on the road
Eight internationally recognised signs — including which side of the road Mauritania keeps.
Common questions about driving in Mauritania
Drive Mauritania, confidently.
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