Driving Permit for Togo
Do you need an IDP in Togo? Togo recognises the 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit. Check licence rules, driving side, checkpoints and car hire before you drive.
- Drive on
- Right
- Convention
- 1949 Geneva
- IDP validity
- 6 months
- Processing time
- 24-48 hours
Do you need an IDP to drive in Togo?
Togo has been a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic since 1962, and it does not appear among the parties to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so the 1949-format International Driving Permit is the version that applies. GOV.UK's country table lists Togo as a 1949 IDP country. An IDP is not a licence in its own right. It is a standard multilingual companion to the domestic licence you already hold, and the UK will only issue one to a driver who already holds a valid GB or Northern Ireland licence. Because Togo administers in French, the IDP does the practical work of making an English or non-Latin-script licence readable to a Togolese official or rental agent.
For shorter visits many foreign drivers can use their home licence. The Government of Canada says you may use a valid Canadian driver's licence in Togo and recommends carrying an IDP. The FCDO says you can use a UK photocard licence for up to 6 months and need the 1949 IDP beyond that, and that a paper licence may need updating to a photocard. In practice the gap between recommended and required narrows at the hire counter, where the FCDO says companies impose stricter standards than the law, including a year of driving experience, a higher minimum age and holding an IDP.
Traffic drives on the right and overtakes on the left, as in neighbouring Ghana, Benin and Burkina Faso. The FCDO describes driving standards as poor and roads outside towns and cities as poorly lit, and says minor roads can close during the rainy seasons. Canada notes travel outside major urban areas may require a four-wheel-drive vehicle and advises against overland travel after dark. On drink-driving, the FCDO says there are no set blood alcohol content limits, but officers who suspect it can order a medical exam, and penalties include a fine and one to three years in prison.
Togo recognises the IDP under the 1949 Geneva Convention.
Togo is a signatory to the 1949 Geneva Convention. In practice, an IDP issued by another signatory country is recognised for your permitted visitor stay — in Togo, plan on 6 months.
What you need to drive in Togo
Have these ready before you pick up the keys.
Your full, valid home driving licence, carried with you. An IDP does not replace it - the UK will only issue an IDP to someone who already holds a valid GB or Northern Ireland licence.
A 1949-format International Driving Permit. GOV.UK lists Togo as a 1949 IDP country, and says you cannot buy a UK IDP outside the UK, so arrange it before you travel.
Identification papers and vehicle documentation kept ready to present - Canadian government advice notes police checkpoints are frequent in Togo.
The 1949 Convention sets a minimum age of 18 for driving in international traffic, and the FCDO says hire companies often apply a higher minimum age.
The UN Treaty Collection records Togo as a party to the 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic by succession on 27 February 1962.
Togo does not appear among the parties or signatories to the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, so the 1949-format IDP is the one to carry.
The 1949 Convention's model permit states that it is valid for one year from the date of issue, and that it is not valid in the territory of the state that issued it.
Annex 8 of the 1949 Convention sets the minimum age for driving in international traffic at eighteen years.
The FCDO says you cannot buy a UK IDP outside the UK, so it has to be arranged before you travel.
The FCDO advises against all travel within 30km of the border with Burkina Faso, except the city of Dapaong and the N1 highway leading to it from the south, and against all but essential travel to the rest of the Savanes region.
What to know before you turn the key
Togo 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.
Rental desks are the real gatekeeper. The FCDO says hire companies impose stricter standards than the law, including a year of driving experience, a higher minimum age and holding an IDP. Confirm at the desk what your cover includes and whether it extends across the Ghana or Benin border.
Checkpoints are routine. The FCDO says you may encounter official and unofficial roadblocks, and advises stopping at control points when asked, turning on your interior vehicle lights and only continuing when told you can. Canadian advice adds that armed bandits also set up illegal roadblocks, and that criminals in Lome lure drivers out of their vehicles by pretending to need assistance.
Canadian government advice is not to travel overland after dark, and to travel in a convoy of at least two vehicles in remote areas.
Enforcement in Togo runs mainly through police checkpoints rather than automated cameras, so the realistic risk to a visitor is an on-the-spot stop where missing or unreadable documents turn a short check into a long one. The FCDO says you may encounter official and unofficial roadblocks, and advises stopping at control points when asked, switching on your interior vehicle lights and only continuing when told you can. Canadian government advice says police checkpoints are frequent and that identification papers and vehicle documentation should be ready to present, and separately warns that armed bandits set up illegal roadblocks. We could not find a reliable published schedule of Togolese traffic fines from an authoritative source in English, so treat any specific figure quoted online with caution and ask your hire company what applies to your vehicle. Drink-driving is the clear exception: the FCDO says there are no set blood alcohol content limits in Togo, but if traffic control officers suspect you of drink-driving they can order a medical exam, and penalties include a fine and a prison sentence of one to three years. Travelling into an area your government advises against may also affect your travel insurance and motor cover, so check your policy wording.
Local rules to watch in Togo
Low-emission zones, tolls, and city-specific rules that catch visiting drivers out.
Lome: the capital sits on the coast at the Ghanaian border. Canadian government advice singles out Lome for a scam in which criminals lure drivers out of their vehicles by pretending to need assistance, and warns that armed bandits set up illegal roadblocks.
Kara: a main town in northern Togo. The FCDO's restricted zone lies further north - it advises against all travel within 30km of the Burkina Faso border, except Dapaong and the N1 highway leading to it from the south, and against all but essential travel to the rest of the Savanes region.
Signs you'll meet on the road
Eight internationally recognised signs — including which side of the road Togo keeps.
Common questions about driving in Togo
Drive Togo, confidently.
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