Country driving guide · 2026
Everything UK and EU drivers need before crossing the border into Congo: 8 legal requirements + 9 other things worth knowing.
Required
Recommended
Good to know
Tick before you go
8 legal must-haves. Print it, tick them off, throw it in the glovebox.
1949 IDP plus national licence
Carry a 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit alongside your UK/EU photocard licence; Congo does not recognise the 1968 Vienna version.
Passport with visa
UK and most EU nationals need a visa obtained in advance from a Congolese embassy, plus a yellow fever vaccination certificate to enter.
Local third-party insurance (carte rose)
Green Card is not valid; you must buy a CEMAC carte rose third-party policy at the border or from a local insurer before driving.
V5C and carnet de passage for own vehicle
Bringing your own car requires the V5C/registration, a Carnet de Passage en Douane, and temporary import paperwork stamped at the border post.
Drive on the right
Traffic drives on the right; overtake on the left.
Speed limits
Urban 50 km/h, rural 90 km/h, and motorway 110 km/h on the limited Pointe-Noire-Brazzaville RN1 sections; expect potholes and unmarked speed bumps that force much lower speeds.
BAC limit 0.8 g/L
Blood alcohol limit is 0.8 g/L but enforcement is erratic; police checkpoints are frequent and any alcohol is best avoided.
Warning triangle and hi-vis vest
Two warning triangles, a hi-vis vest, spare wheel, and basic first-aid kit must be carried; a fire extinguisher is also commonly demanded at checkpoints.
The UK FCDO advises against all but essential travel to much of the Republic of Congo, including the Pool department; self-driving as a tourist is not realistic and most visitors use chauffeured 4x4s arranged by employers or hotels.
Carry a 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit alongside your UK/EU photocard licence; Congo does not recognise the 1968 Vienna version.
UK and most EU nationals need a visa obtained in advance from a Congolese embassy, plus a yellow fever vaccination certificate to enter.
Green Card is not valid; you must buy a CEMAC carte rose third-party policy at the border or from a local insurer before driving.
Bringing your own car requires the V5C/registration, a Carnet de Passage en Douane, and temporary import paperwork stamped at the border post.
Traffic drives on the right; overtake on the left.
Urban 50 km/h, rural 90 km/h, and motorway 110 km/h on the limited Pointe-Noire-Brazzaville RN1 sections; expect potholes and unmarked speed bumps that force much lower speeds.
Blood alcohol limit is 0.8 g/L but enforcement is erratic; police checkpoints are frequent and any alcohol is best avoided.
Expect numerous checkpoints, especially after dark and in the Pool region; keep documents accessible and small CFA notes ready, and never drive at night outside cities.
Police 117, fire 118; response outside the two main cities is unreliable, so have your embassy and a local fixer's number saved.
Two warning triangles, a hi-vis vest, spare wheel, and basic first-aid kit must be carried; a fire extinguisher is also commonly demanded at checkpoints.
Outside the RN1 corridor, roads are unpaved laterite that become impassable in the rainy season (October-December, March-May); a 4x4 with spare fuel, water and a recovery kit is essential.
There is no motorway sticker; the RN1 has a handful of toll booths charging roughly 500-2,000 XAF (EUR 0.80-3) per car, payable in cash CFA francs.
Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire have no LEZ schemes or emissions stickers.
Currency is the XAF, pegged at 655.957 to the euro; petrol is regulated around 775 XAF (EUR 1.18) per litre and diesel about 600 XAF (EUR 0.92) per litre.
Cards work only at top hotels in Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire; carry CFA cash for fuel, tolls and checkpoints, and declare amounts over 1,000,000 XAF (about EUR 1,525) at the border.
Heavy rains from October to May regularly wash out bridges and stretches of the RN2 north of Brazzaville; check local conditions before any inter-city journey.
We'll build the itinerary, estimate fuel + tolls, and show EV chargers along the route, and this checklist appears automatically on every trip that crosses into Congo.
Start planning →Places to add to your Congo road trip.
Don't get caught out
Traffic drives on the right; overtake on the left.
Urban 50 km/h, rural 90 km/h, and motorway 110 km/h on the limited Pointe-Noire-Brazzaville RN1 sections; expect potholes and unmarked speed bumps that force much lower speeds.
Blood alcohol limit is 0.8 g/L but enforcement is erratic; police checkpoints are frequent and any alcohol is best avoided.