Country driving guide · 2026
Everything UK and EU drivers need before crossing the border into Chad: 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 required alongside UK/EU licence
Chad recognises the 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit: carry it with your home licence at all times; police checkpoints are frequent and will demand both.
Passport with valid visa and yellow fever certificate
All UK/EU nationals need a visa obtained in advance and must present a WHO yellow fever vaccination certificate on entry: checked at the border and at internal checkpoints.
Carnet de Passage for own vehicle
Bringing your own car requires a Carnet de Passage en Douane (issued by the RAC/AA against a bond) plus the V5C; without it the vehicle will be impounded or charged full import duty.
Local third-party insurance (Carte Rose CEMAC)
UK and EU green cards are not valid. You must buy a CEMAC Carte Rose / Carte Brune policy at the border or in N'Djamena covering Chad and neighbouring CEMAC states, roughly 30,000-60,000 XAF (45-90 EUR) per month.
Drive on the right
Traffic drives on the right; overtake on the left. Roundabouts give priority to traffic already on the ring.
Speed limits 110 / 90 / 50 km/h
Default limits are 110 km/h on the few paved inter-city roads, 90 km/h on rural roads and 50 km/h in built-up areas, but actual safe speeds are far lower due to potholes, livestock and unmarked checkpoints.
Zero-tolerance approach to alcohol
The legal BAC is 0.08 g/L on paper but enforcement is arbitrary: any detectable alcohol at a checkpoint typically results in a substantial on-the-spot fine, so treat it as 0.0.
Warning triangle, hi-vis and spare wheel
Carry a red warning triangle, hi-vis vest, functioning spare wheel, jack and basic toolkit; police checks for these are routine and missing items mean a fine.
The UK Foreign Office advises against all travel to border regions and against all but essential travel to the rest of the country due to terrorism, armed conflict and kidnapping risk: self-driving as a tourist is not realistic and overland routes are frequently closed.
Chad recognises the 1949 Geneva Convention International Driving Permit: carry it with your home licence at all times; police checkpoints are frequent and will demand both.
All UK/EU nationals need a visa obtained in advance and must present a WHO yellow fever vaccination certificate on entry: checked at the border and at internal checkpoints.
Bringing your own car requires a Carnet de Passage en Douane (issued by the RAC/AA against a bond) plus the V5C; without it the vehicle will be impounded or charged full import duty.
UK and EU green cards are not valid. You must buy a CEMAC Carte Rose / Carte Brune policy at the border or in N'Djamena covering Chad and neighbouring CEMAC states, roughly 30,000-60,000 XAF (45-90 EUR) per month.
Traffic drives on the right; overtake on the left. Roundabouts give priority to traffic already on the ring.
Default limits are 110 km/h on the few paved inter-city roads, 90 km/h on rural roads and 50 km/h in built-up areas, but actual safe speeds are far lower due to potholes, livestock and unmarked checkpoints.
The legal BAC is 0.08 g/L on paper but enforcement is arbitrary: any detectable alcohol at a checkpoint typically results in a substantial on-the-spot fine, so treat it as 0.0.
Dial 17 for police and 18 for fire/ambulance, but response outside N'Djamena is effectively non-existent: your embassy and a sat phone are more useful in a real emergency.
Carry a red warning triangle, hi-vis vest, functioning spare wheel, jack and basic toolkit; police checks for these are routine and missing items mean a fine.
Travel in a 4x4 convoy of at least two vehicles with extra fuel, 20+ litres of water per person, GPS, satellite phone and a recovery kit: fuel stations and mobile coverage disappear quickly outside the capital.
Chad has no national road vignette, e-toll or motorway sticker. There is no motorway network to charge for.
There are no formal toll roads, but budget for unofficial 'fees' of 1,000-5,000 XAF (1.50-7.50 EUR) at police, gendarmerie and military checkpoints, which are very frequent on inter-city routes.
There are no LEZs, environmental stickers or city emissions schemes in N'Djamena or anywhere else in Chad.
During the wet season many unpaved roads in the south become impassable mud and wadis flood without warning; the Sahara north is extreme heat year-round and sandstorms (harmattan) reduce visibility December-February.
Currency is XAF (pegged to EUR at ~656 XAF = 1 EUR); cards are accepted only at a handful of N'Djamena hotels, so carry euros or USD in cash to change locally and bring small XAF notes for fuel and checkpoints.
Pump price for petrol/diesel is roughly 1.10-1.40 EUR per litre when available, but shortages are routine outside the capital: fill up at every opportunity and carry jerry cans.
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 Chad.
Start planning →Places to add to your Chad road trip.
Don't get caught out
Traffic drives on the right; overtake on the left. Roundabouts give priority to traffic already on the ring.
Default limits are 110 km/h on the few paved inter-city roads, 90 km/h on rural roads and 50 km/h in built-up areas, but actual safe speeds are far lower due to potholes, livestock and unmarked checkpoints.
The legal BAC is 0.08 g/L on paper but enforcement is arbitrary: any detectable alcohol at a checkpoint typically results in a substantial on-the-spot fine, so treat it as 0.0.