Before you start

An International Driving Permit obtained in your home country before departure
Your valid national licence, which the IDP only translates
A local address, for a BRTA licence if you settle long term
A realistic assessment of whether you want to drive on the port access roads at all

Step-by-step

1
Get the International Driving Permit before you leave home
This is the step people miss and it is national. The BRTA does not issue IDPs and you cannot apply for one from inside Bangladesh — the Automobile Association of Bangladesh issues them, and its process is designed around holders of a BRTA licence travelling abroad. Arriving without an IDP means arriving unable to drive legally.
In personWho: YouBefore departure
2
Understand that the IDP runs twelve months
An IDP is valid for twelve months from issue and cannot outlast your national licence. If you settle long term the eventual answer is a BRTA licence, and that conversation should start before the IDP lapses rather than after.
OnlineWho: You
3
Plan around there being no metro
Dhaka's MRT Line 6 changed which addresses made sense there. Chattogram has no equivalent, so proximity to your workplace is still the whole game and there is no fast corridor to arbitrage. Choose your neighbourhood on road distance to the office, not on a future transit line.
In personWho: YouBefore signing a lease
4
Use the Karnaphuli Tunnel if your business is on the southern shore
The road tunnel under the Karnaphuli opened on 28 October 2023, linking the city with Anwara and the southern bank, with a car toll of BDT 200. It was designed for over 20,000 vehicles a day and in its first year averaged under 4,000, because the industrial development at the Anwara end has not arrived. For a driver that means an empty, fast crossing — the thing that makes it a fiscal problem makes it a good commute.
In personWho: YouAs needed
5
Budget time on the port access roads and the Dhaka highway
Container and bulk traffic to and from the terminals is the dominant congestion factor in this city, and it does not follow an office rush-hour pattern. Ask colleagues about your specific route at your specific hour rather than assuming a citywide peak.
Mobile appWho: You
6
Treat the hill roads as a monsoon hazard, not scenery
Heavy monsoon rain triggers landslides and retaining-wall collapses on Chattogram's cut slopes, with fatalities in bad runs. During a heavy-rain warning, avoid the hillside routes and do not park below a cut face. This is a genuinely Chattogram-specific driving risk that no Dhaka guide will mention.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

National driving licence
International Driving Permit, obtained before arrival
Passport with valid visa
Proof of Chattogram address, for a BRTA licence

Things most newcomers don’t know

You cannot obtain an International Driving Permit once you are in Bangladesh — and this catches people in every Bangladeshi city.

The BRTA does not issue IDPs; the Automobile Association of Bangladesh does, and its process asks for a valid BRTA licence and a national identity card, which an incoming foreign national does not have. The permit must be obtained in your home country before you travel. It is a national rule with no local workaround, and it strands more arriving expatriates than anything else on this page.

Source: Automobile Association of Bangladesh; BRTA

Chattogram has no metro, so the Dhaka playbook for choosing where to live does not transfer.

Since 2023, advice for Dhaka has been organised around MRT Line 6 — live on the corridor and commute fast from further out. Chattogram has no rail transit at all, so distance to the office is still the binding constraint and there is no cheap-but-connected arbitrage to find. People who arrive having read about Bangladesh's metro and assume it is a national programme choose the wrong neighbourhood.

Source: community-reported

The Karnaphuli Tunnel's failure as an investment is a commuter's gain.

The tunnel opened on 28 October 2023 expecting over 20,000 vehicles a day; through its first year it averaged fewer than 4,000, because the industrial build-out at the Anwara end never materialised, and its toll income covers a fraction of its running cost. That is a genuine public-finance problem and an equally genuine convenience: the southern shore is far quicker to reach than most people assume, and anyone whose plant or yard is over there should reprice the commute rather than trusting the city's reputation for traffic.

Source: Karnaphuli Tunnel operations reporting

Motorcycle ride-hailing is the fastest way across the city and the most dangerous.

Pathao and Uber motorcycle services move through traffic that stops cars, and for many residents they are the difference between a twenty-minute trip and an hour. The trade is real: helmet quality on offer varies and Bangladeshi road injury rates are high. Regular users buy their own helmet. It should be a decision rather than a default.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving without an IDP and discovering you cannot obtain one here.
Choosing a neighbourhood on the assumption Chattogram has a metro like Dhaka.
Writing off the southern shore because of the city's traffic reputation, when the tunnel is nearly empty.
Driving or parking on cut hillsides during a heavy-rain warning.
Using motorcycle ride-hailing without your own helmet.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.