Before you start

Valid foreign driving licence
Passport and permit
Proof of Harare residence — a recent utility bill is the usual form
International Driving Permit, useful for the interim period

Step-by-step

1
Carry an International Driving Permit for the first months
It travels with your home licence as translation and corroboration and cannot be issued once you have left your home country. Five minutes before you fly, impossible afterwards.
In personWho: You
2
Approach the CVR about your foreign licence
The Central Vehicle Registry is the body that handles driver's licence documents and data, and it is where an application about a foreign licence starts. The head office is at 29 Robson Manyika Avenue, Causeway, Harare.
In personWho: You
3
Take proof of residence with you
A recent electricity or water bill in your name, no more than three months old, plus your passport. Zimbabwean offices are strict about proof of address and it is the commonest reason for a wasted trip.
In personWho: You
4
Expect the VID for any testing
If a test is required, it happens at a Vehicle Inspectorate Department depot, separately from the CVR. The two are different agencies of the same ministry and a licence file can involve both.
In personWho: You
5
Learn the road conditions before the paperwork
Driving is on the left. Kombis stop without warning and pull out without looking, potholes are severe after the rains, and unlit vehicles at night are common. Most residents avoid intercity driving after dark.
In personWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence
Passport and permit
Proof of Harare residence not older than three months
Passport photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

Two agencies, one licence, and knowing which is which saves a wasted day.

The VID tests and the CVR issues. People turn up at the wrong one constantly. If your business is a document, it is the CVR; if it is a test, it is the VID.

Source: Ministry of Transport and Infrastructural Development

Proof of residence is the document that trips people up.

A current utility bill in your name is what is expected. A newcomer in a furnished rental often has no bill in their own name at all — arrange a letter from the landlord and a copy of the lease before you go, rather than discovering the gap at the counter.

Source: community-reported, consistently

Do not budget a conversion fee from a blog.

Figures for foreign-licence conversion circulate widely on Zimbabwean advice sites and do not agree with each other. The CVR is a phone call away from Harare and the only source worth acting on. This guide deliberately quotes no number rather than repeating one it cannot verify.

Source: Ministry of Transport — Central Vehicle Registry

An IDP is worth having even if you end up converting.

It covers the interim, it makes roadside conversations shorter, and it is the one item in this entire guide you cannot obtain from inside Zimbabwe.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving at the VID for a document matter or the CVR for a test.
Going without proof of residence in your own name.
Paying a fee to an intermediary outside the office rather than at the counter with a receipt.
Intercity driving after dark, which residents broadly avoid.

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