Before you start

Your valid foreign driving licence, plus whatever authentication CONADEP asks for it — start this with your home authority or embassy before you fly
Age 18 or over
A Congolese identity document — in practice your passport and establishment visa
For the vehicle: the carte rose (registration), insurance, and the technical inspection paperwork

Step-by-step

1
Establish whether you will actually drive
Kinshasa traffic is dense, the road surface is inconsistent, drainage floods predictably in the October–May rains, and UK government advice is blunt that driving standards are well below British ones and accidents very common. Most employers of foreign staff provide a driver, and that is not a perk — it is a security and liability decision. A driver who knows the checkpoints is worth more than your own licence.
In personWho: You and your employerBefore you commit to a carA full-time driver is a standard line in a Kinshasa package
2
Apply to CONADEP for the biometric licence
CONADEP is the sole issuing authority for both the national biometric licence and the international one. The card carries twenty-two visible and invisible security features including a chip and holograms, which is the entire point: the previous system was so widely forged that the state chose to reissue everybody rather than police it.
In personWho: YouNot published; allow for queues and for the enrolment centre network still expanding province by provinceCONADEP does not publish a tariff we could verify — get the note de perception and pay against it, never to an intermediary
3
Carry the biometric card and nothing else will do
Strict roadside checks began on 30 June 2025 and the Ministry of Transport publicly confirmed in September 2025 that the control campaign was continuing normally. Only the CONADEP biometric chip licence is accepted by the competent authorities. An International Driving Permit is a visitor's document and does not substitute for it once you are resident.
In personWho: YouEvery time you driveBeing stopped without it is expensive in a way that is hard to budget for
4
Insure the car properly, and read what the policy excludes
Motor third-party cover is compulsory. The clauses to read are the geographic ones: many policies written in Kinshasa exclude the eastern provinces, and a policy that covers you on the Boulevard du 30 Juin may not cover a trip toward the Kivus. Check before assuming, not after.
In personWho: YouBefore the car movesVaries by insurer and vehicle

Documents you’ll need

Original foreign driving licence and any authentication your home authority provides
Passport and establishment visa
Passport photographs to CONADEP's specification
Vehicle registration (carte rose), insurance certificate and inspection paperwork
The DGRAD note de perception and every payment receipt

Things most newcomers don’t know

This is a genuine, recent, hard cut-off — and it is why old advice about DRC licences is worthless.

The relaunch in November 2024 plus enforcement from 30 June 2025 means any guide written before 2025 describes a document that no longer functions. If a source tells you your old Congolese licence or a laminated card is fine, it was written for a different country.

Source: CONADEP relaunch, November 2024; enforcement from 30 June 2025

The traffic robots on the Boulevard du 30 Juin are not a novelty item.

They were designed and built in Kinshasa by the engineer Thérèse Izay Kirongozi and deployed from 2013 at the intersections where drivers most reliably ignored human officers. Solar-powered, 2.5 m tall, camera-equipped, and treated by drivers with noticeably more respect than a traffic officer. They tell you something true about how this city solves problems.

Source: Robot roulage / Women's Technology, Kinshasa

The rainy season is a road-condition variable, not a weather variable.

From October to May, drainage failures turn specific junctions into standing water within minutes and erosion gullies open on the hillside communes. This is exactly what the World Bank's Kin Elenda programme and the $250 million approved in April 2026 are addressing, which tells you the current state. Learn which routes flood before you need to know.

Source: World Bank — Kinshasa urban resilience programmes

At a checkpoint, stay in the car.

British government advice for the DRC is specific: when stopped by security forces, stay inside the vehicle and show documents through closed windows. This is standard practice among long-term residents and it de-escalates more reliably than getting out to be helpful.

Source: UK FCDO — DRC travel advice, safety and security

Common mistakes to avoid

Driving on a pre-2024 Congolese licence or an IDP as a resident — neither is the accepted document now
Paying an intermediary who promises to 'arrange' a CONADEP card
Buying a car before checking whether your employer already provides a driver, which most do
Assuming a Kinshasa motor policy covers travel to the eastern provinces
Driving unfamiliar routes in heavy rain between October and May

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