Before you start

Your valid foreign licence, plus whatever authentication ANATS asks for it — start with your home authority before you fly
Your passport, visa and carte de séjour
The national identification number ANATS issues, which increasingly underpins every other Chadian document
For the vehicle: the biometric carte grise, insurance and inspection paperwork
For any journey outside the city: Ministry of the Interior authorisation

Step-by-step

1
Decide whether you drive yourself at all
UK government advice is against driving at night anywhere in Chad because of crime and road conditions, records that police checkpoints are common and that officers may ask for documentation, warns of carjacking on roads outside the city even in daylight, and recommends escorts and communications equipment for travel outside N'Djamena. Most organisations with foreign staff here provide drivers and vehicles, and that is a security decision rather than a perk.
In personWho: You and your employerBefore you commit to a vehicleA driver is standard in an N'Djamena package
2
Go to ANATS for the biometric licence
The Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés opened its biometric driving-licence and carte grise centre in N'Djamena on 10 August 2020, alongside seven centres in the provinces, extending a service that already issued passports and national identity cards. It is the single issuing authority, and its director-general's line at the opening was that the price was within everyone's reach — which is the closest thing to a published tariff we could find.
In personWho: YouNot published; allow for queuesNot published on any page we could read — get the schedule at the counter and a receipt for what you pay
3
Establish whether you exchange or examine
French government guidance for its residents abroad states that a resident must obtain a local licence either by examination or by exchange, and directs you to ask the local authorities which applies. Chad publishes no exchange list we could read. Ask ANATS directly, in person, with your original licence and any consular authentication of it — and do not assume from another country's practice.
In personWho: YouAsk before you assumeDepends entirely on the answer
4
Insure the vehicle and read the geographic clauses
Third-party motor insurance is compulsory across the CEMAC zone. The clauses to read here are geographic: a policy written for the capital may exclude the Lac province, the far north or the border strips — precisely the areas the FCDO advises against all travel to. Check before a field trip, not after.
In personWho: YouBefore the vehicle movesVaries by insurer and vehicle
5
Get interior-ministry authorisation before leaving N'Djamena
Travel outside the capital requires authorisation from the Ministry of the Interior. For anyone whose work is in the provinces this is an ordinary administrative step handled by their organisation; for anyone who assumed a driving licence and a full tank were sufficient, it is the point at which a weekend plan stops. Build the lead time into any field movement.
In personWho: You and your employerBefore every trip outside the cityNot published

Documents you’ll need

Original foreign driving licence, with any authentication your home authority or consulate provides
Passport, visa and carte de séjour
ANATS national identification documents
Vehicle: biometric carte grise, insurance certificate and inspection paperwork
Ministry of the Interior authorisation for travel outside N'Djamena
A certified copy of your passport to carry at all times

Things most newcomers don’t know

The licence is the easy part. The interior-ministry travel permit is the real constraint.

UK government advice records that travel outside N'Djamena requires Ministry of the Interior authorisation, and recommends escorts and communications equipment. In most countries a licence is permission to drive anywhere; here it is permission to drive in the city you already live in.

Source: UK FCDO — Chad, safety and security

One agency issues your licence, your registration, your ID card and your passport.

ANATS has been the single secure-documents agency since it added driving licences and cartes grises to passports and identity cards in August 2020. That concentration is convenient when it works and is a single point of failure when it does not — and it is why the national identification number is becoming the key to everything else, including your SIM card.

Source: ANATS biometric licence and carte grise centre, opened 10 August 2020

No night driving. Not as caution — as standing advice.

The FCDO advises against driving at night anywhere in Chad because of crime and road conditions, and warns of carjacking on roads outside the city even in daylight. This shapes the whole shape of a working week: field movements start at dawn and are back before dusk, and a meeting that overruns becomes an overnight stay rather than a late drive.

Source: UK FCDO — Chad, safety and security

The rains close roads, and the harmattan closes visibility.

Almost all of N'Djamena's roughly 510 mm of rain falls between June and September, on a floodplain at the confluence of two rivers; from December to April the harmattan carries Saharan dust that drops visibility and inflames every respiratory condition in the city. The good driving window is narrow and it is not the one you would guess.

Source: N'Djamena climate; harmattan season

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming your home licence can simply be exchanged without asking ANATS
Driving at night, which is advised against countrywide
Leaving N'Djamena without Ministry of the Interior authorisation
Assuming a capital-city motor policy covers the Lac province or the northern provinces
Paying an intermediary who promises to 'arrange' an ANATS card
Buying a vehicle before checking whether your employer already provides one with a driver

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