Before you start

A full, valid foreign licence — the original, surrendered at the exchange
A certificat d'authenticité from the issuing authority or its embassy in Dakar; start it before you fly
A certificat de résidence from your commune and a medical certificate established in Senegal
Three identity photographs

Step-by-step

1
Check the convention list first
Paper conversion is only available for licences from countries with a convertibility agreement with Senegal. Without one you are applying, not converting — a Senegalese test on a different timeline and budget. One phone call settles it and can save a set of legalised translations.
In personWho: YouOne phone callFree to ask
2
Get the authenticity certificate from home
The administration will not act on a foreign licence without an attestation from the issuing authority or that country's embassy in Dakar. Nothing in Senegal accelerates it, and it sets the calendar.
In personWho: You, via your home authority or embassyWeeksVaries by country
3
Collect the Senegalese documents last
The exchange file includes a medical certificate established in Senegal and a certificat de résidence from your commune. Both are quick and cheap and both must be current at submission, so get them once the home-country paperwork has landed rather than first.
In personWho: YouA day or two eachSmall municipal and clinic fees
4
File in Dakar, and make the trip count
Applications go to the road transport administration in the capital with the original licence, the authenticity certificate, three photographs, the residence certificate and the medical certificate. Community reporting puts a category B exchange around XOF 10,000 with issue in about 24 hours once accepted; we could not confirm either figure officially. From Saint-Louis this is a day each way — bundle it with whatever else you owe Dakar.
In personWho: YouDays once the file is complete, plus travelCommonly quoted around XOF 10,000 for category B — unconfirmed officially
5
Know the two local driving realities
First, the Mauritanian border at Rosso is about an hour north, and taking a vehicle across is a customs process, not a drive — do not plan it casually. Second, the delta and the Langue de Barbarie are sand: two-wheel drive gets stuck, and the tracks change after the rains. Ask locally about a route before committing to it.
In personWho: YouOngoingFree advice, expensive to ignore

Documents you’ll need

Original foreign licence, surrendered at the exchange
Certificat d'authenticité from the issuing authority or its embassy in Dakar
Certificat de résidence from your commune
Medical certificate established in Senegal
Three identity photographs

Things most newcomers don’t know

A car matters more here than in Dakar and less than in a town with no bus.

The island and Sor are walkable and taxis are cheap and plentiful. What a car buys you is the delta, Djoudj, the university road and the capital. Many residents run without one and hire when they need to; decide on that basis rather than by default.

Source: Local practice

The Rosso border is close enough to be tempting and formal enough to bite.

Mauritania is about an hour north and the crossing at Rosso involves a river ferry and a full customs process for a vehicle. It is not a day trip you improvise, and a rental agreement will almost certainly forbid it.

Source: Local practice; France Diplomatie travel advice

A medical certificate IS required here, unlike in Côte d'Ivoire.

Côte d'Ivoire attaches the medical only to the learner route, so anyone who did the Abidjan conversion will skip it and be turned away. Senegal wants a certificate established locally as part of the exchange file.

Source: Senegalese conversion procedure

Your blood group is printed on the licence deliberately.

The Capp Karangë card carries it so responders can read it at a crash, alongside ten fingerprints and an offence record read by contactless tablet. On the long straight run to Dakar that design intent is not decorative.

Source: CETUD — Capp Karangë

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming any foreign licence converts; without a convention with your country it does not
Leaving the authenticity certificate until you arrive
Skipping the Senegalese medical certificate because a neighbouring country does not require one
Driving to Dakar with an incomplete file — the second trip costs two days
Taking a two-wheel-drive car onto delta or spit tracks after the rains
Treating the XOF 10,000 figure as an official tariff; it is community-reported

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

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