Does Budget require an IDP in Ivory Coast?
Written by Daniel MercerUpdated July 2026
Budget in Ivory Coast: the policy in plain terms
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Côte d'Ivoire drives on the right; an IDP is advised with your national licence for Abidjan's lively traffic.
In Ivory Coast specifically, many rental companies and local authorities in Ivory Coast ask foreign drivers to present a translation of their licence alongside the original, so Budget will typically ask for it at the counter. Abidjan desks request an IDP for non-French licences.
Budget runs a global network; at its Ivory Coast desks, foreign renters are asked for an International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva Convention format alongside the original licence. Ivory Coast drives on the right, uses the XOF, and sets a minimum driving age of 18, so an IDP is the document that removes any doubt at the counter.
What to bring to the Budget counter in Ivory Coast
- Your original national driving licence (the IDP never replaces it).
- Your International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva Convention format.
- Your passport and a payment card in the main driver's name.
- Local payment for the XOF deposit; Ivory Coast drives on the right with a young-driver surcharge under 25.
Driving rules in Ivory Coast Budget renters should know
- Drive on the right.
- Toll motorway between Abidjan and Yamoussoukro.
- 0.08% alcohol limit.
- Carry passport, IDP and home licence.
Budget's rental terms that affect your IDP booking
Budget's published minimum rental age is 21 in most US states (18 in New York and Michigan), with renters under 25 paying a daily young-driver surcharge; typically around $27/day in most markets, but materially higher at corporate locations such as New York ($35/day for ages 21-24 and $84/day for 18-20) and Michigan ($28/day for 21-24 and $41/day for 18-20). No surcharge applies to drivers 25 and older.
Budget requires a valid credit or debit card; renters under 25 must use a credit card and cannot use a debit card. Deposit type and amount vary by location, with a typical credit-card hold of roughly $80 plus estimated charges plus one extra day's charges, or a minimum near $300, whichever is greater.
Budget allows up to two additional drivers per rental and a per-day additional-driver fee typically applies (varies by location), though it is commonly waived for a spouse or domestic partner; pre-authorized additional drivers must be a spouse/domestic partner, a fellow employee/employer, or a companion driver to a renter with a disability. Budget does not publish a fixed US-wide tenure requirement, but the driver must hold a valid, current full driver's licence, and many corporate-operated locations verify the renter's and additional drivers' records with the DMV before completing the rental.
Driving a Budget rental into Mexico is restricted to authorized corporate-account holders (no one-way rentals into Mexico), and Mexican auto liability insurance is required. Travel into Canada is permitted from many US locations with advance arrangement and Budget's consent, and a Canadian non-resident insurance card may be required; one-way cross-border drop-offs are availability-dependent and carry extra fees that must be authorized in the rental agreement.
Budget generally requires a valid driver's licence, passport, and an International Driving Permit issued in the driver's name from their home country; EU residents renting within the EU may present either their EU licence alone or with an IDP. If the home-country licence is not written in the Roman alphabet, an IDP is mandatory to rent.
Once you collect the keys in Ivory Coast
Abidjan's Henri Konan Bédié (HKB / Third) Bridge is a tolled expressway with a 21-lane plaza accepting cash and electronic tags, and tolls also apply on the Abidjan-Grand-Bassam and Yamoussoukro motorway sections; pay in CFA francs at the booths.
In Abidjan informal attendants control most street parking for a small CFA-franc fee, and parking on sidewalks or in front of hydrants risks fines or towing; formal metered zones and apps are largely absent.
Roadside police checks are frequent; speeding, no-seatbelt and handheld-phone use draw on-the-spot CFA-franc fines often settled in cash, and rental firms pass on any speed-camera or toll penalties to the card on file.
Call the police on 170 (or 111) and the fire/rescue service on 180; do not move vehicles after an injury crash and obtain a police report (constat), which rental companies require for any insurance claim.
Full driving guide for Ivory Coast →