Where is a Carnet de Passages (CPD) Required for Motorcycles?

If you are planning an overland trip on your motorcycle, a Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD) acts like a passport for your bike. It guarantees to foreign customs that you will not sell your motorcycle in their country, allowing you to enter without paying massive temporary import duties or cash deposits.

The requirement rules vary depending on the continent. Below is the breakdown of countries where a Carnet is strictly required, recommended, or not needed.

1. Strictly Required (You cannot enter without it)

In these regions, customs borders will absolutely deny entry to your motorcycle if you do not present a valid CPD:

Asia & Middle East

• India

• Pakistan

• Iran (Note: Many European auto clubs face temporary restrictions issuing CPDs for Iran; check current local transit rules before arriving).

• Japan

• Sri Lanka

• Bangladesh

• Nepal

• Oman

• Kuwait

• Qatar

Oceania

• Australia

• New Zealand

Africa

• South Africa

• Namibia

• Botswana

• Lesotho

• Eswatini (Swaziland)

• Egypt

• Kenya

2. Highly Recommended / Case-by-Case Basis

In these countries, you might be able to get a temporary local import permit (often called a Tip or Permiso Temporal) at the border, but having a Carnet makes the process significantly faster, cheaper, and safer from border corruption:

South America & Central America

• Argentina

• Chile

• Peru

• Colombia

• Uruguay

• Paraguay

• Venezuela

• Costa Rica

Asia & Africa

• Indonesia (Requires notifying the Indonesian Automobile Club [IMI] at least a week before entry with your Carnet details to avoid long port delays).

• Malaysia & Singapore

• Myanmar (Burma)

• Sudan & South Sudan

• Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, & Zimbabwe

3. Special Exceptions (Do NOT use standard CPD)

• China: You cannot simply cross into China with a Carnet. To ride your own motorcycle in China, you must pre-arrange a registered tour guide, get a temporary Chinese driver's license, and use specialized local agency permits.

• Thailand: Thailand generally requires a special temporary import permit requested from the Department of Land Transport at least 30 working days in advance, rather than a standard CPD.

4. Where you do NOT need a Carnet

• Europe / EU / Turkey: If your motorcycle is registered in Europe, you do not need a Carnet to ride anywhere within the European Union, the UK, the Balkans, or Turkey.

• Morocco & Tunisia: Completely free to enter with normal vehicle registration documents and a simple local temporary import form filled out at the ferry port/border.

• North America: The USA, Canada, and Mexico do not require a CPD for temporary tourist motorcycles.

⚠️ Important Tip: A Carnet is valid for exactly 12 months from the date of issue. Because you must pay a heavy financial deposit to your national automobile club to secure the document (which you get back once you return home with the bike stamped out of every country), ensure your route is perfectly planned around your document's expiration date.