Rules for overlanding in Morocco

An Italian licence is valid for up to 12 months, and International Driving Permits are recognised when carried together with a national licence. Check what applies to the licence you hold.

You need a letter of authority from the owner, with the signature notarised.

Third-party liability cover is compulsory. Carry a Green Card or buy temporary cover at the border.

Zero tolerance: the legal limit is 0%. Police can require a breath test and, if positive, a blood test.

Helmets are compulsory on motorcycles and mopeds. Seatbelts are compulsory front and rear, and children under 10 cannot travel in the front seats.

Privately owned vehicles brought in temporarily are exempt from carrying a warning triangle, first-aid kit and fire extinguisher.

Police normally issue fines on the spot, and can seize a vehicle driven without a valid licence or without insurance.

Unleaded and good-quality diesel are widely available, but stations thin out in the south — fill up whenever you get the chance. Cards are accepted at some chains (Afriquia, Somepi, Total, Esso).

Roads are generally in good condition and the motorway network runs about 1,480 km, with tolls. The accident and fatality rate outside urban areas is high, so drive defensively. Motorway assistance: 5050, 24/7.

Buying or using drugs is prohibited and the law is applied harshly, including for small quantities of hashish for personal use. It is not rare for the seller to report the buyer to the police. Europeans are jailed for this every year.

Dirhams cannot be taken out of Morocco. At the end of your stay you can only convert back dirhams you bought earlier, on production of the receipts.

Bringing a drone into Morocco requires an import licence from the Ministry of Industry and Trade before you travel: the application form asks for the drone's brand, model and radio-communication characteristics, so the telecoms regulator ANRT can clear it, plus details of any earlier import licences obtained through the Portnet system. The individual-applicant section asks for a Moroccan national ID number (CINE), so this is not something you can sort out at the border. (Ministère de l'Industrie et du Commerce — Direction Générale du Commerce, import licence form for drones)

Moroccan Customs states, in its section on objects imported by people whose habitual residence is abroad, that these people benefit from the temporary admission regime, which applies to their means of transport. For means of transport, the maximum duration is six months, granted continuously or split, in each calendar year. (Administration des Douanes et Impôts Indirects (Maroc) — Section 03 « Objets importés par des personnes ayant leur résidence habituelle à l'étranger » (admission temporaire))

The Bureau Central Marocain des Sociétés d'Assurances (BCMA), the official body that manages the green card system in Morocco, lists the international insurance card (green card), valid in Morocco for the period of the stay, among the documents to have when driving to Morocco. For a green card that is not valid for Morocco, it says to ask the insurer for a new green card valid for Morocco; for someone already at a Moroccan land border, it says that border insurance must be taken out with an authorised Moroccan insurer. (Bureau Central Marocain des Sociétés d'Assurances (BCMA) — FAQ)

Morocco's law on protected areas (Law 22-07, article 18) states that, subject to requirements of national defence and public security, circulation, camping and overflight below 1,000 metres in or over a protected area can take place only with the permission of the competent administration and within authorised management, scientific research or training activities. (Dahir n° 1-10-123 du 16 juillet 2010 portant promulgation de la loi n° 22-07 relative aux aires protégées (B.O. n° 5865 du 19 août 2010), article 18 — texte publié sur le portail CHM du Maroc)