Field Instruments №02 Carnet Guide
Customs & Borders

Carnet & Import-Permit Planner

A workspace for the most confusing money in overland planning: the carnet and the temporary import permits. It does not tell you what a country requires or what your deposit will be. It structures your own research, then writes the one email that gets you real numbers from the only party who actually knows.

What this is, and what it can't be

Carnet and TIP rules are route-specific, set by governments, and they change. No static tool can hold them current for every country without quietly going stale or, worse, handing you a confident number that's wrong. So this one holds none of it. You bring the facts you find; it does the arithmetic and the paperwork around them.

The two questions that matter most, which countries truly need a carnet and how large the deposit is, are deliberately left for the issuer to answer in writing. That's not a gap in the tool. That's where the real answer lives, and the tool's job is to get you to it.

Glossary: carnet, TIP, deposit vs bond
Carnet de Passages en Douane (CPD)
An international customs document, a passport for your vehicle, that guarantees you'll take the bike back out of a country instead of selling it there. Issued by an authorized body (in North America, that's Boomerang Carnets). Required by some countries, ignored or unavailable in many others.
TIP / passavant / laissez-passer
A temporary import permit issued at the border itself, usually cheap and quick. Where a TIP suffices, you don't need a carnet. Most of the Americas and much of West Africa run on TIPs.
Deposit (refundable)
A cash guarantee the issuer holds, sized as a multiple of your vehicle's value and driven by the highest-requirement country on your route. You get it back when the carnet is discharged clean. It is a cash-flow line, not a cost. The money is yours; it's just parked.
Bond / indemnity premium (non-refundable)
An alternative to tying up the full deposit: you pay a smaller premium and an insurer covers the guarantee. Cheaper up front, but the premium is gone for good, and you can still be liable if a claim is made. This is a true cost.
Issuing / admin fee
The non-refundable fee to produce the document, typically a few hundred dollars. Along with the premium, this is the only money you don't get back.
1 Your motorcycle

Look up a value at J.D. Power Motorcycle Values (formerly NADA) or CycleTrader for an instant figure. These are US retail values, and the issuer assesses value its own way, so treat your number as a declared starting figure, not the final word.

2 The trip

The start date is written into your email spelled out (for example, May 5, 2027) so there's no day/month confusion at the issuer's end.

3 Country research

One row per country you intend to enter with the bike. Pick the country from the list, then fill each field as your own research turns it up: embassy and customs sites first, then current rider reports (Horizons Unlimited, iOverlander, ADVrider, regional Facebook groups). Date every row so you know how fresh it is. The tool never fills these in for you and never guesses a deposit. Leave anything you're unsure of as "Unsure": that's a finding too.

Country
Carnet?
TIP?
TIP fee
TIP deposit
Source link
Date verified
Notes
Saved in this browser

Your work saves automatically in this browser on this device. It won't follow you to another computer or phone, and clearing your browser data erases it, so export a CSV copy to be safe.

4 The email to your issuer

Select Generate email and it fills with everything you entered above. It asks the issuer the two things the tool won't pretend to know: which of your countries actually require a carnet, and what the deposit and bond will be for your exact bike and route. Generate it, copy it, fill any blanks, and send.

More instruments are coming

Get a note when this tool updates or the next Field Instrument ships. No spam, no list-selling.

    Maps & Motorcycles · mapsandmotorcycles.com · Field Instruments №02 · This tool stores nothing on our side and verifies nothing for you. Confirm every requirement with the issuing authority and the relevant customs services.