You operate a fleet of 18 Toyota Land Cruisers and Hilux pickups for an oil-service company operating in the Kurdistan Region, with regular missions south to Kirkuk and Mosul. Your fleet is registered with the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil. When vehicles cross into federal Iraq territory, the federal Iraq Ministry of Interior jurisdiction takes effect. Your client requires chain-of-custody documentation for every vehicle — when it left, who drove it, where it went, when it returned, what was its condition.

Federal vs KRI dual registration

Iraq operates a federal vehicle registration system administered by the federal Ministry of Interior, with the Kurdistan Region operating a parallel system. Operating between regions requires:

  • Vehicle registration in the home region (KRI for Erbil/Suli; federal for Baghdad/Basra)
  • Cross-region operating awareness — fines from federal Iraq can affect KRI registration renewal and vice versa
  • Insurance coverage that explicitly includes both regions
  • Driver documentation valid in both regions

Oil-service contracts and chain-of-custody

International oil-service companies (Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Weatherford and others) operating in Iraq require fleet contractors to maintain chain-of-custody documentation:

  • Vehicle pre-deployment inspection report
  • Driver assigned with credentials
  • Departure time and route plan
  • Real-time GPS tracking (mandatory for most contractors)
  • Arrival at destination logged
  • Return and post-deployment inspection
  • Any incidents documented immediately

Failure to maintain documentation forfeits insurance coverage in incident scenarios.

Driver vetting

For oil-service and security contracts, drivers require:

  • Iraqi or KRI commercial driving licence
  • Background check (criminal and security)
  • Defensive/hostile-environment driving course
  • Emergency procedure training
  • Medical clearance

Insurance for high-risk operations

Fleets serving oil-service contracts in Iraq carry comprehensive insurance with hostile-environment riders. Insurance market regulated by the Iraq Insurance Diwan.

Vehicle history verification

For each vehicle in the fleet:

  • Federal/KRI registration current
  • Customs file complete (most fleet vehicles are imported)
  • Service history maintained
  • Inspection records on file

Pre-engagement checklist

  1. Vehicle registration in home region current
  2. Cross-region operating awareness procedures
  3. Comprehensive insurance with hostile-environment cover
  4. Driver vetting and certification complete
  5. Chain-of-custody documentation system
  6. GPS tracking active on all vehicles
  7. Maintenance and pre-deployment inspection schedule
  8. Incident response plan

Official sources

Why we care

Mekavo is fleet management software for operators in Iraq. If you run a fleet for oil-service, security, NGO or commercial operations between Erbil, Baghdad, Basra, Kirkuk or Mosul — try Mekavo free. Federal/KRI registration tracking, chain-of-custody documentation, driver credentials, insurance coordination, GPS-integrated maintenance scheduling. Iraqi fleet operations require precision; Mekavo provides the system.