This post is part of a series of how-to articles where we share our experience on how we get important stuff done in the country we visit by navigating the local rules, processes, and cultural differences. For other related posts of that series, go here.
In this guide, you will find out everything you need to know about driving in Taiwan including if you are eligible to drive in Taiwan with your current license, how you might convert your current driver’s license to a Taiwanese one and how to apply for a new Taiwanese license.
I will also share my first-hand experience on how I got both a car license and a 125cc scooter license without taking a driving test by spending less than two hours at the Taipei DMV and how much money I spent.
Are you ready to learn more about driver’s licenses in Taiwan?
Disclaimer: Rules and regulations regarding driver’s licenses are changing rapidly and depend upon the driver’s country of origin. For the most current requirements that apply to you, please contact your country’s Embassy or Consulate in Taiwan. You can also check the website of the Taiwan Motor Vehicles Office.
Reciprocal arrangements between Taiwan and your country of citizenship
For the purpose of driver’s licenses in Taiwan, it is important to know that your country (or state for people living in the USA) might have a reciprocal arrangement with Taiwan that depends on the following:
- Criteria A – Whether or not your home country can issue you an International Driving Permit (IDP)
- Criteria B – Whether or not your home country driving license can be converted to a local driver’s license without requiring taking a driving test
To find answers to these questions, you can access your country’s reciprocal arrangements here.
- For people living in Europe, check out the current international regulations regarding the validity and transferability of Taiwan’s international driver’s permit and/or Taiwan’s domestic driver’s license for Europe document.
- For people living in North America check out the current international regulations regarding the validity and transferability of Taiwan’s international driver’s permit and/or Taiwan’s domestic driver’s license for North America document.
- For anyone else, you can find the documentation related to your country on this page. (or from the Taipei City Motor Vehicles Offices if these links are broken)
Type of driver’s license based on your residency status
Using the two criteria we just discussed, here are the rules based on how long you plan to stay in Taiwan:
- If you are coming to Taiwan for less than 30 days you can drive or ride in Taiwan if your home country can issue you an International Driving Permit (IDP). Otherwise, you need to apply for a locally issued driver’s license in Taiwan.
- If you are staying in Taiwan for more than 30 days but less than 6 months you can drive or ride in Taiwan by having your International Driving Permit (IDP) validated by your local Motor Vehicles Office in Taiwan to remain valid. Otherwise, you need to apply for a locally issued driver’s license in Taiwan.
- If you are staying in Taiwan for more than 6 months you must apply for a locally issued driver’s license in Taiwan. No exceptions.
How to apply for an International Driver’s Permit (IDP) outside of Taiwan?
The Taiwan Motor Vehicle Office only admits International Driver’s licenses issued by American Automobile Association (AAA) and National Automobile Club (NAC)
How long is an International Driver’s Permit (IDP) valid?
The valid period of the registration of an international driving permit starts from the application date. The longest period shall be 1 year, subject to the valid date on the holder’s resident certificate, entry visa, and international driver’s license, whichever expires first. Upon arrival in Taiwan, your IDP can’t be valid for more than 6 months.
How to validate your International driving license permit (IDP) in Taiwan?
To validate/register your International Driving License in Taiwan for more than 30 days, you need to follow documents:
- Your original passport
- Your original foreign driver’s license
- Your original International Driving Permit (IDP)
- One-color photo ID with front view of the face without a hat (size 3cm x 2.5cm) taking with the last 2 years
- Application fee: 150 NTD (~ 5 USD)
You then need to apply with your local Motor Vehicle Office in Taiwan.
How to apply for a locally issued Taiwan driver’s license?
Based on the Principles of Equality and Reciprocity between your country of citizenship and Taiwan you might be eligible to exchange your driving license for a Taiwan driver’s license without taking any driving test. If not, you will need to go through the local written + behind the wheel tests.
Option 1 – Exchanging your driver’s license for a Taiwan driver’s license
Before going to the DMV you need to collect the following documents:
- Authentication of your home country driver’s license in your home country or at your local consulate/embassy once in Taiwan (Note: you want the authentication to be done in Chinese or English. Otherwise you will have to get it translated).
- The original of your home driver’s license
- One medical health checkup certificate by any public hospital within 1 year
- 3 photos ID (1 for medical certificate, 2 for driving license) with front view of the face without a hat (size 3cm x 2.5cm) per driving license
- 200 NTD (~7 USD) per driving license (cash only)
Option 2 – Taking the driver’s license test + behind the wheel (aka road) test
First, you need to take the driving license written test before taking the road test.
2.A – Written test
The registration hours for the written test depend on your local Motor Vehicles Office and the type of license you are getting so check with them beforehand. (Check the Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office Driving License test schedule).
To take the test you must be 18 years. Then you should apply for the test at your local Motor Vehicles Office by bringing the following documents:
- An ARC with a term of more than one year
- Two 1-inch black and white or color photos, with a plain background, showing clear facial features and no headgear, taken within the past 6 months
- Health Certificate for Driver’s License received after the health and physical examination (applicants for a motorcycle driver’s license can skip the health and physical examination)
- An English translation of your home country’s driver’s license.
Note: If you don’t have an overseas driver’s license, you must apply for a learners’ license before applying for a regular driver’s license. You would need to hold a learner’s license for at least 3 months before being eligible to apply for a regular driver’s license.
You can practice the test here. The test consists of:
- 10 Multiple-choice questions on regulations, 15 true/false questions on regulations, 5 true/false questions on road signs, and 10 multiple-choice questions on-road signs for the car license
- 30 Multiple-choice questions + 20 True-False questions for the motorcycle license.
If you score >= 85 points, you have passed the written test (Yay!) and can then take the road test. If you fail, you need to wait a week before taking the test again.
2.B – Road test
If you are taking the car road test, we encourage you to view this road test video instructions Part 1 + Road test video instructions Part 2. Also, read the road test checklist and scorecard for car test & road test checking and scorecard for motorcycle test for additional information.
If you score >= 70 points, you have passed the road test (Yay!) and you can then enjoy your local driver’s license!
Important notes
- People who are going to register for the motorcycle driver’s license test for the first time must complete a 120-minute safety lecture in advance. (Lecture is valid for one year ).
- The holder of a manual transmission vehicle driver’s license may operate an automatic transmission vehicle BUT the holder of an automatic transmission vehicle driver’s license is prohibited from operating a manual transmission vehicle.
How to get a medical health check certificate?
Pick up the medical form related to your driving license at the DMV (green form for scooter driving license exam and black form for car driving license exam)
Then get the test done at any public hospital and cost is about 300 NTD per piece.
- If you are in Taipei, you can go to the Pojen General Hospital which is a 5-minute walk from the Taipei City Motor Vehicle Office
- If you are in New Taipei City, the DMV has a clinic on-site that can perform the medical exam and according to our friend Go Curry Cracker this a way faster way to get thing done
The health checkup took about 30 minutes once you get in front of the line. It took me one hour to get both tests done from the time I arrived at the clinic.
Here is my experience of the medical health checkup:
- I checked in at the hospital and asked for a medical check-up for driver’s license purposes showing up the form I got from the DMV.
- I got redirected to the proper floor/service
- I registered at the counter and paid the examination fee (600 NTD for 2 certificates in my case)
- I talked to a first physician for an overall evaluation about what medical exam I needed
- I talked to a second physician who took my height measures and then checked my hearing via a simple test where I was asked to stand up and the physical stayed behind me, holding a device making a vibrating sound. I was asked to raise the arm closest to where the sound was coming from. Pretty straightforward.
- I talked to a third physician that performed a peripheral vision test.
- I talked to a fourth physician that conducted both a color exam test and a vision exam.
- I got back to the counter to fill out my medical record
- I went back to the hospital lobby to get my two certificates stamped
And all done!
How much does it cost?
The cost will vary depending on the number of licenses you get and whether or not you need to take a local driving test. As an example, here is everything I spent to get both a car and a 125cc motorcycle driver’s license in Taiwan:
- Translation of my French driver’s license at the French embassy in Taipei: 380 NTD
- Medical health certificates: 2×300 NTD = 600 NTD
- 4 photos ID (size 3cm x 2.5cm) taken at the local Motor Office Vehicle: 150 NTD
- 2 driver’s licenses: 2×200 NTD = 400 NTD
- Total: 1530 NTD (or ~55 USD)
What if you can’t get a driver’s license and need to move around Taiwan?
If you can’t get a legal driving license during your stay in Taiwan you can still move around using means of transportation that don’t require a driving license. These include the following:
- electric bikes (or e-bikes) that are good for a day-long exploration of the city and its surroundings
- electric scooters of no more than 50cc. You can easily spot these as they have a green license plate on the back. Usually, they can only carry one passenger though due to their limited power. These are ideal to go around the small islands of Taiwan (like Green Island for instance)
- public local transportation (like subway or city buses)
- public long-distance transportation (like long-distance buses or train) to get you from one part of the country to another
Useful links
If you want further information on this topic, feel free to check out the following articles:
(Note: T/F refers to True/False Questions and MCQ refers to Multiple Choice Questions)
- Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office
- Application to extend an IDP past the first 30 days (in English)
- Obtaining a driver’s license in Taiwan (in English)
- Information about the Driver’s license test in Taiwan + License Test FAQ (in English)
- Written test
- Questions bank for written test (page in Chinese)
- For car test: Regulations MCQ + Regulations MCQ (Answers) + Rules T/F + Rules MCQ + Sign MCQ + Sign T/F Questions (in English)
- For motorcycle test: Situation Questions + Rules MCQ + Rules T/F Questions + Signs T/F Questions + Signs MCQ
- Practice the test here
- Car road test
- Road test checklist and scorecard for car test (in English)
- Road test video instructions Part 1 (in English)
- Road test video instructions Part 2 (in English)
- Car road test zone diagram (in English)
- Motorcycle road test
- Driving in Taiwan for US citizens (in English)
- Driving in Taiwan for French citizens (in French)
Frequently Asked Questions
We will keep updating this section as we get more comments from our readers.
Q: What is the legal driving age in Taiwan? A: The minimum age to drive a car in Taiwan is 18 and driving licenses must be carried at all times. The minimum age to ride light and medium motorbikes (49cc to 249cc) is 18 years old. The minimum age to ride large motorbikes, (250cc and above) is 20 years old.
Q: If I am eligible to trade my existing home drivers’ license for a Taiwanese license, do I have to give up my home driving license? A: Why the process is called trade in process, in reality, I did not have to release my home drivers’ license, nor a few people I talked to that went through the same process in 2020 and 2021
Q: Can I ride a scooter with a local Taiwanese car license? You can but you can only ride a 50cc scooter which aren’t available everywhere in Taiwan
Our bottom line
Depending on your country and the length of your stay in Taiwan, getting a driving license can be pretty easy and simple. If you need to get a locally issued driving license, you might be able to swap yours within a couple of hours. If you are less lucky, you will have to go through the process of taking a written test + behind the wheel exam. After a year of happily exploring Taiwan via public transportation, bikes and electric scooters, we are excited to further our exploration with rental car and motorbike options! Hopefully, this article lets you understand the various options and which are the best based on your situation.
Do you find this article useful? Do you have any additional questions we might be able to answer? Please feel free to let us know by leaving a comment in the comments section below and we will update our post accordingly.
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