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Disclaimer: These rules are always changing and therefore you should verify this info with other info online (especially government references https://www.thb.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=616).

I'm an American from Kansas, so my application and reciprocity reflects that, but I'll do my best to provide general info for all nationalities.

Requirements: This guide focuses on getting your license through reciprocal agreements, which means that both Taiwan and your home country or region in your country (in my case, my state) have a mutual agreement to waive the writing and driving test. See step 3 for more details about this.

The following link from the MOTC (government agency) will allow you see if you are from a qualifying country: https://www.thb.gov.tw/en/News.aspx?n=878&sms=12831

If you aren't on the list, then you will have to do the same process that locals do, which is usually to go to a driving school or take the test on your own. I haven't done that so I haven't made a guide about that.

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More details about gov agency and scope:

The governing body in charge of drivers licenses is the Ministry of Transportation and Communications(MOTC), and each county and larger city has its own division that falls under the MOTC's authority.

In Taipei for example it is the Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office (TCMVO), which is where I originally applied for my license and renewed it. In Chinese the Motor Vehicles Office is called a 監理站 jiānlǐ zhàn, and you can tack on the name of the city or county in front of that to do a search for a specific one online.

It is here that you will do tests for cars, motorcycles, and scooters. This guide only focuses on cars.

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Finally, we have arrived at the real step 1. Assuming you are on the list of qualifying countries, your next step will be to have your driver's license notarized which will verify that it is a legitimate license. The annoying thing here is that this part is different for every country. Americans for example can go through AIT to have it notarized and get a certification of a "true copy", but that path also requires you send a money order in USD to AIT? Again, check sources for updates, because those things change all the time.

Contact your representative office for whatever country you may be from. If you wanna do a quick search google or ai search, I used:

"(country name here) driver's license notary Taiwan"

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Once you've done that, you'll bring the following to your local Taiwanese Motor Vehicles Office:

• your home country's license with ceritifcation (the one you got in the last step)

• your ARC card with 6 months of remaining validity

• original passport and a photocopy of it

• if your license is in a language other than English or Chinese, you'll need a translation of it into Chinese

• medical evaluation done by a public hospital with one-inch photo attached (in Taipei at the Songshan branch, there is a hospital very close by, so you could get it all done in one day at the same location) they will provide you a form at the hospital.

• two one-inch photos (save the other photos from your trip to the hospital)

• 200 TWD in cash (processing fee)

If you want to know from where I'm getting the most up-to-date info , you can click on this link here: https://www.thb.gov.tw/en/cp.aspx?n=616

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The picture below was taken at the Songshan branch on Bade road in Taipei

address in Chinese 臺北市松山區八德路4段21號

Google Map Link:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/X1W12mtdqkD1oNUS9

At this particular branch, you'll go to the second floor. Regardless of where you are, look for a sign that has the characters 駕照 or 駕照業務.

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Once in the right area or floor, look for a ticket taking machine and click on the touch screen the same characters 駕照業務 (unless of course there is no machine). Depending on the time of day, it may be very busy. I went on a weekday in the morning, and I didn't have to wait long.

Wait for your turn and look for the counter with your number lit up.

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When your number is called, go up and talk to the clerk. Keep in mind that they may be nervous or a bit frustrated depending on your Chinese level and maybe even your mere appearance. I encounter the nervousness often, usually as soon as they see my white face approaching their counter 😂

Note: Although it is true that many people in places like these can speak English (especially in bigger cities such as Taipei), you may have some communication issues if you do not prepare what you need to say in advance. You'll probably get through it just fine without speaking any Chinese at all, but here are some terms you may want/ need to make things smoother.

你好 nǐ hǎo - Hello / Hi

我要申請一個台灣駕照 wǒ yào shēnqǐng yí gè Táiwān jiàzhào - I want to apply for a Taiwan driver’s license

我已經有 (country name in Chinese) 的駕照 wǒ yǐjīng yǒu (guójiā míng) de jiàzhào - I already have a (country name) driver’s license

不好意思，我聽不懂 bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ tīng bù dǒng - Sorry, I don’t understand

我的中文不太好 wǒ de zhōngwén bù tài hǎo - My Chinese is not very good

謝謝 xièxiè - Thank you

Also keep in mind that you should probably have your address info, name, phone number, etc handy in English and Chinese (if possible). If they insist on having something written (like your address) in Chinese, you could ask them to help you write that.

Follow Up Actions

Assuming you got through the process so far, you should have your license in hand now. You don't have to wait for it to be mailed or anything. They gave me a little laminated sleeve to put it in, but it is indeed a paper license that you can take out.

Renewal:

If yours is valid for six years like mine, all you have to do is go to a MVO within a month before it expires with:

• just a single one-inch photo (taken within the last 6 months)

• your Taiwanese license that is about to expire

• your ARC card with 6 months of validity remaining

• 200 TWD in cash

That was all I had to give them at the Songshan branch in Taipei. If you want to be safe and take your passport, that's probably smart.

I did NOT take my US license. In fact, my US license expired. I went to the same MVO months earlier to pay a fine for not doing my vehicle emissions test months earlier and asked about this while I was there. I just told them that it was lost and wanted to know if I needed it for the renewal. They said no and sure enough it looks like they were right.

Fluff Content (YOU DON'T NEED TO READ THIS!!!)

Hope you have a lovely motorist experience in Taiwan. It can drive people to tears with all of the complicated fuel taxes and emissions tests and really dangerous driving standards 🤣🤣🤣

I'll try to write some other car related guides here on How To Taiwan. I used to have a scooter, but have never had a scooter license. I don't have any insight to how strict Taiwanese authorities will be about driving a scooter without one in the future, but in my experience it's always been easy to get away with in more rural parts of Taiwan. Some people will not want to rent to you though.

If you go through with this car license, you'll be able to rent vehicles, but they are kinda pricey. If you are looking to buy one, I went through a guy called Sunny in Hsinchu who has a facebook page and caters to English speaking foreigners in Taiwan. Had a good experience with him. Other people on facebook occasionally sell their cars too, but dealers tend to be a bit safer because they have to adhere to lots of vehicle checks and regulations. As always, do your research and don't just take one person's word for it😉