I currently have a California Driving License (no International Driving License).
I have ARC here, valid for 3 years, and expect to be here for the long-term.
What is my best option for legal driving?
(1) Get a local license? I am finding out that driving test here is complicated. Even though I have 20+ years of experience driving in US, it appears either I have to take lessons or just go and fail few times. Even finding lessons doesn’t seem to be easy right now.
(2) Get an International Driving License and then get it endorsed by the local DMV? I keep reading conflicting posts about this. Is there a legit long term IDL I can obtain while in Taiwan which will be accepted by car rental companies, and in future by insurance companies (if I were to buy a car).
I don’t know the specifics for CA (each state has their own agreements with Taiwan, but knowing CA I’m assuming that they don’t play ball), but I think you can only have a maximum of 90 days on an IDL starting from the date you landed (30 days automatically, and then you can head down to the DMV to extend it for an additional 60 days).
So I think your only option is to get a local license if you want to be legal – I’ve also contemplated getting one myself but have come to the same conclusions you have so have been putting it off (failing a couple times or sitting through a month of mind-numbing courses where they pretty much just hand you the license at the end).
This is incorrect. You can drive indefinitely on a CA license. They don’t extend CA licenses because, based on reprocity, IDP with CA license isn’t recognized.
So since there is no agreement that means that the CA+IDP is indefinitely valid in Taiwan? That seems a little unfair to the states that do have an agreement
Legally, you only need your CA to drive in Taiwan as you only need your TW license to drive in California. This is based on reciprocity. But authorities in both jurisdictions suggest an IDP to accompany the license as a translation. Same concept - if you took a TW license to rent a car in California, no one would take you seriously.
Car rental companies in Taiwan typically only look at the IDP and ignore the actual license. If you don’t have an IDP issued by AAA they will not rent you a car. If you forgot to bring your actual license you might get away from renting the car but you might get in trouble with the cops.
Because you only have an ARC instead of an ID, your options are either to take the tests to get a local license or continue driving on a CA license with an IDP issued yearly by AAA.
I am heading for local license exam later this week. If I fail and figure that it is going to be too much hassle, then may go down this path. Thanks for your kind replies.
Mine was Oregon, and I just took the computer test and exchanged mine. Simple as that.
Here, CA license does say it is valid with exceptions. Good luck!
I am not Taiwanese. I went to AIT in Kaoshiung and got my license notarized. It was pretty easy, just make an appointment. Showed DMV the letter and license, took the written exam, exchanged license, done.
Not sure if it changed a lot, but it was pretty smooth for me. Hope it works out for ya.
You have to have a Taiwan license to legally drive here, so the short answer is no, you cannot use a CA license in Taiwan. I think there is no drivers license reciprocity between Taiwan and California. I could be wrong, so check the AIT website here.
If California is on the list, then there is a process for the Taiwan DMV to transfer your CA license into a Taiwan license. Then you’re legal.
