Help: Getting Driver License in Taiwan. Has USA Drivers License

Life Cars & Motorcycles
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I have a valid US drivers license that expires on 8/27/2020. I know I need the following to get a Taiwan drivers license for driving cars only. However, I need help verfiying exactly what I need and how to get it.

  • Need Taiwan ID - I have this.
  • Need notorized document from US Consulates to verify authenticity of US license - I know how to get this
  • Need medical examination report - My question is where and how do I get this at a local hospital? What do I ask?
  • Once above two documents are obtained, where do I go to get drivers license? My home is in Yilan. Is there a specific location I must go to obtain a Taiwan drivers license?

Thank you in advance for helping.

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Go here:
https://goo.gl/maps/jSrfqjSpPiwYP2Dz6

They will tell you everything you need to know.

Consider that if you exchange your license to a Taiwanese one the US license will be revoked (at least it is supposed to happen). You have to exchange it back when you go back to US.

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Thank you for this.

Update: Yep as usually…no one ever answers the phone…sigh.

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I did the medical test for driving license (Motorcycles and car) , there is a list of the authorized clinics that do this kind of test , you need to bring 2 photos and for driving car I think is 200ntd

For Yilan these are the clinics where you can do the medical examination report
聖恩診所
宜蘭縣宜蘭市中山路 3 段 163 號（Tel : 03-932-4053）
永合診所
宜蘭縣宜蘭市昇平街 72 號（Tel : 03-932-7483）
開蘭安心診所
宜蘭縣宜蘭市神農路 1 段 95.97.99 號 (Tel : 03-931-1230)

For other clinics in Taipei city ,
https://tpcmv.thb.gov.tw/MotorVehicles/DriverLicense/DriverTest/dt07.htm

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OMG, you are the bomb. The volunteer at Yang Ming told me the wrong thing and I went to the hospital for nothing.

Thank you so much!!!

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In the Taipei motor city website says that medical checkup certificate can be done by any public hospital within 1 year, but at the same time they have a list of clinics , so is kind of confusing

Anyway medical checkup is easy , it took me like less than 10 minutes ,

  • Record your height and weight
  • Check your hearing - tuning fork sounded left and right, ask if you hear it.
  • A color blindness test.
  • Check to see if you have all 4 limbs.
  • Ask you to produce both your hands.
  • Get you to squat down and rise up one time.

you can find more detail info about here : https://www.tealit.com/article_categories.php?section=transportation&article=drivers_license

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I was pretty stressed about having a physical to be honest. I thought it would be like in the states and they’ll need to examine my weewee. What a relief.

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Excuse me? Which DMV do you go to?

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Not DMV, but general physical. Its mandatory for most cases. Example: if you want to play any sports in the US you must go through a medical physical and it requires doctor to check various parts of your body. They’ll grab your balls and ask you to cough.

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And was it actually a DMV employee that asked?

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Do you want it to be DMV employee to ask?!? I can make it happen here.

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Reviving an old thread. Curious about the revocation of the US license. I am moving back to Taipei soon and was told that the office in Taiwan will take away my physical plastic license issued in the US…but is there anything stopping me from then submitting the online form for my state (Rhode Island) and getting a replacement for a lost license? Does the Taiwanese DMV really contact any DMV in the US to tell them to invalidate my license number?

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Hello @universumthing,

I think it depends on if you are a Taiwan citizen or not based on the conversation I had w/ DMV here in Yilan. Call them first to verify.

The process I went through was the following:

  1. Had my US license notarized at the American Institute in Taiwan. Not sure if you can get it notarized in the States first and bring the notarized document with you. They charge for like $60 for one notarized document here at the AIT. If u want to be safe and don’t want to waste time, I would just do it at AIT.
  2. Took it to the DMV along w/ my US license to exchange for Taiwan license. They gave me back my US license.
  3. They gave me a hard time about “what type of license is this pertaining to…is it valid for automatic or stick shift.” They held me there for at least 30 minutes try to verify if its validity for automatic with an out dated handbook. Eventually, they gave up b/c their handbook was so outdated that they could not prove or disprove if the license is for stick or automatic shift. They just gave me the TW license.

They didn’t take my US license and I don’t think they care (they’ll flex to justify their job. so prepare for that. at least that’s what they did to me). I highly doubt they would take the time and make a long distance call to the US DMV. If you have any questions, just let me know. Hope this helps.

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It depends on the agreement with the respective country / state. The US seems to have some states which allow keeping the old license - not sure if that applies to all of them.

I exchanged my (German) license last week - they insisted on keeping it. According to them, it will be mailed back to Germany (which is also what the agreement says). The guy next to me who exchanged his UK license also had to surrender his.

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Can I using the International Driving Permit to get the Taiwan Driver License instead of the US state driver license? If it is possible, I don’t have to worry about surrender my state driver license.

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Well, I don’t think you can, because even with an international driving permit, you’ll still need your actual drivers license present. So they most likely will require you to present it to validate the international driving permit. You can, however, use your international driving permit to drive in Taiwan as long as it stays valid (1 year I believe).

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Figured I would put this in this thread.

My US driver’s license expired a couple years ago. However, I need to buy a car here (due to my family getting larger soon… all 4 of us won’t be able to fit on my wife’s scooter). How would I go about renewing my US license without stepping foot in the US? And would that be sufficient to drive here or do I need a local license?

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Usually, you can drive in Taiwan up to 3 (or 6?) month with an international driver’s license. After that, you need to get it “stamped” by the MVO which will make the IDP valid in Taiwan for 1 year.

There seem to be some inconsistencies about getting an IDP “stamped” again after the year has passed (or if one has been in Taiwan for > 1 year): Some MVOs seem to do it - others not.

If you don’t have a stamp in your IDP, then you need a local license. The IDP itself might be valid, but without the stamp it won’t be accepted in Taiwan after the 3 (or 6?) months have passed (which is common around the world - IDPs are not meant to be permanent, but rather for short visits to other countries).

For that, you might need a local license anyway.

Depending on which country / state you’re from, you might also be able to get a local license by “exchanging” your foreign driver’s license. Note that only a few countries / states require a true “exchange” and many allow you to keep your foreign license.

Not sure if they will still accept an expired license, though…

EDIT: I think it’s only 30 days of validity (after entering Taiwan) without the stamp actually - see:

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Thanks

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Congrats!

You underestimate how many people can fit onto a scooter.

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