Driving license in Taiwan
In Taiwan, Driving licenses (Chinese: 汽車駕駛執照) are issued by the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to a qualified motor vehicle driver. The number of the driving license in Taiwan is similar to the ID number of the license holder.
Format
The driving licenses in Taiwan are only issued in Chinese. For comparison purposes the table below is shown in bilingual form.
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Notes:
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Categories
Driver licenses are categorized pursuant to the Road Traffic Security Rules (道路交通安全規則) in Taiwan. These 15 categories are:
| Ordinary automobiles | Business automobiles | Motorcycles | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Name | Chinese | No. | Name | Chinese | No. | Name | Chinese | ||
| 1 | Driving license of ordinary light vehicle | 小型車普通 駕駛執照 |
5 | Driving license of business light vehicle | 小型車職業 駕駛執照 |
11 | Driving license of small light-duty motorcycle | 小型輕型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照 | ||
| 2 | Driving license of ordinary large truck | 大貨車普通 駕駛執照 |
6 | Driving license of business large truck | 大貨車職業 駕駛執照 |
12 | Driving license of ordinary light-duty motorcycle | 普通輕型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照 | ||
| 3 | Driving license of ordinary large passenger vehicle | 大客車普通 駕駛執照 |
7 | Driving license of business large passenger vehicle | 大客車職業 駕駛執照 |
14 | Driving license of ordinary heavy-duty motorcycle | 普通重型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照 | ||
| 4 | Driving license of ordinary container truck | 聯結車普通 駕駛執照 |
8 | Driving license of business container truck | 聯結車職業 駕駛執照 |
15 | Driving license of large heavy-duty motorcycle | 大型重型機器 腳踏車駕駛執照 | ||
- 9. International Driving Permit (國際駕駛執照): A multilingual translation a Taiwanese license for international use, issued after Vienna Convention on Road Traffic 1968. As the Republic of China has lost diplomatic relations with most countries since the 1970s, certain countries do not honour international driving permits from Taiwan.
- 10. Driving license of light-duty motorcycle (輕型機器腳踏車駕駛執照): Formerly used, now splits into 11 and 12.
- 13. Driving license of heavy-duty motorcycle (重型機器腳踏車駕駛執照): Formerly used, now splits into 14 and 15.
Licenses and Motor vehicles
| Type | Vehicle | Definition | Licenses allowed to drive | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1, 5 | 2, 6 | 3, 7 | 4, 8 | 11 | 12 | 14 | 15 | ||||
| Auto- mobiles |
Light vehicle | 小型車 | Motor vehicles having a permissible maximum weight not exceeding 3,500 kg and not more than nine seats including the driver's seat. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| Large truck | 大貨車 | Motor vehicles used for the carriage of goods and whose permissible maximum weight exceeds 3,500 kg. | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Large passenger vehicle | 大客車 | Motor vehicles used for the carriage of passengers and having ten seats or more including the driver's seat, e.g. city bus, tour bus. | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Container truck | 聯結車 | Tractor coupled to a trailer whose permissible maximum mass exceeds 750 kg, e.g. Link Truck, Tractor-Full Trailer, Tractor-Semi Trailer. | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | |
| Motor- cycles |
Small light-duty motorcycle | 小型輕型 機器腳踏車 | Electric motorcycles with power not exceeding 1.34 HP. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Ordinary light-duty motorcycle | 普通輕型 機器腳踏車 | Motorcycles with a cubic capacity not exceeding 50 cm³, or electric motorcycles with power between 1.34 HP and 5 HP. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | |
| Ordinary heavy-duty motorcycle | 普通重型 機器腳踏車 | Motorcycles with a cubic capacity between 50 cm³ and 250 cm³, or with power between 5 HP and 40 HP. | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | |
| Large heavy-duty motorcycle | 大型重型 機器腳踏車 | Motorcycles with a cubic capacity exceeding 250 cm³, or with power over 40 HP. | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
Driving tests
The minimum age pursuant to Article 60 is normally 18, but one must be at least 20 to get a professional license or a license for an ultra-heavy motorcycle. A professional license must be converted to an ordinary one at 60 years old, but a professional small vehicle driver may keep the license until they are 65 years old when passing annual physical examinations. Since driving jobs are not open to foreigners, foreigners cannot get professional driver licenses.