How to renew my soon to be expired chinese driver license

[Brice]

Happy New Year! All the very best in 2012 for the MCM members.


Nearly 5 years ago I got my chinese driver license (a real one, car and motorcycle) in Shanghai. It will expired in few months. I'm no longer in Shanghai but in GuangDong province.

Do you have experience about renewing your license?

Brice

[Lao Jia Hou]

HNY Brice (et al)

I just renewed last month, and it was very easy. First, you need to get 3 or 4 one inch passport-type photos. Then, off to a quick "medical" (eye test) at an "approved medical center" to get the official chop on the medical form. Then off to the Driving License Bureau where a new 10 year license was issued on the spot, within about 15 minutes. The whole thing took about 2 hours. Not bad and very painless when compared to other bureaucratic processes.

You will get a 10 year license if you've been a good little boy (or girl) and kept a clean license.

You might hit a speed bump, though, with your initial license being issued in SH but now you are in GZ. Don't know about that one.

The forms and more info is available online on the Beijing / Shanghai Traffic Management Bureau websites.

Safe riding in 2012

[euphonius]

...You might hit a speed bump, though, with your initial license being issued in SH but now you are in GZ. Don't know about that one.

Dear Brice,

About 8 years ago, after I'd moved my main residence to Shanghai from Beijing (with a few years in Taipei in between), my Beijing issued license expired and I was NOT permitted to renew it in Beijing. I was told this was because I was not longer a Beijing resident. Worse yet, I was unable to use the expiring Beijing license as "evidence" of my having driven safely in China for more than 10 years. Instead, in order to start with a clean slate in Shanghai, I had to have Beijing cancel my previous license so it could be expunged from the computer system. It was not a huge hassle, but I did waste quite a bit of time going to the vehicle management bureau in Beijing, and then going to see the same folks in Shanghai.

I hope that things have improved in the interim, and that you can show your Shanghai license in Guangzhou, then have a new 10-year license issued in Guangzhou on the basis of your having already qualified for a license 5 years ago in Shanghai.

But you never know, and you should be prepared for having to start the whole process anew -- i.e., having your French or other foreign motorcycle & car license translated into Chinese, and having the translation notarized, so you can skip the mandatory rider training and road test and just have to pass the written exam to qualify.

Please do post about your experience!

Best wishes for 2012! Cheers!

[Brice]

Hey Guys,

Thank you both for your responses. I'll check in the next few weeks how it is working in Zhuhai and will report here my own experience.

In general I found that the Chinese administration has vastly improved over the years with an heavy and efficient usage of IT systems. There are often many offices to visit in a specific order to get the "red seals" but if one follows the path with the right papers the outcome is positive.

Brice

[humanbeing]

Did the DL "转籍" to Zhuhai? Otherwise u can't renew there.

[Reckleben]

Did the DL "转籍" to Zhuhai? Otherwise u can't renew there.

Many Foreigner (and Chinese) have the same problem.
Moving to another province, then they do not know how to check the penalty points, where to go for renewal and and ...
We can help there.
A renewed license ( 10 Years ) can be seen here.

Greetings Torsten - Hong Kong ZhongDe

[TB-Racing]

Oldies But Goodies.... 'nuff said....

Scam catches foreign drivers
Shanghai Daily Newspaper 2007-6-31

SOME foreign motorists in the city may be driving illegally and be unaware of it thanks to a bogus application ruse.
Overseas drivers living in Shanghai should only apply for a Chinese driving license with local police.

Shanghai traffic police made the clarification yesterday following reports that some agencies are charging expatriates thousands of yuan to have licenses issued out of town. These licenses are not legitimate.

Shanghai Morning Post broke the story on Thursday after an undercover investigation of the agencies.

With photocopies of the driver's passport, driving license from his or her own country and head-shot photos, clients are told to expect a Chinese driving license, issued by out of town authorities, after a week to 40 days, the newspaper said.

The foreign clients don't need to show up in person but only pass on the material to agents and wait for the licenses to arrive.

Agents charge between about 2,000 yuan (US$263) and 5,000 yuan for the service.

Shanghai Daily interviewed officers from the vehicle administration office under the General Team of Traffic Police who said licenses required by the agents are illegal.

Foreign drivers should swap them for a driving license issued by traffic authorities in their exact area of residence.

Shanghai traffic police are investigating the matter.

"Expatriates with a Shanghai-issued residents' permit, should only apply for a driving license issued by Shanghai traffic police," said a police officer with vehicle administration.

It costs 40 yuan to sit for a test on computer in Chinese road traffic rules. You can obtain a Chinese driving license the same day you pass the exam after paying 15 yuan for certification.

To apply for the test, the expatriate need to come to the police office on 1179 Qingchun Road, with head-shot photos and a hospital-issued physical exam report. Applicants also need to take the driving license issued in their own country.

Police said that international driving license holders are not allowed to drive in China before gaining a Chinese license. Questions about applying for a Chinese driving license should be directed to a hotline, 24023456.


################################################## ##########

Foreigners warned on out-of-town driving license
Shanghai Daily Newspaper 2007-6-30

SHANGHAI police have warned local foreigners not to buy driver's licenses from out-of-town driving schools.

For those who want a driver's license, the application procedure for a local-registered one takes only one day and a small sum of money, police said. Passing a written test is a must.

For those who hold no license, police suggest them to learn to drive and sit for tests in the city.

Foreigners in Shanghai have been targets of out-of-town driving schools since last August when the schools' business with city residents was ruined by local police.

They were offering a driver's license service that required no written or road test to lure foreigners, said an insider surnamed Zhang.

"The schools offer 'apartment service,' which suited many foreign people," Zhang said.

They usually find it too troublesome to go to a city to do registration.

A salesperson would knock at the door, collect some basic information, get the fingerprints and photos and take copies of the passport.

Then, all in need to do is to wait patiently for at least 40 days when the applicant will receive a driver's license that has been registered outside Shanghai.

"Though foreigners have to pay 1,000 yuan (US$131) more and wait longer, they find it convenient and efficient," Zhang said.

Local students usually pay between 2,600 yuan to 4,200 yuan to get such a license from out-of-town driving schools. It takes at least 5,000 yuan from local schools.

Training outside of the city allows students to get a license quickly. Local regulations require drivers to do 86 hours of in-car training, and they can't spend more than six hours a day on training.

Drivers must also wait at least 40 days between taking a written test and sitting the actual driving test. The whole procedure may take three months.

Other provinces don't have similar regulations, so students can get a license much quicker.

[Reckleben]

Good moorning.

The Linked,legally extended license is issued in ShenZhen and not in a city where the baker is also mayor.

Incidentally, it is no matter where a license has been issued in China, the statements in the article needs to be updated.

Everyone who has ever tried to change his address on the driving license knows the answer of the traffic authority:
"The address is not important, because we would have the whole day to do nothing else"

Merry Christmas

[ChinaV]

The Linked,legally extended license is issued in ShenZhen and not in a city where the baker is also mayor.

How do you issue a C1E or C1D drivers license from Shenzhen? Motorcycles and sidecars have been banned for years.

?????

"The address is not important, because we would have the whole day to do nothing else"

?????


Cheers!
ChinaV

[TB-Racing]

Everyone who has ever tried to change his address on the driving license knows the answer of the traffic authority:
"The address is not important, because we would have the whole day to do nothing else"

Hmmm.... as we moved to a new address in November 2012 changed / updated two China driving license and six privately owned motorised vehicle documents (2 cars / 4 bikes) without any troubles. Don't know in what type of backwater town over the hill you live but in the big smoke "Shanghai" it's fairly easy to change documents and absolutely no need for dodgy agents or shady service companies....

SEASONS GREETINGS

***Didn't they boot you off some China websites for continuous spamming of your business in the past***