AT Thru Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Can anybody tell me if I can get a temporary drivers license in China. I heard you could at some airports for short stays. My wife has a car and asks me to drive when I visit her mostly on the highways. Or any other advise. ( besides don't drive in China haha ) I have a US license Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 My understanding is that your U.S. license is valid for 30 days. A certified translation (such as an International Driver's License, even though it is not recognized in China) may be a good idea, but probably unnecessary. If you get any tickets (a very REAL possibility these days), your wife can put them on her license (up to 12 points in a year before she would have to re-take the exam), if she is not allowed to put them on yours. Tickets are by camera and per car, and may be assigned to a handy license. It is VERY unlikely that you would need to show your license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnoblett Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 You may consider getting an international driving permit through AAA, it is a book with translation of your license into 10 languages. fee $15 It is recognized in Taiwan and Hong Kong, so should be useful in Mainland China http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 You may consider getting an international driving permit through AAA, it is a book with translation of your license into 10 languages. fee $15 It is recognized in Taiwan and Hong Kong, so should be useful in Mainland China http://www.aaa.com/vacation/idpf.html It is what it is - NOT a driver's license or permit in itself, but a certified translation of your actual license. It WILL serve THAT purpose, even though China is NOT listed under Geographical Areas Which Honor International Driving Permits (Convention on Road Traffic, United Nations, Geneva 1949) as of September, 2013. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted March 17, 2016 Report Share Posted March 17, 2016 Important note: if the IDP does NOT include SIMPLIFIED Chinese characters, you may wish to instead get a separate certified translation. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore use TRADITIONAL Chinese characters. What languages are used in the International Driving Permit?Information in the IDP is covered in 11 languages: English, French, Italian, Swedish, German, Chinese, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, Russian, and Portuguese. I'm betting that they mean TRADITIONAL Chinese. You might also drop by the Gong Zheng Chu and see if they will issue a white book translation of your license. But I'm also betting that you won't find anyone to show your translation to, unless you were to RENT a car. Yes, I expect you could do that without any problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AT Thru Posted March 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 ok so now I'm a little confused, Do I have to get anything special or just drive? If I get puller over for driving ( American ) will I get in any type of trouble? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 ok so now I'm a little confused, Do I have to get anything special or just drive? If I get puller over for driving ( American ) will I get in any type of trouble? In general, they don't "pull you over", although I have seen them do this in Guangzhou for seatbelt and cell phone violations. Tickets are issued from traffic camera pictures to the owner of the car. I drove through a checkpoint once driving home from Zhuhai - they only wanted to look at my passport. If you want to be completely legit, I would get a certified translation of your driver's license, AND have your wife check with her PSB to make sure this is legitimate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted March 18, 2016 Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 (edited) I may be wrong about driving with a foreign license in China - a Google search revealed most sites as saying this is not legal. Here's a site about getting a temporary permit at the Beijing Airport Terminal - http://motorhome-china.com/report_dl.html or at any Traffic PSB - http://www.saporedicina.com/english/driving-in-china-get-license/#drivingchina2 An International Driving Permit, of course, is just a translation of a foreign license - not recognized. I was probably thinking of how I used my Chinese license while in the U.S. Sorry 'bout that. But it sounds like the temporary permit is very easy to get, Edited March 18, 2016 by Randy W (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AT Thru Posted March 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2016 I may be wrong about driving with a foreign license in China - a Google search revealed most sites as saying this is not legal. Here's a site about getting a temporary permit at the Beijing Airport Terminal - http://motorhome-china.com/report_dl.html or at any Traffic PSB - http://www.saporedicina.com/english/driving-in-china-get-license/#drivingchina2 An International Driving Permit, of course, is just a translation of a foreign license - not recognized. I was probably thinking of how I used my Chinese license while in the U.S. Sorry 'bout that. But it sounds like the temporary permit is very easy to get, Thanks This is good information !! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy W Posted December 19, 2022 Report Share Posted December 19, 2022 Getting a Driver's License "from scratch". Alysa grew up in China and doesn't have a foreign license to "upgrade". If you HAVE a foreign license, you only need to do the written part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now