On the eve of my birthday, I finally got my Chinese driver license! It ONLY took about a month for this entire process to complete. As Gary has said, we seem to have spent the entire first month in China doing paperwork (and we are no where near done!). Still, I guess I should consider myself lucky.
If you already have a proper driver license from another country, getting a driver license in China is not that difficult if 1) you have plenty of patience; and 2) can read Chinese. All you need is to fill out a bunch paperwork and take the written test.
Documentation for Application
Here is a list of what’s needed:
- passport
- driver license from another country – International Driving Permit is not recognized and can’t be used for this purpose
- certified copy of the passport translated into Chinese (the translation has to be done by a recognized translation company)
- certified copy of the driver license translated into Chinese (same deal as above)
- certified copy of name translated into Chinese (I have been told that some cities do not require a Chinese name but I don’t know if that’s true – Zhongshan is a small city and does require it).
- temporary stay permit for foreigners – I don’t know if there is a duration requirement here. For me, my current duration is 90 days and I was able to apply for the driver license without a problem. However, if you are planning to buy a car, make sure that your minimum stay is at least 180 days or you can run into a problem like what we are facing now (more on that later in another post).
- specified color background driver license application photos, receipt, and a disk (with the photo)
- health certificate – to verify eye sights, and that you have all your fingers etc.
- driver license application form
Most of these items don’t cost much. The largest amount we paid was about ¥800-¥900 (~$130-$150) to a driver school to handle our driver license application form so that we don’t need to go in ourselves. The rest of the items were very cheap (can’t remember how much now), but they take time, especially the certificates. It took about 8 business days (normally 10 business days), and it was in the middle of the Chinese New Year holiday! On top of that, we messed up some details several times, so we had to keep going back there and to the translation company (which is located next door, conveniently) several times, which had added to our headaches.
Studying for the Written Driving Test
Once we had submitted all the required documents for the application, it took us about 2 weeks to get the test appointment (and another trip to the translation company and the Chinese Notary).
The study materials given to us were only in Chinese. There is a booklet with about 1000 questions printed, which form the written test pool. There is also a CD with the computer test, but only runs on a PC.
I looked online and found some websites to study for the test in Chinese. The online test sites are generally organized into sections with questions, and then mock tests. I’d found that it was easier to study the sections first, especially starting with the section on traffic signs and laws. Sometimes I did not understand the Chinese words and had to look up the English translation. Sometimes some of the questions were tricky, or simply did not make any sense, but I guess you’ll just have to accept that.
Studying for the test in English has proved to be much more difficult. Today, we have yet to find a site we like. There are several problems with the English test:
- bad translations
- incorrect answers
- more difficult to focus on just the questions that you’ve got wrong
Taking the Written Exam
Last Friday, we went to take the written test. For Chinese citizens, you can take the test every day. For foreigners, there is only one test per week. In Zhongshan, that day is every Friday.
When taking the test, you cannot take anything with you, such as a purse. You just take your ID (passport) with you to the test. Phones are not allowed either, but if you turn it off and put it in your pocket, it’s okay.
The test is 45 minutes long, consisting of 100 multiple choice and True/False questions on a PC. In order to pass the written test, one has to get at least 90 out of 100 questions correct. Gary joked that in order to pass the test, you’ll need to be 90% correct. However, once you pass the test, then you’ll only need the other 10% for actually driving around.
If you fail the test the first time, you can take it again immediately. After that, you’ll have to make a new appointment for the exam (if you don’t take it the second time, you’ll just forfeit that chance).
During the test, a camera is turned on to record your face. You are not allowed to cover up your face, and hats aren’t allowed either.
I finished the test in about 20 minutes and got 95 correct. In the Chinese version, every time you get a question wrong, it tells you right away, as well as the correct answer. However, according to Gary, there is no such pop-ups for the English test. The first time around, Gary got 85, but taking it the second time, he got a lower score and several questions did not have the pictures loaded even though the questions were based on the pictures. Gary felt very cheated, but he’s determine to pass the test next time around.
For foreigners, once I passed the test, I was told that I could just come back on Monday to pick up my driver license, which I did. Well, maybe that’s my early birthday present 🙂 !
A Journey of Many Thousand Miles 