Car licence guide

The whole Taiwan car licence process, step by step. The learner permit, the self-study route that skips the NT$12,000 driving school, the fees, and exam day.

1. 1

   Which route is yours?

   Your path depends on whether you already hold a driving licence that Taiwan accepts.

   • Foreigners: register in person at a Motor Vehicles Supervision Station (監理站) and pick your exam date. An ARC or Gold Card works as ID.
   • With an exchangeable foreign licence: physical exam → vision test → registration → knowledge test → driving test.
   • Check your country first at taiwandrivingtest.com/licence-check: it shows whether your car or scooter licence converts without exams.
   • Without one: you also need a learner permit + driving school or self-training before the tests.
2. 2

   Medical check (before exam day)

   Minimum age is 18. Do the medical at an authorised clinic a few days before, or on exam day at the Motor Vehicles Office if it has a clinic on site.

   • ARC (Alien Residence Certificate), Gold Card, or Taiwan ID. The ARC needs 6 months of total validity, not 6 months remaining, so even its last day works.
   • Application form (provided at the Motor Vehicles Office, 監理站)
   • Physical exam + vision test at the clinic, takes about 5 minutes, costs around NT$200, no health card needed.
   • Bring 2 one-inch (passport-style) photos for the clinic, and keep 1 more for exam day.
3. 3

   Fees (bring cash)

   Pay at the Motor Vehicles Office (監理站). Bring cash, card is usually not accepted.

   • Full test (all items): around NT$450.
   • Re-test of a single failed item within 1 year: NT$225.
   • Plus the licence card fee (NT$200) and your clinic medical.
   • Your results stay valid for 1 year, finish everything within that window.
4. 4

   Practice

   Practise the written bank in this app, and the track + road test at a driving school.

   • Written exam: 40 questions, 30 minutes, you need 85% to pass.
   • The questions in this app are the official bank, the same ones come up in the real exam.
   • There is also a free official online simulator to rehearse the exact exam screen.
   • Driving schools (駕訓班) have approved closed circuits; some let you take the test on-site.
   • Self-training is allowed, the official test circuit is at the 監理站.
   • From June 2026 the car written exam is multiple-choice only.
5. 5

   Book your exam slot

   Book your test slot in advance on the official 監理服務網 site, or register in person at the 監理站.

   • Then book at 監理服務網 → 考照預約報名 (mvdis.gov.tw), choosing licence type, date and 監理站.
   • If you train at a 駕訓班, the school usually books the test for you, so ask them first.
   • Booking opens 1 month before the test date and closes at 24:00 two days before, so you cannot book the day before or on the day itself.
   • If you cannot go, cancel online before 07:00 that morning or call the station. Three no-shows in 2 months blocks you from booking for 2 months.
   • The monitoring service line is 0800-231035 if anything goes wrong with the booking.
6. 6

   Exam day, what happens when

   Everything is done on the same day, in order. You must pass the written test first; only then do you go to the practical test.

   • Sessions usually start at 08:00 or 13:00. Arrive well before yours, latecomers can be turned away. Bring your documents, 1 one-inch photo, and cash.
   • Only some Motor Vehicles Offices run the tests. In Taipei it is the Shilin station (士林監理站), not the central office, so check the address on your booking.
   • The written test is on a touchscreen, not on paper. Pick your language on the first screen, English is 英文.
   • 1) Written test, 40 questions, 30 min. You need 85% to pass.
   • 2) Practical test the same day: track test, then road test on public streets.
   • If you fail, you can re-take just the failed item within 1 year (NT$225), you keep what you passed.
7. 7

   The practical (driving) test

   Done at the Motor Vehicles Office (監理站) circuit and on real roads. Each part is scored out of 100 and you need 70 to pass each. The car sits behind sensors that auto-score the track.

   • Track test, six items. Reverse into the bay, parallel parking, the S-curve forward and back, the railway crossing, a 45 metre gear-change lane and the up-and-down slope. 曲巷調頭 does not apply to an ordinary small car.
   • Road test, a separate exam on public streets with its own scoring sheet, its own 100 points and its own 70 to pass.
   • You must physically turn your head before moving off, turning and changing lanes. Skipping it is 32 points, on both sheets.
   • The heaviest deductions are not the manoeuvres. Not walking round the car first, no seatbelt, no indicator and no head check before moving off are 32 points each, before the car has moved.
8. 8

   Get your licence

   Pass the written test first and then the practical one, and the licence is printed the same day at the office, once you pay the card fee at the counter.

   • Licence card fee: NT$200 in cash, paid when you collect the card. It is not part of the exam fee you already paid.
   • Keep it valid and renew on time.
   • You can later add other vehicle categories.

Source: Directorate General of Highways (公路局) & Taipei Motor Vehicles Office, 2026. Verify details locally.