Have your Hangzhou Driver’s License ︱如何办理你的杭州驾照

 With the implementation of ” Management Regulation of Temporary Immigration Vehicles and Driver” on Jan 1, 2007. Foreigners who hold a foreign driver license can apply for a temporary driver license in China without any written exam, nor road test.

What you need to prepare to apply for a Temporary Hangzhou Driver License

1.Foreign passport/ 外国护照
2.Your foreign driver’s license/外国驾驶证
3.Translation copy of your driver’s license/ 驾驶证翻译件(should be translated officially by Foreign Affairs Section located on the second floor of the Certificate Approval Service Center, where is on 35 Huaguang Road)
4.4 copies of your 1 inch visa style photos with white background/ 一寸白底彩照四张
5.If you are here to have organized tourism, tournament or other intercourse activity, you should submit the proof from the related management section.
6.The contract with the Car Rental Service Company. (The car you use should only be from Rental Service Company)
7.Go to Hangzhou Vehicle Mangament Bureau to get your temporary driver’s license, where is on 699, Gudun Road/ 古墩路699号杭州车辆管理所

Important points you should know:

The temporary driver license can only be valid for 3 month. The valid period of the license can not last longer than your passport’s, and can not prolong.( which means that you can get this temporary driver license only once in Hangzhou, even if you go back to your home country and come to Hangzhou in 20 years, you are not allowed to apply for it again. but you can still apply this in other cities.) Your temporary license will be valid only used together with your foreign driver license and the translation version written in chinese. And the car you rent is limited to small-sized one and should be of automatic gear shift.

Frankly, I don’t think this is a useful license, cause the car you drive could only be from a Car Rental Service Company, not from your friends, your company…., and 3 month is too long cause for most of the tourists, they may not spend as long as 3 month in Hangzhou, if it is a 10 days travel, the fee is also enough to take taxi at anytime you want. 3 month can also be too short, your license may expire before you are familiar with Hangzhou’s traffic condition.

So, If you will be in China for quite a long time, such temporary driver license may not meet you demand, why not apply for a formal driver license. As China’s Road Traffic Management Regulation says that foreign driver license holders( including Hongkong and Macao citizens) are not allowed to drive vehicles in China. but don’t worry, It is very easy to get a local driver license, just take your foreign driver license, the valid ID card, fill the application form, take a health check, and pass a written exam about the traffic regulation. then you can have your formal china’s driver license.

What you need to prepare to apply for a formal Hangzhou Driver License

Foreign Passport Holders:
1.Foreign passport/ 外国护照
2.Residence permit/ 外国人居留许可(issued by Entry-Exit Administration Division of Hangzhou Public Security Bureau)
3.Proof of your declaration of temporary residence/ 临时户口申报凭证(issued by your neighborhood police station)
4.Your foreign driver’s license/外国驾驶证
5.Translation copy of your driver’s license/ 驾驶证翻译件(should be translated officially by Foreign Affairs Section located on the second floor of the Certificate Approval Service Center)
6.4 copies of your 1 inch visa style photos with white background/ 一寸白底彩照四张
7.Application form/ 申请表 and Health check form/ 体检表 both can be found at the No. 49 window of Hangzhou Driver’s License Customer Service Centers which is on the 2nd floor.
8.Buy a Science Examination Guide to Zhejiang Motor Vehicle Drivers at No.27 Window
9.Make a reservation for the Theory Test at No. 2 Window, then they will tell you when to have the theory exam.

Formal driver license nee to take a written exam about the regulation, and you should also need your Residence permit and Proof of your declaration of temporary residence, which is the biggest difference with getting a temporary one. The test make you know more about the local traffic regulation, and the rest two certificates show that you will be in Hangzhou for quite a long time.

The Whole Process of geeting a Hangzhou Driver License

The whole process of getting a Hangzhou Local Driver License:

1.Go to Hangzhou Police Station, Certificate Approval Service Center which is located on 35 Huaguang Road. there is a small office on the second floor where is for you to translate the foreign driver license to chinese. You need to take your original driver license and its copy, the translation fee is 30yuan.
2.Go to Hangzhou Driver’s License Customer Service Centers which is located in 33 Hefang Street. Don’t go there at noon, they are not on business during 12:00AM and 1:30PM. (their business time is 8:30 A.M. – 12:00 A.M 13:30 P.M. – 16:45 P.M from Mon to Fri)There is an consulting center at the second floor, you should take two form at the No.49 Window, one is Health Check Form, the other is Application Form. and don’t forget to take 4 copies of your 1 inch visa style photos with white background, the foreign driver license, the translation copy which is mentioned on the first step, your ID card. if forget to take your photos, you can spend 25yuan taking at the center. The health check is very simple, which cost 15 yuan, and will not take more than 15 minutes.
3. Make a reservation for the Theory Test at No. 2 Window, then they will tell you when to have the theory exam. if you pass the exam, you will be informed to get your Hangzhou Driver License, and 80yuan is need as commission fee.

The reference book about the exam can be bought at No 27 window, 20 yuan, It is written in 7 languages, including English, French, Russian, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Arabic.
Consulting number of the Certificate Approval Service Center: 87280478