Presuming you are in fact a licensed driver elsewhere, getting a Chinese driver's license is simple but will take you about a week’s time and will eat up a few hours of paperwork collection and a few hours of test prep.
(If you’ve never had a license before, that’s another story entirely – there’s more tests and possibly the requirement of enrolling in a local driving course -- and is beyond the scope of this article.).
If you work for a foreign embassy or consulate or are a representative of an international organization, you may be exempt from the below under the principle of diplomatic reciprocity. Also, if you hold a driving license issued by Belgium or the United Arab Emirates, you may also be exempt, again under a reciprocity agreement.
As for the rest of us, you will be required to take a written theory test consisting of 100 questions, all of which are either multiple choice or true or false.
The test is available in ten languages, including English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and both simplified and traditional Chinese. (Unfortunately, translations may not be perfect, so be prepared for a challenge.) At least 90 correct answers are required to pass. Applicant have 45 minutes to complete the test, and if you fail the first time around (and there’s time left on the clock), you can immediately try a second time.
If you fail on your two attempts, you will be required to wait 30 days before taking it again.
The Paperwork
Here’s what you’ll need to register for the text:
1. A valid passport with a valid visa or residence permit, with at least three months remaining on both.
2. An original household registration (or proof of hotel stay for non-residents).
3. Your valid foreign driver’s license and an official Chinese translation of it, stamped with one of those fancy red chops. You will also need a copy of the business license of the translation company, again with a nice red stamp on it.
4. A Driver’s license health exam (驾驶员体检 jiashiyuan tijian). This is a specialized test required for driving licenses that can be done cheaply at most (but not all) hospitals in Beijing (If you speak Chinese, call ahead and ask if they offer the 驾驶员体检 jiashiyuan tijian exam. If you can’t, have a Chinese-speaking friend call for you). It doesn’t take long — the nurse takes your blood pressure, administers an eye exam and checks to see if you have all the right body parts to drive (including opposable thumbs and at least 3 fingers on each hand). It costs RMB 20, is valid for three months. Bring your passport at the time of application.
5. A bunch of 1-inch photos with a white background, no headwear. Get them done at one of the myriad copy shops around the city, tell them you need a driver’s license photo (they’ll know the routine). Save yourself some time and do this step last, and while you’re there, make copies of all the documents you’ve collected from the above. The entire licensing process takes about 6 photos; get some spares while you’re at it (the copy shop I went to printed them out in sheets of 9 -- which was a bit of overkill -- but at least I didn’t come up short).
Registering for the Test
Armed with all of the above, you may now trek down to the Beijing Motor Vehicle Administration 北京市公安局公安交通管理局 běijīng shì gōng'ān jú gōng'ān jiāotōng guǎnlǐ jú (18 South Fourth Ring Road East, Chaoyang District 朝阳区南四环东路18号十八里店南桥, 8762 5150). Unfortunately, it’s not close to any subway station. (The closest subway station is 成寿寺 Chengshousi, where you have to transfer to a bus for another six-stop ride, and then walk a good 420m to the bureau.)
Please note that there are multiple Motor Vehicle Administration offices in Beijing, but the one listed above is the only one with a Foreign Affairs Section, so you’ll have to trek out there. And at least two trips to this bureaucratic outpost are required to get the license.
Upon arrival, go to the Foreign Affairs Section (涉外业务服务大厅 shewai yewu dating), for which there is no obvious sign. Walk into the main hall, ignore ALL of the windows you see, and take a sharp left, where you’ll eventually see a tiny sign for the bathroom. Walk past this, behind a pillar, head past the bathrooms and you’ll finally see the sign for the Foreign Affairs section.
Staff are cordial and speak some English. At the time of registration for your exam, there is a fee of RMB 50. You can pay in cash, WeChat Pay or Alipay.
All of your documents will then be examined. If they in order, you will be able to register for the exam (though not on the same day). Exams are administered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 9.30am or 2pm.
Preparing for the Exam
Getting 90 out of 100 questions correct doesn't leave a lot of room for error, especially when failure means a delay in registering for another test, and yet another trip to an inconveniently-located municipal government office.
You can obtain exam questions by adding me as a WeChat friend. My WeChat account is located at the end of this article, and you can scan the QR code to add me.
There’s also a few phone apps available that use the actual test questions and keep track of your progress. Laowai Drive Chinese Test is the original and is worth every penny of the few dollars you’ll pay.
You will not likely pass going in unprepared. While about 70% of the questions are common sense (things like “Drivers should yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk”), the remaining 30% are regarding regulations that drivers from other countries would not normally know, such as specific RMB fines issued for certain traffic violations, or what parts a driver of a semi-truck needs to detach when disconnecting the trailer (the answer, for those curious, is the “connectors of the braking lines and cable plugs for lights”).
If you take the English exam, you’ll also have to parse some weird translations, which in some cases can mean the answers all sound the same. For instance: What’s the difference between “a direction line for a driving line” and a “direction guide line”? Who knows, other than the former is judged to be a right answer and the latter is considered wrong.
How to Study
Use the app. It tracks your progress and allows you to review only the ones you get wrong.
In some cases the translations are finicky; don’t worry, just memorize the correct response. For example, check these two very similar questions and note their respective correct answers.
Each 100-question sample test takes about 10-15 minutes to blaze through and tells you the right answer for each question; I took the test about 8 times before scoring my first passing grade of 90; it took me 40 tries to score a perfect 100. On test day I scored 98.
Taking the Test on Test Day
On the day of your exam, return to the Beijing Motor Vehicle Administration. Bring your passport and the exam ticket you were given when you scheduled your test. Aim to arrive 15 minutes before the test. When the time comes, you’ll be led upstairs into a moribund testing room and assigned a terminal, and you can begin.
Once you've completed the test, you'll get your score immediately at the front of the room. If you’ve passed, you’ll then be instructed to go back downstairs to Window 4 in the foreign affairs section to pay an additional RMB 10 fee.
Now you have a choice: return to this office after three working days to collect the license (this is the only part of the process that a designated representative may complete on your behalf), or go to Window 13 in the main room and request EMS courier delivery (RMB 20). Be sure to have your Chinese address handy. Your license will be sent to you after three business days.
Your license is valid for six years, a date that is not tied to the validity of any other document, including your passport, visa, or home country driver's license.