International Driving Permit in Taiwan

🗓 Facts checked against Taiwan's road-traffic law and official sources. Research last updated: 29 July 2026. You may copy this information only if you provide a link back to this page.

⚠ This page is general information about driving rules, not legal advice. Rules change, and each authority applies its own — confirm your case with the relevant authority before you drive.

ℹ We are a private company. We are not a government body, a licensing or issuing authority, or a treaty organisation, and we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any of them. The International Driver's Document we sell is a translation of your national driving licence: it is not a driving licence, and it is not a government-issued document.

• Driving in Taiwan: key facts
• Do you need an International Driving Permit in Taiwan?
• What side of the road does Taiwan drive on?
• How long can you drive in Taiwan with a foreign licence?
• Is Taiwan a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?
• Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place
• Can you drive in Taiwan with your country's licence?
• Where to get an International Driving Permit
• Moving to Taiwan? Rules for new residents
• Driving rules in Taiwan tourists get fined for
• Read more about driving in Taiwan
• Sources

Driving in Taiwan: key facts

Do you need an International Driving Permit in Taiwan?

Taiwan's Road Traffic Safety Rules (Art. 55, para. 1, subpara. 3) let you drive on a valid International Driving Permit issued by a reciprocating country: for a stay of 30 days or less no endorsement is needed, and if you stay longer than 30 days the IDP must be endorsed (簽證) at a Motor Vehicles Office. Art. 55-1 separately allows a valid foreign licence to be used on the equal-reciprocity principle, on terms the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announces. The Rules do not list the reciprocating countries or name an IDP edition, and the ministry's notice under Art. 55-1 was not found, so whether your IDP or licence is accepted is not established: check with a Motor Vehicles Office before you travel. UK government advice is that you need a 1949 IDP as well as a UK driving licence, and that you take your passport, the IDP and a passport photograph to a Motor Vehicles Office to have the IDP validated.

• Tourists and short-term visitors: Taiwan's Road Traffic Safety Rules let a visitor drive on a valid IDP issued by a reciprocating country (Art. 55), or on a foreign licence on terms the transport ministry announces (Art. 55-1). The Rules do not name the countries. Check with the authorities before you travel; the answer below says what is known.

No specific penalty for driving without the required document was verified from an authoritative source. Official source.

What side of the road does Taiwan drive on?

Taiwan drives on the right-hand side of the road, and overtaking is done on the left. Cars in Taiwan are left-hand drive.

How long can you drive in Taiwan with a foreign licence?

For a stay of up to 30 days, a valid IDP issued by a reciprocating country needs no endorsement; for a longer stay it must be endorsed at a Motor Vehicles Office, for at most one year. The endorsement ends sooner if the original licence or the stay/residence permit expires first, and driving is prohibited after it lapses. The Rules do not name the reciprocating countries. (Road Traffic Safety Rules Art. 55, para. 1, subparagraphs 3 and 4 (consolidated text current to 2026-07-17))

Planning to move to Taiwan? Different rules apply once you become a resident — see the residents section below.

Is Taiwan a party to the 1949 or 1968 Road Traffic Convention?

Whether either United Nations Convention on Road Traffic applies in Taiwan is not established: we could not confirm any ratification, accession or territorial extension covering Taiwan for the 1949 Geneva Convention or the 1968 Vienna Convention. That is a gap in what we could establish, not a finding that Taiwan sits outside both conventions — and it is not a status that can be inferred from the country responsible for its international relations. Treat any International Driving Permit requirement here as unconfirmed and check with the authorities before you travel.

Why acceptance of your licence varies from place to place

Whether a foreign country accepts your driving licence hangs on a tangle of variables: three different road-traffic conventions signed decades apart (1926, 1949, 1968) — the oldest predates the United Nations itself, and only the latter two were concluded under it — countries at different stages of joining each (signed vs. accepted vs. ratified), licences printed in alphabets local police can't read, vehicle-category systems that don't line up between countries, document generations that may not meet a convention's format even when the country is a member, bilateral deals between individual states, and local laws that are looser in one place and stricter in the next. The same licence can be fine at one border and rejected at the next — even at the next rental desk. The International Driving Permit exists to cut through most of it: a standardized, multilingual presentation of your existing licence, with harmonized category symbols, that most officials can read at a glance. It doesn't replace your national licence or grant new rights — you carry both — and it doesn't guarantee acceptance: a handful of destinations still require a local permit alongside or instead of it, but for most it meaningfully improves your odds.

Can you drive in Taiwan with your country's licence?

This answer is for tourists and temporary visitors. Moving to Taiwan as a resident? Different rules apply — see the residents section below. Taiwan recognises foreign driving licences on a reciprocity basis rather than through EU rules or straightforward convention membership. Its Road Traffic Safety Rules let a visitor drive on a valid International Driving Permit issued by a reciprocating country, with no endorsement for stays of 30 days or less; stay longer and the IDP must be endorsed at a Motor Vehicles Office, for at most one year — or until your licence or permitted stay expires, whichever comes first. A valid foreign licence may also be used on terms the transport ministry announces. The Rules do not name the countries either route covers, so whether yours is accepted is not established: check with a Motor Vehicles Office before you travel. The exam-exempt exchange route is a residents' matter: it opens only once you hold proof of six months or more of permitted stay or residence. Rules change — confirm with official sources before you travel. Last verified: July 2026.

Legend: "1949" — Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (IDP valid up to 1 year); "1968" — Vienna Convention (IDP valid up to 3 years).

Not established — the record does not settle whether you may drive here on this licence; confirm with the destination's licensing authority before you rely on it. The answer below says what could not be confirmed.

What you need to carry — Check with local authorities before travel

Why — Taiwan's Road Traffic Safety Rules let a visitor drive on a valid IDP issued by a reciprocating country (Art. 55), or on a foreign licence on terms the transport ministry announces (Art. 55-1). The Rules do not name the countries. [1]

Sources and notes for the answer above

[1] Road Traffic Safety Rules, Art. 55, para. 1, subpara. 3, and Art. 55-1

Where to get an International Driving Permit

An International Driving Permit must be obtained before you travel, and only certain countries may issue one to you — you cannot buy an official IDP from an unrelated country. Under the 1968 Vienna Convention it may be issued only by the Contracting Party where you normally reside and which issued or recognizes your licence — by that Party's competent authority or by an association it has duly empowered. Under the 1949 Geneva Convention it is issued by the competent authority of a Contracting State, or by an association that authority has duly empowered. Which body that is varies by country: a government agency in some, an authorized motoring club in others.

• Travelling from Taiwan? Taiwan's official IDPs are issued by Highway Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Motor Vehicles Offices and stations). Official site.
• Travelling from another country? Ask that country's driving-licence authority which body it authorizes to issue IDPs — a government agency in some countries, an authorized motoring club in others.

Separately, IDA offers a digital International Driver's Document — a translation of your national licence that you carry alongside it. It is not an International Driving Permit issued under the 1949 or 1968 conventions by the body your country authorizes for that purpose, and it is not a certified, sworn or otherwise official translation: no authority certifies it, and where a country requires an official or certified translation by law, our document does not satisfy that requirement. It is a private translation meant to make your national licence readable at rental desks and roadside checks.

Moving to Taiwan? Rules for new residents

A separate and much longer clock applies to residents. Exam-exempt exchange of a foreign licence is open only to people holding proof of permitted stay or residence of six months or more — it is not available to tourists, and nothing in the exchange route extends a visitor's driving entitlement. Official source.

Driving rules in Taiwan tourists get fined for

• Mandatory equipment: Seat belts for all occupants and helmets for motorcycle and scooter riders are mandatory. Carry your original licence, your IDP if you drive on one (endorsed if you are staying beyond 30 days), and the vehicle's registration and insurance documents.
• Drink-driving: 0.03% blood alcohol, or 0.15 mg/L of breath — one of the strictest limits anywhere and low enough that a single drink can cross it. Treat it as zero. Car drivers NT$30,000–120,000; motorcycle riders NT$15,000–90,000; vehicle impounded and licence suspended 1–2 years. Adult passengers in the same vehicle risk NT$6,000–15,000. Higher readings bring criminal liability and possible imprisonment.
• Speed limits: Drive on the right. Obey posted km/h limits; speed and red-light camera enforcement is widespread and tickets follow rental agreements back to the hirer.
• For a short trip you do not need to visit a Motor Vehicles Office at all — the IDP and your original licence are enough for the first 30 days. Only plan the validation trip if your stay will run longer, and do it before day 31.
• Scooters and motorcycles often weave in and out of traffic, and vehicles might not stop at pedestrian crossings. Check mirrors and blind spots constantly.
• Typhoon season runs from May to November and brings road blockages and landslides. Follow official road-closure notices, particularly on mountain routes.
• A car IDP does not cover scooters or motorcycles. Renting two wheels needs the matching licence class on both your home licence and your IDP.

Read more about driving in Taiwan

• 10 Interesting Facts About Taiwan
• Best Places to Visit in Taiwan

Watch what driving in Taiwan looks like

A few minutes of real POV footage is the fastest way to feel confident before your first drive in Taiwan:

Open the video on YouTube if the player does not load.

Sources

1. National road-traffic law
2. Road Traffic Safety Rules Art. 55, para. 1, subparagraphs 3 and 4 (consolidated text current to 2026-07-17)
3. Resident licence conversion rule
4. Road Traffic Safety Rules Art. 55-1 — use of foreign national licences on the equal-reciprocity principle, list set by MOTC announcement
5. Road Traffic Safety Rules Art. 60 — minimum licensing age 18
6. Road Traffic Safety Rules Art. 114(2) — 0.15 mg/L breath / 0.03% blood alcohol prohibition
7. UK FCDO Taiwan travel advice — IDP requirement, road conditions, typhoon season
8. UK IDP country table — Taiwan: 1949 IDP, note on stays longer than 30 days
9. UK FCDO Taiwan — emergency telephone numbers
10. Highway Bureau, Ministry of Transportation and Communications (Motor Vehicles Offices and stations) — authorized IDP issuer in Taiwan
11. UN Treaty Collection — 1949 Geneva Convention on Road Traffic
12. UN Treaty Collection — 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic