Entering ChinaAfter the Spring Festival, the number of people applying for motor vehicle driving licenses has reached a small peak. According to the newly revised “Regulations on Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses” which came into effect on January 1, 2025, some important changes have occurred in the application policies. The specific adjustments are as follows.
About the first and additional models
- Those who apply for a motor vehicle driver’s license for the first time
You can apply for a motor vehicle driver’s license for city buses, large trucks, small cars, small automatic vehicles, low-speed trucks, three-wheeled vehicles, small automatic passenger cars for the disabled, ordinary three-wheeled motorcycles, ordinary two-wheeled motorcycles, mopeds, wheeled special mechanical vehicles, trolleybuses, and trams.
- Those who already hold a motor vehicle driver’s license and apply for the addition of a quasi-driving type
The quasi-driving types that can be applied for are large buses, heavy tractor-trailers, city buses, medium-sized buses, large trucks, small cars, small automatic vehicles, low-speed trucks, three-wheeled vehicles, light tractor-trailers, ordinary three-wheeled motorcycles, ordinary two-wheeled motorcycles, mopeds, wheeled special mechanical vehicles, trolleybuses, and trams.
Age conditions
1. Those who apply for small cars, small automatic transmission vehicles, small automatic transmission passenger vehicles for the disabled, and mopeds must be over 18 years old;
2. Those who apply for ordinary three-wheeled motorcycles and ordinary two-wheeled motorcycles are over 18 years old and under 70 years old;
3. Those who apply for the quasi-driving type of light tractor-trailer must be over 20 years old and under 70 years old;
4. Those who apply for low-speed trucks, three-wheeled vehicles, and wheeled special mechanical vehicles must be over 18 years old and under 63 years old;
5. Those who apply for city buses, medium-sized buses, large trucks, trolleybuses or trams must be over 20 years old and under 63 years old;
6. Those who apply for large buses and heavy-duty tractor-trailers must be over 22 years old and under 63 years old;
7. Students who have received full-time driving vocational education and apply for large buses and heavy-duty tractor-trailers should be over 19 years old and under 63 years old.
Circumstances in which a motor vehicle driver’s license cannot be applied
1. Structural heart disease, epilepsy, Meniere’s disease, vertigo, hysteria, paralysis tremens, psychosis, dementia, and neurological diseases that affect limb movement and other diseases that hinder safe driving;
2. Those who have taken or injected drugs within three years, or who have been released from compulsory isolation for drug rehabilitation for less than three years, as well as those who have taken psychotropic drugs for a long time and have not yet recovered from addiction;
3. Causing a traffic accident and then fleeing constitutes a crime;
4. Causing a major traffic accident after drinking alcohol or driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated constitutes a crime;
5. Driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated or driving a commercial motor vehicle after drinking alcohol and having had their motor vehicle driver’s license revoked for less than five years in accordance with law;
6. Driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated and having the motor vehicle driver’s license revoked for less than 10 years in accordance with the law;
7. Driving a motor vehicle to chase and race, overcrowding, speeding, or transporting hazardous chemicals in violation of the safety management regulations on hazardous chemicals constitutes a crime, and the motor vehicle driver’s license has been revoked for less than five years in accordance with law;
8. Where a major traffic accident occurs due to violations of traffic management laws and regulations other than those specified in item 4 of this paragraph, which constitutes a crime, and the motor vehicle driver’s license has been revoked for less than 10 years in accordance with law;
9. The motor vehicle driver’s license has been revoked for less than two years due to other circumstances in accordance with law;
10. The driver’s license has been revoked in accordance with the law for less than three years;
11. Driving a motor vehicle without obtaining a motor vehicle driver’s license, and a traffic accident involving equal or greater responsibility resulting in serious injury or death of a person for less than 10 years;
12. Participating in the motor vehicle driver’s test on behalf of others within three years;
13. Other circumstances stipulated by laws and administrative regulations.
Anyone who drives a motor vehicle without obtaining a motor vehicle driver’s license and commits any of the acts in items (5) to (8) of the first paragraph shall not apply for a motor vehicle driver’s license within the prescribed time limit.
