Renewing your Dutch driving licence in Taiwan
If you live in Taiwan and your Dutch driving licence has expired (or has almost expired) the steps you need to take depend on how long you will be staying there.
How long will you be staying in Taiwan?
You can drive a car in Taiwan if you have a valid Dutch driving licence plus an international driving permit. If your Dutch driving licence has almost expired, you can renew it. Scroll down to ‘Renewing your driving licence’ to find out what to do.
You can drive a car in Taiwan if you have a valid Dutch driving licence plus an international driving permit. You must register your international driving permit at a Motor Vehicles Office (see all Motor Vehicles Offices at the bottom of the page).
If your Dutch driving licence has almost expired, you can renew it. Scroll down to ‘Renewing your driving licence’ to find out what to do.
If you hold an Alien Resident Certificate (ARC), you can only drive with a Taiwanese driving licence. You can use your valid Dutch driving licence to apply to a local Motor Vehicles Office (see all Motor Vehicles Offices at the bottom of the page) for a Taiwanese driving licence. You do not have to take your driving test again or hand in your Dutch driving licence.
What do I need?
If you want to apply for a Taiwanese driving licence, you will need a certificate of authenticity (echtheidsverklaring) from the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW). It shows whether your driving licence is listed in the Central Driving Licences Register. Visit the website of the RDW for information on how to apply for a certificate of authenticity. There is a fee for this service. Once you have paid you will receive the certificate of authenticity by post at your address. The certificate is in English.
You will need to have the certificate legalised by the Consular Service Centre (CDC). Legalising documents allows you to use them in another country. The certificate must then also be legalised by the Taipei Representative Office in the Netherlands (TRON) in The Hague.
Visit the Motor Vehicles Office in Taipei for information on the other documents you will need if you wish to apply for a Taiwanese driving licence.
If your Dutch driving licence has expired (or has almost expired) you can renew it, even if you have a Taiwanese licence. Scroll down to ‘Renewing your driving licence’ to find out what to do.
Renewing your driving licence
Do you have the Dutch nationality? Or the nationality of another EU/EEA country? Then you can renew your Dutch driving licence at the Netherlands Vehicle Authority (RDW). Even if your driving licence has expired. However, you must have a (correspondence) address in the Netherlands. You will need this to receive the application form and your driving licence. The RDW does not send mail abroad.
Follow the steps to renew your driving licence:
Step 1: Request an application form
You can request an application form for renewing your driving licence from the RDW's website.
Step 2: Collect the right documents
You will need the following original documents:
- your Dutch driving licence
- a photocopy of your valid travel document, e.g. a passport or identity card
- a completed and signed application form
- 1 colour passport photo that meets Dutch passport photo requirements and is less than 6 months old.
In the following situations you will need to supply additional documents. Click on the situation(s) that applies (apply) to you for more information.
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
Read more about the declaration of medical fitness (RDW.nl)
You must also undergo a medical examination conducted by a doctor who is recognised by the CBR. This is not always easy to arrange if you are abroad. Contact the CBR to ask what the options are.
You can also decide to permanently or temporarily renounce your category C or D licence. In that case you will also need to complete a waiver (afstandsverklaring). You can obtain this form from the RDW. On the form, tick the boxes of the categories you wish to renounce. You can ask for these categories to be reinstated at a later date.
When you wish to reinstate a category you previously renounced, you will need to undergo a medical examination and apply for a declaration of medical fitness for driving category C and/or D vehicles.
You will also need a declaration of medical fitness (Verklaring van Geschiktheid, VvG) from the Central Office for Motor Vehicle Driver Testing (CBR). This declaration states that you are physically and mentally fit to drive. You will need to fill in a health declaration to obtain this document, using your DigiD.
Complete a health declaration (CBR.nl)
You will need to show where you are now living. You can do this by submitting proof of deregistration from the Central Population Registers Office from the municipality of The Hague, or a certificate of residence drawn up in the last 6 months. A Dutch embassy or consulate or the foreign municipality where you live can provide you with a certificate of residence.
If you are studying abroad but your parents or guardians live in the Netherlands, please provide the following additional documents in Dutch or English:
- proof that you are registered as living at your current address abroad
- proof of enrolment with an educational institution abroad
- proof of your personal ties to the Netherlands.
Step 3: Submit your documents
Send all the documents needed for your application to the RDW:
RDW, Unit Rijbewijzen
Postbus 9000
9640 HA Veendam
Nederland
Step 4: Pay the fee
Pay the fee for your application for a new driving licence. Scroll to ‘Kosten’ on the RDW's website to find out what the fee is and how to pay it.
After your payment has been assessed, the RDW will process your application within 10 working days.
Does RDW approve your application? Then it will take 5 working days before you receive your new driving licence at your correspondence address in the Netherlands.
If your application is rejected you will receive a letter explaining why.