How Many Years Can You Take to Get a Driver's License?
3 Answers
According to the Ministry of Public Security Order No. 139 in 2016: The result of learning to drive and taking the driver's license test is called the Learning Driving Certificate, and its validity period is 3 years. All subjects must be completed within three years, otherwise it will become invalid. The time of the Learning Driving Certificate is calculated from the day of the subject one test. The specific time arrangement for the driver's license test is as follows: 1. Many places stipulate that the time for learning subject one is about 1 month. 2. After passing subject one, subject two naturally requires learning, and the stipulated time is about 20 days. In practice, many people take much longer than 20 days to learn subject two. 3. After passing subject two, the road test of subject three requires a certain amount of time for practice, and the stipulated time is about 10 days. 4. After passing subject three, you can take subject four 3 days later. Upon passing subject four, the driver's license will be issued on the spot.
Yesterday, I just accompanied my cousin to the driving school to sign up, and the coach specifically emphasized that the driver's license test has a three-year validity period. This period starts from the day you pass Subject 1, and the countdown begins immediately. I remember failing Subject 2 once back then and almost ran out of time, which gave me a cold sweat. Note that during the pandemic, some places extended the validity period by six months, but now things have mostly returned to normal. If you don’t complete all subjects within three years, your previous scores will be invalidated, and you’ll have to pay and register again. My advice is to start scheduling driving practice as soon as you pass Subject 1—I’ve seen too many people regretfully drag it out until their deadline expires.
I've heard many cases from driving school instructors that the driving test cycle is exactly 36 months. The key point is that this deadline is only tied to the date of the Subject 1 exam, not your registration time. For example, if you passed Subject 1 last June, it's completely fine to practice driving this March, but it will expire by June the year after next. In special circumstances, you can apply for an extension. Last year, a student who was on a six-month business trip managed to get an extension by submitting proof to the vehicle management office. During regular practice sessions, when instructors see students who failed the test, they always remind them to check the validity period, as retaking the exam can be quite costly.
