What to Do If Your Driver's License Expires Without Timely Renewal?
3 Answers
Follow the normal procedures to handle the license renewal. Below are the relevant details: 1. Required Materials for Renewal: "Motor Vehicle Driver's License Application Form," which requires personal signature; the motor vehicle driver's license and the owner's relevant documents; the identity proof of the motor vehicle driver (original and copy); if the applicant cannot be present, a jointly signed application form by the applicant and the agent, along with the identity proofs of both (original and copy), must be submitted. 2. Note: Three photos of the motor vehicle driver are required. The photos must meet the following criteria: taken within six months before applying for the motor vehicle driver's license, straight-edged, front-facing, color, bareheaded, single-person half-length ID photo with a white background, and not wearing uniform clothing.
Last month, I forgot to renew my expired driver's license and only remembered later. I quickly called the vehicle management office and found out that it's easy to handle as long as it hasn't expired for more than a year. First, go to a designated hospital for a physical exam, which takes about half an hour, mainly checking vision and color blindness. Then, bring your ID card, physical exam report, and three white-background photos to the vehicle management office, and fill out an application form. Note that if the expiration exceeds one year, you'll need to retake the written test (Subject 1), and if it exceeds three years, you'll have to retake all the tests. Also, never drive with an expired license—if caught by traffic police, it's considered unlicensed driving, with a minimum fine of 200 yuan and possible vehicle impoundment. Now, the traffic management app can remind you to renew three months in advance—I really should have used this feature earlier.
Once, I was so busy on a business trip that I forgot to check my driver's license. When I returned, I realized it had been expired for two months. I immediately checked the policy: within one year, you can directly renew it without worry. I brought my ID card, old driver's license, and a fresh medical report from the hospital straight to the DMV, and got my new license in forty minutes. If it's expired for one to three years, you'll need to pass the written test (Subject 1) to restore your eligibility. Beyond three years is the most troublesome—you'll have to retake all the exams. A key point is handling it in a different location. Now, you can renew it nationwide without returning to the issuing place, saving a lot of time. I recommend setting three reminders on your phone calendar: 90 days before expiration, 30 days before, and on the day itself, to avoid any hassle.
