What to Do If Your Driver's License Has Expired and Not Been Renewed?

[LeHector]

If your driver's license has expired, traffic police will impose a fine but no points will be deducted if caught. There is a deadline for renewing your driver's license. If it has been expired for less than a year, you can renew it through the normal process. If it has been expired for one to three years, the license will be revoked, but you can regain it by passing the written test (Subject 1). If it has been expired for more than three years, the license will be revoked. Article 57 of the 'Traffic Regulations and Penalty Points Rules' states: A motor vehicle driver shall apply for renewal at the vehicle management office of the issuing authority or elsewhere within 90 days before the expiration of the motor vehicle driver's license. Remedial measures for expired and unrenewed licenses: Stop driving on the road: Avoid being penalized for driving without a license. Handle traffic violations: Visit the vehicle management office or traffic police station to complete this. Get a nearby medical examination: The main checks include color blindness identification, limb integrity, and corrected vision. You can choose the medical examination hall at the vehicle management office, a manual examination room, a community hospital (with medical examination qualifications), or a convenient medical examination service station. The results will be uploaded to the traffic management system. If the license has been expired for over a year, you will need to prepare for the Subject 1 test. Before preparing, report to the vehicle management office, explain the situation to the staff, and then schedule the Subject 1 test. When applying, you should fill out an application form and submit the following documents: the motor vehicle driver's identity proof, the motor vehicle driver's license, and a medical condition certificate issued by a county-level or higher medical institution or a military medical institution at the regiment level or above. For those applying for a special small automatic transmission passenger vehicle for the disabled, a medical condition certificate issued by a specialized medical institution designated by the provincial health authority must be submitted. Materials required for renewing the driver's license: original ID card and its copy, a qualified medical examination form from a hospital designated by the vehicle management office, three one-inch white-background color photos, a completed driver's license renewal application form, and the processing fee. Photos and medical examination reports required for renewal can be brought by yourself. If you are worried about them not meeting the requirements, you can process them directly at the traffic police station's license office to save time. Relevant matters for renewing an expired driver's license: About renewal: For annual review and renewal of an expired driver's license, the old license must be surrendered to the vehicle management office. Before renewal, all traffic violations related to the license must be resolved; otherwise, the application will not be accepted. Renewal of a motor vehicle driver's license can be done through the mobile app 'Traffic Management 12123' or via the vehicle management office, traffic management department, or public security authorities, effectively renewing the motor vehicle driver's license.

[SanArabella]

I've been driving for over a decade, and last time I forgot to renew my driver's license, which expired for two months. I hurried to the DMV to get it replaced, and the process was quite smooth: bring your ID card, a two-inch white background photo, and a medical examination certificate to the counter, fill out an application form, and pay the fee. The cost wasn't expensive, around 20 yuan for the processing fee. If the expiration period doesn't exceed one year, most cases don't require retaking the test. Mine was done in half an hour. Remember not to drive during the expired period—if caught, it's considered unlicensed driving, with a fine of 2000 yuan and possible vehicle impoundment, which is too risky. Now, I use a mobile app to set reminders to handle it two weeks before expiration to avoid forgetting again. This experience taught me not to procrastinate on small matters—safety comes first. Regular car maintenance is also a good time to check your driver's license. Once it becomes a habit, things get much easier.