Before you start

A valid residence permit
Your foreign licence, valid, with an accepted Chinese translation
A Chinese driver medical examination
Passport and temporary residence registration slip

Step-by-step

1
Accept that the IDP does not work here
Mainland China is not party to the 1968 Vienna Convention, so an International Driving Permit confers nothing. Driving on a foreign licence is driving unlicensed.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get an accepted translation of your licence
The vehicle administration accepts translations from designated agencies only; one commissioned abroad will normally be refused at the counter.
In personWho: You
3
Complete the driver medical
A short examination at an approved hospital covering eyesight, colour vision and limb function. The certificate has a limited life — do it close to the application.
In personWho: You1 day
4
Sit Subject 1, the written theory test
One hundred questions from a published national bank, taken on a terminal, available in English. For ordinary car categories the field and road tests are waived when converting a valid foreign licence. Practise with a question-bank app.
In personWho: YouHalf a day
5
Check the current plate quota rules before buying
Hangzhou controls new plate issuance through a quota allocated by a combination of free lottery and paid auction, with separate treatment for new-energy vehicles. Eligibility for foreign residents generally requires a residence permit of adequate duration and local tax or social insurance records. Confirm the current mechanism with the municipal transport bureau.
OnlineWho: You
6
Understand the peak-hour and West Lake restrictions
Hangzhou restricts vehicles in the city core during weekday peak periods, applying to local and out-of-town plates on different terms, and imposes additional access limits in the West Lake scenic area at busy times and on holidays. Both have been adjusted repeatedly — check the current rules rather than a two-year-old summary.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport and residence permit
Temporary residence registration slip
Foreign driving licence and accepted Chinese translation
Driver medical certificate
Passport photographs to Chinese specification

Things most newcomers don’t know

The practical driving tests are waived, which makes China easier to convert into than most of Asia.

Holders of a valid foreign licence converting to an ordinary car category normally sit only Subject 1, the written theory examination, available in English. Japan and Korea both require closed-course practicals that experienced drivers routinely fail. The Chinese exceptions are heavy vehicle categories, and applicants who cannot evidence enough residence in the issuing country during the year the licence was obtained.

Source: Ministry of Public Security traffic management rules

The West Lake area is deliberately hard to drive in, and that is the point.

Hangzhou restricts vehicle access around the lake at busy times and on public holidays, on top of the city-core peak restrictions. Combined with the heritage protection that keeps development away, the effect is that the lake stays walkable and cyclable. For a resident this means a car is close to useless for the part of the city you will most want to visit — and that a flat within walking or cycling distance of the lake is worth more than one with parking.

Source: Hangzhou municipal transport authority

The Yuhang commute is the reason people here buy cars, and the metro is catching up.

The tech campuses in Yuhang's Future Sci-Tech City sit well outside the historic city, and for years the only practical commute from a central flat was by car. The metro expansion around the 2023 Asian Games changed that materially. Before committing to a car and a plate, check the current metro line and journey time from where you actually want to live — the answer has changed recently and older advice has not caught up.

Source: community-reported

E-bikes are the dominant road hazard, not cars.

Hangzhou has an enormous population of electric two-wheelers used for delivery and commuting — this is the home city of Ele.me, after all. They are quiet, fast and frequently on the pavement or travelling against the flow. For a pedestrian or a cyclist this is the everyday risk, and it is not one a driving licence protects you from.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Arriving with an International Driving Permit and assuming you can drive.
Buying a car before checking the current plate quota mechanism.
Basing a Yuhang commute decision on pre-Asian Games metro coverage.
Booking the theory test before the translation and medical are in hand.
Driving into the West Lake scenic area on a holiday without checking access restrictions.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.