Chinese Driver’s license: How to get a permanent one at the second renewal in Shanghai?

In this blog post, I will document how to get a permanent Chinese Driver’s license at the second renewal in Shanghai.

Well, it was about time! 10 years after applying for the first renewal of my Chinese driver’s license, it was time for the second renewal.

Let’s start with the documents checklist:

  • China Permanent Residence ID Card
  • Current Driver’s license

For those who do not have a China Permanent Residence ID card, you may follow this checklist:

  • Current passport and a copy of the identification page
  • Old passport and copy of the old passport identification page (if you have applied for a driver’s license with the old passport)
  • Temporary residence registration form (also known as the police registration) and a copy
  • Current Driver’s license

As always, if you cannot read or write basic Chinese, you may need to ask a Chinese friend for help.

This time, I decided to do the renewal in Pudong instead of Puxi as in the first renewal and the address is the following:

交警总队车辆管理所3分所

上海市浦东新区沪南公路2638号

The business hours are Monday through Saturday from 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM

This is the exact building where you should be doing the renewal in Pudong:

The detailed process is as follows:

  1. When you arrive at the location, go to Building 4 to do the medical check and get your pictures taken.
  2. You will be asked to fill in the form below in Chinese but don’t you worry, you just need to rewrite the same characters as below:
  3. After filling the form, queue up at the window where the staff will ask to see your ID (Green Card or Passport), driver’s license, and temporary residence form (only for passport holders) then pay 100 RMB. They will hand you back your documents along with a card written on it 体检卡:
  4. In the same building, go to the room next door to take the pictures.
  5. The photos will be instantly ready from a printer outside, pick them up.
  6. Now go to the oppositive room for the medical check. Hand over your documents along with the 体检卡. The medical check consists of eye test, sound test, grip strength and color blind test.
  7. Another queue to hand in the documents and pay for the renewal fee: 10 RMB and get a payment receipt plus your ID documents back and they will cut off a the small sized photo required for the new driver’s license, they will keep the old license for destruction.
  8. Once done, you will exit to window 61 where you will hand over your payment receipt along with the small photo. They will attach your photo and print out your new driver’s license before laminating it.

And there you have it! You get a permanent Chinese driver’s license!

Chinese Driver's license