Taiwan With an Indian IDP, 2026: 30 Days, Then Register

If you have an Indian driving licence, you can drive in Taiwan, but only with an International Driving Permit in the 1949 Geneva format beside it. That is the format your RTO issues, and Taiwan accepts it on a reciprocal basis. The permit lets you drive for the first 30 days after you arrive. Staying longer means registering it at a Motor Vehicles Office. One more thing to prepare for: Taiwan drives on the right, so the habits you built on Indian roads need reversing.

Before you fly: the RTO step

Taiwan cannot issue your IDP. Apply at your RTO in India, early enough to have it in hand before departure. Check three details on the booklet: the 1949 convention is named, the vehicle classes match your licence, and the expiry date covers your whole trip. At the rental counter in Taiwan, present three documents together: the IDP, the Indian licence and your passport. Without the original licence the IDP is just a translation with nothing to translate.

Day 31: registering the permit

Most holidays end well inside 30 days. Students, people on work assignments and long-stay visitors should plan for registration. Bring the IDP, your passport and a photo to a local Motor Vehicles Office. Once registered, the permit can be used for up to a year, but never past its own expiry date. If your IDP expires in six months, that is your limit, whatever the registration says.

Right-hand traffic for a left-hand driver

In India you sit on the right and keep left. In Taiwan you sit on the left and keep right. The danger is not on the freeway, where lanes guide you, but at slow, ordinary moments: turning out of a hotel driveway, picking a lane after a junction, a right turn where your instinct says to swing wide. Spend the first hour on quiet roads. Say “keep right” aloud at each turn if it helps.

Scooters everywhere

City streets in Taiwan carry very large numbers of scooters, and they filter through traffic constantly. Check mirrors and blind spots far more often than you would at home, especially before turning right across their path. Open the door slowly after parking; a scooter may be passing on that side.

Limits compared with India

Taiwan is lower on every road type, and many freeway stretches are posted below 110. Read each sign rather than assuming.

Alcohol: same number, tougher enforcement

Both countries set the limit at 0.03%. The difference is what follows. In Taiwan, drink-driving brings heavy fines and possible imprisonment, and passengers of a drunk driver can be fined too. If your group has been drinking, nobody drives.

Kit and tolls

Taiwan requires a warning triangle in the car. The fire extinguisher and first-aid kit that Indian rules demand are only recommended here, but a rental car may carry them anyway. Freeway tolls are charged electronically by distance, so ask the rental company how the toll tag is billed before leaving the lot. The minimum age to drive a car is 18, as in India.

A quick checklist

• IDP (1949 format) from your RTO, valid for the full trip
• Indian licence, original
• Passport
• For stays past 30 days: a photo, and a visit to a Motor Vehicles Office
• Toll billing and the warning triangle checked at pick-up

Confirm your documents with the Driving Permit Checker and read the local rules in the Taiwan driving guide.

Sources

• Taipei City Motor Vehicles Office, registering an International Driving Permit: tpcmv.thb.gov.tw
• GOV.UK, Taiwan travel advice, road travel: gov.uk
• UN Treaty Collection, 1949 Convention on Road Traffic (India a party): treaties.un.org
• India, Motor Vehicles Act 1988 s.185 (0.03%): indiacode.nic.in