Driving licence in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Driving Licence issued by the Hong Kong Transport Department.

Driving licences in Hong Kong are issued by the Transport Department in Hong Kong. A full driving licence is valid for 10 years (unless the driver is approaching 70 years old in age) and is compulsory in order to drive a motor vehicle.^[1] Most driving licences are issued after the applicant passed a driving test for the respective type of vehicles. They may be issued without a test if the applicant is a holder of an overseas driving licence issued on passing a driving test by one of the approved countries.

Format

In Hong Kong, a driving licence needs to be used along with other identity document so it contains less information than most other countries. The current version only contain the holder's name, identity number (usually the same as HKID number), driving entitlements and date of issue.^[2] The Hong Kong Driving license does not have any photo.

Levels of licence

In Hong Kong, driving licences are divided to 3 levels: learner's licence, provisional licence and full licence.

Learner's licence

A new driver can start to learn to drive only a private car (class 1), light goods vehicle (class 2), motorcycle (class 3) or motor tricycle (class 22), while most other classes are considered commercial vehicles and require a driver to have certain experience to learn them.

A person can apply for a learner licence even before passing the written test (with the exception of motorcycle and motor tricycle).

A driver with a learner's licence may drive on any public road, except roads not permitted for learners, motorways and tunnels, under the following conditions:

carrying an L-plate at the front and back of the vehicle
in specified times
with the supervision of a qualified driving instructor (except motorcycle or motor tricycle)
carrying no other passenger other than the driving instructor, test examiners and one other learner

A learner's licence is valid for 1 year and can be renewed.

In order to apply for a motorcycle / motor tricycle learner's licence, the driver has to first attend a compulsory course in a driving school and pass the compulsory test, after then, he/she can apply for the learner's licence and learn driving on streets. Unlike other classes of vehicles, no driving instructor is necessary when learning driving a motorcycle / motor tricycle.

Probationary licence

After 1 October 2000, any person who applies to take a motorcycle or motor tricycle driving test is required to apply for a probationary driving licence upon passing the test. This scheme was extended to private cars and light goods vehicles in 2009. The holder of a probationary driving licence needs to undergo a 12-month probationary period. The probationary period will be extended by 6 months if convicted of a minor road traffic offence, and the licence will be cancelled if convicted of a serious road traffic offence.^[3]

A driver with a probationary licence may drive on any public road under the following conditions:

carrying a P-plate at the front and back of the vehicle
limited to 70 km/h, even if the speed limit of the road is greater
cannot use the right lane on a motorway with 3 lanes or more, except when exiting on the right
cannot carry a passenger on a motorcycle.

Light goods vehicles driver are exempt from this scheme and can apply for a full licence after passing the test if he/she is considered an "experienced driver", i.e. have already held the full private car driving licence for 3 years, or 2 years after converting from a probationary licence, immediately before the application.

A probationary licence is valid for 1 year when first applied, and can be renewed by half a year if the probationary period is not yet over for a certain class of vehicle.

Full licence

After finishing the probationary period, the driver may apply for a full licence, valid for 10 years unless approaching 70 years old in age. For commercial vehicles, the driver may apply for a full licence after passing the test.

Vehicle Classification Code

Code	Vehicle Classification	Vehicle Classification Definition	Commercial licence	A/T	Probationary licence	Licences you get w/o exam if you have the licence	Other details
1	Private Car	Vehicles with 7 passenger seats or less	N	Y	Y	-	-
2	Light Goods Vehicle	Goods vehicle gross weight not exceeding 5.5 tonnes	N	Y	Y	1 (Private Car)	Holders of class 2A are eligible for applying class 1A only
3	Motorcycle	-	N	Y	Y	22 (Motor Tricylce, M/T only)	Holders of class 3A are not eligible for applying class 22 licence
4	Private Light Bus	Private vehicles weight not exceeding 5.5 tonnes with 19 seats or less	Y	N	N	Applicants only need to pass one exam only to obtain both licences (4,5)
5	Public Light Bus	Public vehicles weight not exceeding 5.5 tonnes with 19 seats or less	Y	N	N		Besides having a driving test, applicants of class 5 need to pass a pre-employment course
6	Taxi	-	Y	Y	N	-	Applicants need to pass a written exam about general legal requirements about taxi operations, knowledge about Hong Kong Street and the Road Users' Code
9	Private Bus	All vehicles having 20 seats or more are classified as bus. The type of Passenger Service Licence decide whether it be a private or public one	Y	Y	N	4、5 (Light Buses) Applicants only need to pass one exam only to obtain both licences (9,10)	Holders of class 9,10 may drive franchise buses without applying for class 17 licence
10	Public Bus		Y	Y	N
15	Invalid Carriage	-	N	N	N	-
16	Government Vehicle	-	N	N	N	-	Applicants have to be a public servant
17	Public Bus - Franchised	All vehicles having 20 seats or more are classified as bus.	Y	Y	N	4,5 (Light Buses) 9,10 (Buses)	Applicants have to be an employee of a franchised bus company
18	Medium Goods Vehicle	Goods vehicle gross weight exceeding 5.5 tonnes, but not exceeding 24 tonnes	Y	N	N	2 (Light Goods Vehicle)
19	Heavy Goods Vehicle	Goods vehicle gross weight exceeding 24 tonnes	Y	N	N	2 (Light Goods Vehicle) 18 (Medium Goods Vehicle)
20	Articulated Vehicle	-	Y	N	N	19 (Heavy Goods Vehicle)	Requires class 18/19 licence as prerequisite
21	Special Purpose Vehicle	Street washing vehicle, arrow vehicle, ice cream vehicle, road construction vehicle, food trucks etc.	Y	N	N	-	Requires class 2/18/19 licence as prerequisite
22	Motor Tricycle	-	N	N	Y	-

Disused codes

8 Goods vehicle (with weight exceeding 2.25 tonnes)
- In the past, class 2 was vans with weight not exceeding 2.25 tones, and issuing class 1 (private car) licence could also automatically issue class 2
- Now replaced by classes 18, 19 and 20
12 public bus (double decker and Guy Arab bus)
13 public bus (double decker and Seddon midibus)
- Classes 12 and 13 are both replaced by class 17
14 motor-assisted pedal cycle

Direct issue of a driving licence

As stated on the application form for direct issue of full Hong Kong driving licence,^[4] when a person has documentary evidence to the Commissioner's satisfaction that all of the following apply, the person is eligible to direct issue of a Hong Kong licence:

One has a full driving licence (but not an International driving permit) during the past three years issued by one of the following countries or territories: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Guernsey, India, Iceland, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Luxembourg, Macao, Malaysia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa, Namibia, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States
The driving entitlement(s) for which one is applying must be equivalent to the class(es) which are authorized to drive by the issuing country or place; and
The driving licence was obtained by passing the relevant driving test(s) in the issuing country or place; and
Satisfies one of the three requirements below:
- The licence was originally issued on any date during a period of residence of not less than 6 months in the country or place of issue (entry and departure stamps on a passport, school transcript or employer's testimonial with employment period specified are accepted as proof); or
- The licence has been issued for not less than 5 years immediately before the application; or
- Hold a passport or an equivalent travel document of the country or place in which the licence was issued.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Development and Changes of Driving Licences

[2] Hong Kong Driving Licence

[3] Probationary Driving Licence Scheme

[4] Application For Direct Issue Of Full Hong Kong Driving Licence

Traffic law and safety
Rules of the road	All-way stop Assured clear distance ahead Australian Road Rules Boulevard rule Green Cross Code Move over law New Zealand Road Code Overtaking Left- and right-hand traffic Right-of-way School bus traffic stop laws Traffic code Turn on red Vienna Convention on Road Traffic
Road user guides	Driver's manual The Highway Code The Highway Code (Malta) Road Users' Code Rules of the Road (Ireland)
Enforcement	Parking enforcement Impaired driving Breathalyzer Field sobriety testing Highway patrol/State police Pretextual stop Road traffic control Terry stop Textalyzer Camera Enforcement Red light Traffic court Traffic guard Traffic stop Traffic ticket Warning
Speed limit	Advisory speed limit Assured clear distance ahead National Maximum Speed Law School zone Speed limit enforcement Speed limits by country Category: Speed limits by country
Moving violations	Impaired driving Canada United States Distracted driving Mobile phones and driving Texting while driving Reckless driving Street racing Tailgating Vehicular homicide Wrong-way driving
Driver licensing	Commercial driver's license European driving licence Graduated driver licensing Inter-American Driving Permit International Driving Permit Learner's permit Point system Driving licences by country List of countries by minimum driving age
Traffic violations reciprocity	Commercial Driver's License Information System Driver License Agreement Driver License Compact Non-Resident Violator Compact
Parking	Alternate-side parking Decriminalised parking enforcement Disabled parking permit Double parking Parking chair Parking violation Wheel clamp
Car safety	Seat belt laws Click It or Ticket Clunk Click Every Trip
Road safety	Tachograph Digital tachograph Drivers' working hours (Europe) Epilepsy and driving Hours of service (US) "How's my driving?" sign Old age and driving Sleep deprived driving Slow moving vehicle Vision Zero

Driving licence in Asia
Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen
States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Artsakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan
Dependencies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau
Book Category Asia portal