Director-General Douglas Y. T. Hsu of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, representing the Ministry of Transportation and Communications R.O.C. (Taiwan), and Administrator Walter Craddock from the State of Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles, signed a driver’s license reciprocal conversion agreement between Taiwan and Rhode Island on September 6, 2018. Rhode Island is the 28th state government in the U.S., and the second in New England, to enter into such an agreement with Taiwan. Taiwan is the first Government to enter into an agreement with Rhode Island. This will provide an added convenience for those from Taiwan who work, study, or reside in Rhode Island.
The signing of this agreement by TECO-Boston, with the full support and cooperation of the ROC Ministry of Transportation and Communications, is the culmination of more than three years of intensive negotiations and discussions, and based on the principle of reciprocity and the respective driving laws and regulations of each jurisdiction. TECO-Boston extends its deep appreciation for the concerted effort by our friends in the Rhode Island State Government and Legislature for making this agreement possible.
Since 2013, Taiwan has actively sought to promote driver’s license reciprocal conversion agreements with various states across the US. In fact, more than 11,000 drivers from Taiwan have already taken advantage of the program as of the end of 2017. Since Massachusetts and Taiwan entered into a similar agreement in 2016, already 1,250 drivers from Taiwan have converted their driver’s license to a Massachusetts driver’s license. Rhode Island is now the second state in New England to sign such an agreement. TECO-Boston will continue to encourage other states in its jurisdiction to enter into similar driver’s license conversion agreements for the convenience and benefit of those from Taiwan.
The reciprocal conversion arrangement applies to all Rhode Island drivers of passenger motor vehicles or motorcycles who have obtained a valid visitor/resident certificate in Taiwan. All applicants must submit his/her U.S. passport, a valid Rhode Island driver’s license with a certified copy issued by TECO-Boston, and driving record certified by the RIDMV issued no more than sixty days prior to the date of the application for the Taiwan license. An applicant’s license and driving record shall be verified by TECO-Boston. Applications can be made at any Motor Vehicles Office in Taiwan.
For more detailed information, please visit the website of Taiwan's Directorate General of Highways, MOTC at http://www.thb.gov.tw/sites/en/ under “Organization Duty” section then clicking on “Motor Vehicle Inspection and Administration”or e-mail: dghmail@thb.gov.tw For inquiries regarding authentication of driver's license, please contact TECO-Boston at 617-259-1350.