Car Rental With Chinese Driver Licence

Car hire can often be awkward with their terms and conditions and one real issue we see time and time again is for Chinese people. When travelling to the UK from a different country you need to have a driving licence that is in English if you aren’t inside the EU, if you don’t then you must apply for an international licence and this is where the issue arises for people from China, in China you are not allowed to apply for an international driving licence so if you are travelling to another country and want to hire a car it can be a really big issue.

We get many a phone calls from people trying to tackle this issue in order to find a solution and have a good holiday whilst being able to arrange car hire. Luckily we have managed to find a solution but your Chinese licence must first be notarized and officially translated.

What does notarized mean?
“A document that has been notarized is one that’s been marked with a stamp (or “seal”), which indicates that the signature on the document is legitimate. A notary watches you sign a document, and then places the stamp near your signature.” It proves to the rental company that it is actually you on the document due to it being official.

How to get a Notarized Document?
You can get a notarized document by simply singing the document in front of a notary public which is a person who is authorized to notarize documents. A Notarized person can be found within your ban or credit union, a financial institution, law officers, car dealers, check cashing stores and tax preparers, you will be surprised at how many people can notarize a document.

How do you officially translate a drivers licence?
Anyone who knows both languages can officially translate the document so they must both be fluent in English and Chinese however they cannot be a petitioner or beneficiary. It must be word for word and at the end it must say

I, (Name of Translator), certify that I am fluent in the English and Chinese languages, that I am competent to perform the translation and the above translation is the complete and accurate translation of the document entitled Drivers Licence.
*Signature

Date: Typed Name
Address

If you are interested in hiring a car and have a Chinese driving licence don’t worry as we can still do something about it all you have to do is give us a call on +44 (0)113 880 0748 or email us on [email protected] and we will answer all your questions and give you advice moving forward.

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.