North Carolina senator introduces bill on international driver’s license reciprocity

State Sen. Warren Daniel introduced a bill in the North Carolina Senate that seeks to make it easier for the state to establish driver’s license reciprocity arrangements with foreign countries, including a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

Filed as SB 829 on April 22 during the 2025 regular session, the legislation carries the short title: ‘Drivers License Reciprocity/Taiwan.’

This summary below is based on the actual bill text and is intended to clarify its provisions.

In summary, the bill specifies that North Carolina’s commissioner of motor vehicles is authorized to enter into reciprocity agreements on vehicle registration and driver licensing with foreign nations. It instructs the commissioner to seek a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan to permit noncommercial driver’s license exchanges between North Carolina and Taiwan. The commissioner is required to verify that the driver testing and qualification standards in both jurisdictions are similar before negotiating, and must update lawmakers on the agreement’s status by Oct. 1, 2027. The bill allocates $5,000 from the Highway Fund for fiscal year 2026-27 to support a public awareness campaign. The act goes into effect upon becoming law.

Daniel was the lead sponsor among three lawmakers backing this bill, and he filed 39 bills in total during the 2025 regular session.

In North Carolina, bills must complete a multiple-step process before becoming law. After a legislator files a bill, it is sent to a committee for discussion. The bill is required to be read three times in both legislative chambers. If either chamber amends the bill after passage by the other, both must agree to the final version. Once the same language is approved by the House and Senate, the bill moves to the governor, who has 10 days (or up to 30 days if the legislature is out of session) to sign, veto, or allow the bill to become law without a signature.

More information about the legislation and similar measures is available here.

Daniel earned a BS degree from the United States Military Academy West Point in 1991.

A Republican, Daniel was first elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2013, representing the 46th Senate district and succeeding former state senator Wes Westmoreland.