Hong Kong to introduce AI system for one-day vehicle licence renewals

Hong Kong drivers will be able to renew their vehicle licences within one day by year-end, down from the current processing time of up to 10 working days, under new artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives aimed at streamlining transport services and traffic management.

The “Easy Licence Application Approval” system, announced by the Transport Department on Thursday, will be launched by the end of this year. It will use large language models to automatically recognise, cross-check and verify documents submitted with online applications.

More than 90 per cent of online vehicle licence renewals are expected to be automatically processed by the AI system, cutting processing times from up to 10 working days to just one.

The system will also handle applications under the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles and Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles schemes, with the department targeting an automatic approval rate of more than 50 per cent and a 20 per cent reduction in manual processing time.

“The key advantage of AI is that it offers continuous learning and can cross-reference different documents. We believe this will significantly help us process address verification and approvals,” Deputy Commissioner for Transport Candy Kwok Wai-ying said.

The projects will be carried out under the AI Efficacy Enhancement Team, which was set up after the 2025 policy address to coordinate the government’s adoption of AI and advance the goals of a transport strategy blueprint announced in February.

Motorists are increasingly using digital services, with 63 per cent of international driving permit applications and 51 per cent of full driving licence renewal applications now submitted online, according to the department.