Establishment of the complete text of 24 articles, promulgated on January 24, 1986 as per Presidential Order.
Amendment to Article 10, promulgated on January 28, 1995 as per Presidential Order.
Amendment to the complete text of this Act, promulgated on December 29, 1999 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 8800310390.
Amendment to Article 13, promulgated on June 14, 2000 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 8900146960.
Amendment to Article 19, promulgated on May16, 2001 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 9000091910.
Amendment to Article 24, promulgated on November 14, 2001 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 9000222640.
Amendment to Articles 14, 16, 18, and 22, promulgated on June 26, 2002 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 09100128060.
Amendment to Articles 6, 8 and 27, promulgated on January 27, 2010 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 09900020001.
Amendment to Article 22, promulgated on December 8, 2010 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No.09900331441.
Amendment to the complete text of 23 articles, promulgated on January 23, 2013 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No.10200012461.
Amendment to Article 20, promulgated on November 21, 2018 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 10700125331.
Amendment to Article 21, promulgated on April 28, 2021 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 11000038711.
Amendment to Article 17, promulgated on November 29, 2023 as per Presidential Order Hua Zong Yi Yi Zi No. 11200103551.
 

The text of the Act is as follows:

Article 1

The eligibility of professional and technical personnel to perform professional services shall be determined by examination in accordance with this Act.

Article 2

The term “Professional and technical personnel” in this Act refers to persons with specialized skills or knowledge gained through modern education or training, who are engaged in occupations that closely affect public interest or the people’s lives, mental or physical health, property or other rights, and are required by law to pass relevant examinations to obtain qualifying certification. The categories of the said examinations are determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.

Article 3

Professional and technical personnel examinations are divided into Junior and Senior Examinations and may be held annually or biennially; be postponed or increased in number as necessary, depending on the requirements of each examination category.

Special Examinations may be held within limited timeframes to meet specific needs or vocational laws with distinctive professional requirements, and shall be graded in accordance with Junior and Senior Examinations.

Article 4

Examinations may be administered in the form of written, oral, on-site or physical examinations, psychometric tests, authorship and invention, academic and work experience reviews, or other appropriate methods. All examinations should consist of at least two of the above forms, unless written examinations are exclusively prescribed.

Outside of foreign language examinations, professional terminology or otherwise specified situations, all examinations are to be completed in the national language.

Article 5

The various types of Professional and Technical examinations may be held jointly or separately, in stages or at different locations. The categories, locations, dates and other pertinent details of each examination shall be published by the Ministry of Examination two months prior to the date of examination.

Staged and regional examinations as well as restrictions on qualification retainments shall be bound by the examination regulations of the respective category.

Article 6

All examination candidates must pay a registration fee, to be set by the Ministry of Examination according to examination level, category and method. The Ministry of Examination may establish an Examination Administration Fund to facilitate the development of examination-related matters. Regulations on the Fund’s revenue, expenditure and usage shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination.

Article 7

All nationals of the Republic of China meeting the eligibility requirements of this Act may participate in the Professional and technical personnel examinations. However, persons otherwise bound by occupational laws and thus prohibited from performing such professional and technical occupations may not participate in the Examinations.

Article 8

Graduates from public or accredited private junior colleges or higher institutions, or of equivalent level of overseas institutions recognized by the Ministry of Education, may apply to participate in the Senior Professional and Technical Examinations. However, persons otherwise bound by occupational laws must observe the relevant regulations and restrictions.

Persons who have passed equivalent Senior Examinations, or persons who have passed Junior Examination in relevant categories, and subsequently been employed in related positions for no less than four years, and hold documentary evidence to this effect, may apply to participate in the Examinations within 6 years of the promulgation of the amendment of this Act on 8 January, 2013.

Article 9

Graduates from public or accredited private vocational schools, high schools or above, or of equivalent level of overseas institutions, may apply to participate in the Junior Professional and Technical Examinations.

Persons who have passed equivalent Junior Examinations, or persons who have passed Elementary Examination in relevant categories, and subsequently been employed in related positions for no less than four years, and hold documentary evidence to this effect, may apply to participate in the Examinations within 6 years of the promulgation of the amendment of this Act on 8 January, 2013.

Persons who have qualified in Junior or Senior Qualification Examinations prior to 31 December, 2009 will respectively be considered eligible for Junior, Senior or Special Professional and Technical Examinations in equivalent levels and categories.

Article 10

In addition to the regulations of Article 8 and Article 9, eligibility requirements for Junior and Senior Professional and Technical Examinations may also request the following items, depending on the levels and categories of the examinations:

A. Increased educational requirements.

B. Working experience, internships or training in the related field, and documentary evidence to this effect.

C. Language qualifications at a corresponding level.

Article 11
Regulations governing the Junior and Senior Professional and Technical Examinations shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.
The above examination regulations should cover the eligibility requirements, examination subjects, examination methods, scores calculation methods and qualification standards for the respective levels and categories of examinations. The opinions of relevant professional bodies must be acquired before the formulation or amendment of any examination regulations.The Ministry of Examination shall then decide jointly with the central professional authorities and central professional authorities of the target industry how to formulate or amend the regulations in concern.

Article 12
Regulations governing the various Special Professional and Technical Examinations shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.
The above examination regulations should cover the eligibility requirements, examination subjects, examination methods, scores calculation methods, qualification standards, examination frequency and timeframe for the respective levels and categories of examinations.

Article 13
Examination applicants with qualifications or experiences equivalent to the respective Professional and technical personnel examinations may be exempt from the following, depending on the said qualification or experience:
A. Examination subjects.
B. Examination methods.
C. Staged examinations.
The above said exemption procedures shall be stipulated by the respective examination regulations. Exemption application fees shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination.
 
Article 14
With regard to examinations, in the event of conflict between the stipulations of this Act and the regulations governing specific professions and occupations, this Act shall prevail.

Article 15
Qualification reviews of candidates applying to sit for any Professional and technical personnel examinations shall be carried out by the Ministry of Examination or agencies commissioned to administer the examination. Review regulations such as the reviewers’ qualifications, review contents, rejections or requirements of additional material shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.

Article 16
Depending on the levels and categories of the examinations, the following qualification methods apply:
A. Passing by subject.
B. Passing by total grades.
C. Passing by ratio of total fully attending examinees.       
The above methods may be use individually or jointly, and will be determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.       
Regulations on the calculation methods of the total grades, point allocation ratios and specific grades restrictions shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.

Article 17
Following the announcement of exam results, should it be discovered that an examinee did or did not obtain qualified status through procedural negligence attributable to the examination administration, MOEX should report to the Examination Yuan for amendments to the candidate’s qualification status.
Following the announcement of exam results, should it be discovered that an exam paper leak or malpractice has caused wrong results and that it cannot be determined who should pass the exam, MOEX should report to the Examination Yuan to nullify the announced results and re-hold the exam which the leak or malpractice has involved.

Article 18
Examinees who successfully pass the Professional and technical personnel examinations will receive certificates of qualification from the Examination Yuan, and have their names published in the official gazette. Depending on the examination category, some successful candidates may need to complete training or pass a trial period before receiving their qualification certificates.
Regulations on training methods and periods, leave, grading, rewards and punishments, suspension, retraining, rejection, deferred training, supplementary training, exemption, expulsion and training fees and other related issues shall be determined by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.
The format and fee of the qualification certificate shall be determined by the Examination Yuan. However, the Ministry of Examination has the right to reduce, make exemptions or lift the fees for disabled, indigenous, low-income or candidates from special familial circumstances.

Article 19
If any of the following circumstances is discovered prior to the examination, the candidate will be disqualified from taking the examination. If the discovery is confirmed during the examination, the candidate will receive a score of zero. If the discovery is confirmed before the announcement of the exam results, the candidate will not be accepted. If the discovery is confirmed during training or learning stages, the candidate’s qualified status will be canceled. If the discovery is confirmed after completion of training, the candidate’s qualified status will be cancelled and qualification certificate will be revoked. If criminal liabilities are involved, the case will be referred to the prosecutors’ office. These discoveries include:
1.Any circumstance set out in Article 7.
2.Misrepresentation or use of false identity.
3.Forgery or falsification of examination documents or identification papers.
4.Any fraudulent or other improper activity that affects the validity of the exam results.
5. Ineligibility for the exam.
In the events listed in the preceding paragraphs 2 to 4, the candidate will be denied from taking any examination held by the Examination Yuan for a 5-year period beginning from the date of discovery.

Article 20
Foreign nationals who wish to provide professional or technical services in the R.O.C. should pass examinations as stipulated by this Act, and should obtain professional licenses and appropriate approvals from competent authorities unless otherwise stipulated by law.
Foreign nationals who meet exam eligibility requirements stipulated by this Act may register to take professional and technical personnel examinations unless otherwise stipulated by law.
Foreign nationals who possess a professional or technical license issued by a foreign government entity that has been accredited by a competent R.O.C. authority on the basis of equality and reciprocity and who should take the licensure exam in the R.O.C. to practice that specific profession under this Act may apply for an exam exemption. The exam may be conducted in written or alternative format (such as an oral exam) and may include a review of the applicant’s academic and professional qualifications. Criteria for accreditation of foreign licenses, exam exemptions, approval procedures, alterative qualification methods, and applications should be drafted by the Ministry of Examination and submitted to the Examination Yuan for deliberation.

Foreign and overseas Taiwanese candidates may choose to complete exams in Chinese or English.

Article 21

Matters not covered by this Act are governed by the Examination Affairs Act and other relevant laws and regulations.

Article 22

The Enforcement Rules of this Act shall be formulated by the Ministry of Examination, to be approved by the Examination Yuan.

Article 23

This Act comes into effect as law on its date of promulgation.