I have a friend from Canada coming to Thailand for a 3 month vacation. He wants to rent a car and has a Canadian license. Is this good enough or does he need an international license ?

Does the Canadian licence have a photo and use English ....if so it will be fine...if not then get an
International Driving Permit.

Yes it does.

Yes it does.

Then your Canadian friend will have no problem renting a vehicle or with the police licence check points.

international permit required,

 

the subject is ongoing, 

 

so far 1 vote for national licence 1 vote for international, lets see who gets the most votes

33 minutes ago, steve187 said:

international permit required,

l would agree but only because the ignorants of police looking for tea money.

 

All l would say make sure OP's mate don't drive more than 90 days.

21 hours ago, steve187 said:

international permit required,

 

the subject is ongoing, 

 

so far 1 vote for national licence 1 vote for international, lets see who gets the most votes

Officially IDP is not required, but can be very useful at police checkpoints none the less.

Just rented a car from Phuket airport via a German website.

Clearly stating international permit (IDP).

I could not test it as I put my Thai DL on the desk

IDP expired since years.

Does a German licence have a photo of licence holder and explanation of which vehicles you're allowed  to drive in English ?

 

An IDP doesnt even have a Thai translation...well the one I got didnt.

I had an IDP years ago , no one wanted it, no matter how i waved it about.The ultimate insult came in Africa, they chucked my IDP, Brit and Porugese licences to oneside and copeid details from my Firearms Cert Issued during the Congo troubles , and out of date.!!.Recon they are useless personally.Be nice if someone could post a curent tale of when their current licence has been overiden in favourb of an IDP.

16 hours ago, johng said:

An IDP doesn't even have a Thai translation...well the one I got didn't.

Well that's been the long standing joke with IDP's in Thailand because if there is a photo and English info of what the licence holder can drive on the visiting persons countries full license an IDP is not required,  the problem is the knowledgeably of the police or the knowledgeably of the tourist.

The consensus as quoted many times is get a IDP to save any aggro if you want to drive in Thailand.

On 9/18/2017 at 7:46 AM, Kwasaki said:

l would agree but only because the ignorants of police looking for tea money.

 

All l would say make sure OP's mate don't drive more than 90 days.

IMO I dont think it is only because of ignorant police that you need an IDL

You can have a licence in english and it can have your picture , but with out an IDL how does anyone knows that the licence is valid.

17 hours ago, johng said:

Does a German licence have a photo of licence holder and explanation of which vehicles you're allowed  to drive in English ?

Yes, it has. And it got the fancy little pictures of what you are allowed to drive. And it is in English, too. (At least the newer version in CreditCard size.

I have English DL card, all in English and with photo . Was ok up to about 3 years ago in Pattaya . Since then you need the IDP ( They dont even look at the UK photocard licence) or  a Thai licence . Without one on a Motorbike and being a farrang you could run up 3 x  400 baht fines per week  =1200 baht per week plus the convenienly situated motorcycle taxi costs to take you to and back from the cop shop . Not to mention an hour of wasted time just waiting to pay. Cars I guess you get stopped less though... get an IDP

2 hours ago, sirineou said:

IMO I dont think it is only because of ignorant police that you need an IDL

You can have a licence in english and it can have your picture , but with out an IDL how does anyone knows that the licence is valid.

This is where and how confusion gets set in.

 

Well an IDL is not available but l would call a UK Photo-card licence an international drivers licence and accompanied with an IDP ( International Drivers Permit ) is good in Thailand because of places like Pattaya it saves aggro. 

 

  

Yes its the International Driving Permit you need in Pattaya. Interestingly the first cop that stopped me around 3 years ago and gave me a ticket for no IDP ..was a German guy . After that every Thai policeman demanded the same.

Yes its the International Driving Permit you need in Pattaya. Interestingly the first cop that stopped me around 3 years ago and gave me a ticket for no IDP ..was a German guy . After that every Thai policeman demanded the same.

23 minutes ago, Rolanddrums said:

I have English DL card, all in English and with photo . Was ok up to about 3 years ago in Pattaya . Since then you need the IDP ( They dont even look at the UK photocard licence) or  a Thai licence . Without one on a Motorbike and being a farrang you could run up 3 x  400 baht fines per week  =1200 baht per week plus the convenienly situated motorcycle taxi costs to take you to and back from the cop shop . Not to mention an hour of wasted time just waiting to pay. Cars I guess you get stopped less though... get an IDP

We had 7 days to pay getting a ticket. 

We got the fine ticket at police check point for over level load on a red plated truck,  got stopped 5 times in 4 days but just showed ticket from first check got home then paid the fine at the post office.

 

6 minutes ago, Rolanddrums said:

Yes its the International Driving Permit you need in Pattaya. Interestingly the first cop that stopped me around 3 years ago and gave me a ticket for no IDP ..was a German guy . After that every Thai policeman demanded the same.

Best get a Thai DL,  I thought Pattaya is one of the few places you can still get a Thai DL on a tourist visa.

Ok. On a motorbike they take the keys so need to pay staright away to get them back ..... Valid I was told for 2 days after payment ... after that if you get stopped you get new 400 baht ticket.

8 minutes ago, Rolanddrums said:

Ok. On a motorbike they take the keys so need to pay staright away to get them back ..... Valid I was told for 2 days after payment ... after that if you get stopped you get new 400 baht ticket.

For a tourist l guess on holiday it's OK but still sounds like a racket that should be reported.

9 hours ago, sirineou said:

IMO I dont think it is only because of ignorant police that you need an IDL

You can have a licence in english and it can have your picture , but with out an IDL how does anyone knows that the licence is valid.

Same as with home license, since the IDP is only valid by an accompanied, valid license.

In reality its the Insurance side of things that matter,if you dont have what they require Licence wise a Crash n they walk, You pay Mega Bucks..!!. A Police no Licence fine is just a few Changs.

An IDP is a translation of a home country licence into English + adds a photo, therefore, if your home country licence is already in English & has a photo, an IDP is rather pointless.

However, some BIB (Boys in Browns) don't know this or choose to pretend they don't. So, although it's not a legal requirement and you could challenge it, it can ensure a smoother and quicker passage if stopped.