I was born November 13th 1944

My Thai car driving licence issue date was December 17th 2014 It will expire next November, but I have just seen to day it is November 13th 2020 the very day of my birthday 

What does that means? Normally the issue and expiration days are the same, so my DL was valid 5 years 10 months and 26 days, someone has an explanation please?

First answer on Google (mine is lifetime issued 1969 so no experience).

Quote

Most licenses expire five years after they have been issued on the date of your birthday. 

 

Yes mine also runs out this year on my 70th B'day

 

Not found out what is needed yet, told different offices request different forms/requirements .. hope someone will post useful info 

24 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

First answer on Google (mine is lifetime issued 1969 so no experience).

 

OK, thank Sir, because my motorbike was two years from date to date.

when I saw that today I asked myself the question coupled with a vague worry 
Thanks again for answering, that's the best part of TV the answers by other members on the most diverse questions ????

All Thai licences expire on birthdays.

I'm updating mine tomorrow and will update on progress. It expired at the end of June, but with Covid and stuff I haven't been able to renew yet.

15 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

OK, thank Sir, because my motorbike was two years from date to date.

when I saw that today I asked myself the question coupled with a vague worry 
Thanks again for answering, that's the best part of TV the answers by other members on the most diverse questions ????

The 2 years license is a temporary license and is always 2 years from the date of issue to the date of expiration. The 5 years license is a permanent license and is always from date of issue to the date of your birth 5+ years from the date of issue. For example, a person born in January, get the temp license in June 2018, that temp license would have expired in June 2020. The permanent license would have been issue in June 2020 and valid until January (date of birth) 2026 so it is valid for 5 and a half years. If you extend a permanent license AFTER the date of expiration (after your birthday) you'll basically get 6 years validity.

1 hour ago, LukKrueng said:

If you extend a permanent license AFTER the date of expiration (after your birthday) you'll basically get 6 years validity.

But don't get caught at a checkpoint on this day. It happened to me while I was on the way to DLT for the extension. Some lame excuse helped me to save a few hundred Baht - and I got an extension for 5 years and 364 days.

59 minutes ago, hkt83100 said:

But don't get caught at a checkpoint on this day. It happened to me while I was on the way to DLT for the extension. Some lame excuse helped me to save a few hundred Baht - and I got an extension for 5 years and 364 days.

As an appointment is now required to renew a 5-year licence in some DLTs, many people will be driving on expired licences.  Mine expired on 24 August and the earliest appointment I can get is for October!

Ok, so today I went into the Taling Chan office (https://goo.gl/maps/ZM62jrLBp5MdCAuSA) without any appointment. My wife went in yesterday and explained that foreigners find it hard to login due to the length of numbers on passports not matching Thai ID cards. They told her I could just turn up. So today that's what I did.

At first they tried to not to be so helpful but in the end they were very nice and helpful. I was first told to get two sets of copies (one for car and one for bike licences) of my

- passport main page

- passport last extension showing how long I'm valid here for

- work permit all pages - then the next lady gave me back most work permit pages, just keeping the main pages and most recently-stamped page.

I was given a ticket and sent through the system which after almost an hour resulted in me not getting my licences, or doing anything other than sit and wait. But they made me an appointment for 3 weeks' time. For me, this is ok because I live five minutes away and have three weeks to find a pair of glasses that might enable or help me to pass the depth perception eye test.

I renewed my Thai driving licence last year and I was 75 : no problem for me.... but I had to pass I needed a certificate from Immigration that I am resident here, then doctor's certificate of good health and then pass the tests at the Department of Transportation (to check eyes and reaction time)

2 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

I renewed my Thai driving licence last year and I was 75 : no problem for me.... but I had to pass I needed a certificate from Immigration that I am resident here, then doctor's certificate of good health and then pass the tests at the Department of Transportation (to check eyes and reaction time)

Thank you for that info. My car license next March ( before my birthday) and I will be 76. My bike license expired in 2022 but I will let it lapse as it is rare that I ride a motorbile now.

20 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

I have just seen to day it is November 13th 2020 the very day of my birthday 

What does that means?

Your Thai driver's license expires on your birthday.

If you renew before or on your birthday it will expire on your birthday 5 years later.

If you renew it the day after your birthday, or any day thereafter within the allowed renewal period (I cannot remember it, but might be as long as one year), it will run for 5 more birthdays; i.e. giving you almost six more years validity on the new license.

Mine expires on my 80th birthday.

53 minutes ago, fvw53 said:

I renewed my Thai driving licence last year and I was 75 : no problem for me.... but I had to pass I needed a certificate from Immigration that I am resident here, then doctor's certificate of good health and then pass the tests at the Department of Transportation (to check eyes and reaction time)

Similar for me when I turned 75 but I did not have to present a doctor's certificate, just passport, certificate of residence from Immigration and old licence.  I also had to pass the 3 tests for color blindness, reaction and judgement, but was not required to attend the road safety/driving video. My current licence expires on my 80th birthday so theoretically I can still drive in Thailand should I decide to visit from my home here in Cambodia - if the address on the reverse of my Thai licence is not checked!! Same passport number though.

So nothing different than all the ones before ?  Thinking 70 was some restriction, [was told over 70 = yearly only] guess not = good will get another 5 years.  had a Thai License so far 17 years.

you had 10 months and something until your birthday.. Then its 5 years....

23 hours ago, 2long said:

All Thai licences expire on birthdays.

I'm updating mine tomorrow and will update on progress. It expired at the end of June, but with Covid and stuff I haven't been able to renew yet.

Just re-newed mine today, at Pattaya, valid till my birthday 8th. June  2026, was due on 8th June 2020, but because of Covid only renewed now. So got 6 years basically.

Thanks to all that commented... mine is good until January 6 2025... maybe.... uhhh my birthday is Jun 1 but on DL January 6... information 

was from my passport which shows 1 Jun...

 

Should I go and get it sorted out? 

4 hours ago, khunPer said:

Your Thai driver's license expires on your birthday.

If you renew before or on your birthday it will expire on your birthday 5 years later.

If you renew it the day after your birthday, or any day thereafter within the allowed renewal period (I cannot remember it, but might be as long as one year), it will run for 5 more birthdays; i.e. giving you almost six more years validity on the new license.

Thank you for answering khunper, with all the answer I've learn it's always on one's birthday, 

I humbly admit that I have become a little nervous about everything administrative in this country, maybe (I hope) wrongly, but this year for the first time I have had some worries because of this compulsory health insurance, but I turned 75 this year, 76 in November, and for the first insurance's registration at over 75 it was not so obvious. But Peter Denis, a TV member really helped me a lot (I thank him again ????) I couldn't fill out the insurance's questionnaire, he explained to me I needed Adobe Acrobat pro luckily I had it.

In the story I skipped a question about lung problems, so the insurance asked me for a lung x-ray for I had not clicked the case yes, but did not click the case no too, therefore misunderstanding and delay! I had a few bad nights! But I reckon the Samui immigration was easier with me than I would have thought,  they gave me a few days more after the  end of my extension to come back with the insurance certificate, because the very last day of my yearly extension July 30th it was refused ☹️ 

There were also the 800,000 Baht 3 months after the extension, the 400,000 Baht all year round, the compulsory health insurance, I will pass on the words of the Minister of Health who said that we did not wash properly, that we were often badly dressed and that the Thais had to be warier of farangs for the Covid-19, and all that was put together.

Before I was super cool in this country, now, I started to tell myself this government does not like us much, I'm afraid  it won't be any more like it used to be the years before.

No one being perfect I let myself be surprised and won over by worry, but doing meditation practising Prana-yama daily, stretching and exercising also every day I will soon regain my good mood and my optimism ????

11 hours ago, LukKrueng said:

If you extend a permanent license AFTER the date of expiration (after your birthday) you'll basically get 6 years validity.

I question this. Is it not the case that if you allow your licence to expire, you have to start over again from the very beginning?

 

This is what happened to a friend of ours in Udon Thani. She was out of the country when her licence expired and she when she returned she had to go through the whole procedure from scratch.

 

It's recommended that you renew your licence 2 to 3 months before expiry.

1 hour ago, Moonlover said:

I question this. Is it not the case that if you allow your licence to expire, you have to start over again from the very beginning?

 

This is what happened to a friend of ours in Udon Thani. She was out of the country when her licence expired and she when she returned she had to go through the whole procedure from scratch.

 

It's recommended that you renew your licence 2 to 3 months before expiry.

Are you sure it is possible to renew 2 to 3 months before expiry? 

My motorbike licence expires next month my car licence in the beginning of November, so less than 3 months, if you are right I could do both in the same time. 

OK, it transpires that I was only half right about renewing your licence after it has expired. Apparently you're good for up to a year before you have to start from scratch. So @khunPer was right, you can stretch your licence out to 6 years (minus a day). Richard Barrows did just that and he's a man who should know. See his blog:

 

https://www.richardbarrow.com/2019/06/a-quick-guide-to-renewing-your-thai-driving-license-in-bangkok/

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

Thank you for answering khunper, with all the answer I've learn it's always on one's birthday, 

I humbly admit that I have become a little nervous about everything administrative in this country, maybe (I hope) wrongly, but this year for the first time I have had some worries because of this compulsory health insurance, but I turned 75 this year, 76 in November, and for the first insurance's registration at over 75 it was not so obvious. But Peter Denis, a TV member really helped me a lot (I thank him again ????) I couldn't fill out the insurance's questionnaire, he explained to me I needed Adobe Acrobat pro luckily I had it.

In the story I skipped a question about lung problems, so the insurance asked me for a lung x-ray for I had not clicked the case yes, but did not click the case no too, therefore misunderstanding and delay! I had a few bad nights! But I reckon the Samui immigration was easier with me than I would have thought,  they gave me a few days more after the  end of my extension to come back with the insurance certificate, because the very last day of my yearly extension July 30th it was refused ☹️ 

There were also the 800,000 Baht 3 months after the extension, the 400,000 Baht all year round, the compulsory health insurance, I will pass on the words of the Minister of Health who said that we did not wash properly, that we were often badly dressed and that the Thais had to be warier of farangs for the Covid-19, and all that was put together.

Before I was super cool in this country, now, I started to tell myself this government does not like us much, I'm afraid  it won't be any more like it used to be the years before.

No one being perfect I let myself be surprised and won over by worry, but doing meditation practising Prana-yama daily, stretching and exercising also every day I will soon regain my good mood and my optimism ????

There is a long way from Bangkok to Samui, my lawyers always told me; sometimes we shall be glad for that, and don't think too much, the local people on Samui are very friendly to foreigners...????

1 hour ago, Tchooptip said:

Are you sure it is possible to renew 2 to 3 months before expiry? 

My motorbike licence expires next month my car licence in the beginning of November, so less than 3 months, if you are right I could do both in the same time. 

Are you on 2 year temporary licences? That's just a guess because they don't expire on the same day, your birthday. If this is so you must renew before expiry. I think that's where my friend in Udon went wrong.

 

I'm quite sure about about being able to renew in advance, I did it myself. So yes, you can renew them together.

Why do it before its due ? Did mine 2nd 5yr about 6 weeks ago, no medical, yellow book, pink ID. a photo (never gave one before maybe to prevent fraud), turned up, they checked all docs and was given an appointment for 3days later with a number, i was put in a room separate from the Thais to watch the 1 hr. vid, even though i had taken a shower LOL, it is absolutely correct that if you go after your birthday you get nearly 6 years.  Also we were told the amnesty runs to the end of OCT ! They process one group AM and one PM because of social distancing they can now only process 50% from the norm and building is closed at lunch time, tents erected outside with fan on. Trat sub office Khao Saming i am 69 and license will expire when I'm 75.

13 hours ago, Moonlover said:

Are you on 2 year temporary licences? That's just a guess because they don't expire on the same day, your birthday. If this is so you must renew before expiry. I think that's where my friend in Udon went wrong.

 

I'm quite sure about about being able to renew in advance, I did it myself. So yes, you can renew them together.

Are you on 2 year temporary licences? 

My motorbike's one valid till  September 12th two years.

But my car's one valid till November 13th was for five years ( not far 6 LOL)

7 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

Are you on 2 year temporary licences? 

My motorbike's one valid till  September 12th two years.

But my car's one valid till November 13th was for five years ( not far 6 LOL)

Ah I see. So you won't be able to take advantage of the 'bonus year' on your M/C licence because you must renew that one before it expires. But you'll benefit from the difference between your renewal date and your birthday. I gained 9 months when I did mine.

 

However you can gain a year on your car licence by waiting until Nov 14th.

 

Now that the 'cats out of the bag' we'll all be doing this won't we!