International Driver License

[Pilotman]

41 minutes ago, Longchop said:

This is true, UK insurance companies do not accept Thai licence, the only way a Thai can be legal in UK is to rent a car, car rental companies have special policies to cover international tourists.

 Personally I have a motor traders policy for 40 years and have added extra drivers many times with no problems but they would not accept a Thai licence and my broker could not find an other company who would. E U licence only.

see my post above.  It can be done. 

[Yellowtail]

2 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

Not sure what you mean there.  When I hired a car in the UK a few years back, I used my Taiwan DL not my valid UK one. No issue at all. I had forgotten to take my UK DL but had my Taiwan DL with me, so I had no option, but I was never asked.  Just had to produce my UK passport with it at the rental desk.  

 

I think what he means is if you were caught and ticketed, they would ticket your UK license.

[Pilotman]

1 minute ago, Yellowtail said:

 

I think what he means is if you were caught and ticketed, they would ticket your UK license.

How, if you didn't hire the car with it, don't have it with you and can't produce it and don't tell them you have one? Great in theory but I'm not sure it can happen in practice. Even if it did, points on a UK DL when you don't live there is fairly meaningless. 

[Yellowtail]

48 minutes ago, Longchop said:

This is true, UK insurance companies do not accept Thai licence, the only way a Thai can be legal in UK is to rent a car, car rental companies have special policies to cover international tourists.

 Personally I have a motor traders policy for 40 years and have added extra drivers many times with no problems but they would not accept a Thai licence and my broker could not find an other company who would. E U licence only.

 

So they will insure Thai women, that's what I thought.

 

Of course one cannot drive indefinably on a foreign license. It's the same here. You can use your UK license to drive here when you visit, but you cant use your UK license if you live here.  

[Ireland32]

I heard can get in Chonburi 

[sencelebi]

You don't need a International Driving License because Thai licence also in English. You only need an IDR if any country's driver license don't have English writing on them.

[cheapcanuck]

You purchase a driving permit from your home country DMV. 

Not sure why you would need to get one from Thailand with a Thailand licence?

[Yellowtail]

Just now, cheapcanuck said:

You purchase a driving permit from your home country DMV. 

Not sure why you would need to get one from Thailand with a Thailand licence?

In the US you get it from the Auto Club

 

In Thailand, you would get it from the Department of Land Transport:

 

[dimitriv]

17 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

I would bet you are just making this up. Were this true, they would not be able to rent a car in the UK.

 

In many countries you can drive with a foreign license for 3 months. After that you need a local license.

 

So there is a difference between renting a car for some weeks as a tourist and using a Thai license or buying a car and trying to get insurance. The last thing you probably will not do if you stay for less than 3 months.

 

 

[Yellowtail]

13 minutes ago, dimitriv said:

 

In many countries you can drive with a foreign license for 3 months. After that you need a local license.

 

So there is a difference between renting a car for some weeks as a tourist and using a Thai license or buying a car and trying to get insurance. The last thing you probably will not do if you stay for less than 3 months.

 

 

Exactly. 

[Yellowtail]

1 hour ago, Pilotman said:

How, if you didn't hire the car with it, don't have it with you and can't produce it and don't tell them you have one? Great in theory but I'm not sure it can happen in practice. Even if it did, points on a UK DL when you don't live there is fairly meaningless. 

 

I was just trying to clarify what I understood him to say. I doubt very much you could return the the UK, get arrested for drunk driving in a rental, surrender your Thai license in court and keep your UK license to drive home on. It's a good bet your passport number is linked to your rental. 

 

Neither do I believe that if your UK license has been revoked, it is legal for you to drive in the UK on your valid Thai license under any circumstances. 

 

All the rental company really wants is their money, they really do not care what ones legal situation is.

 

 

[Hi Tea]

2 hours ago, Pilotman said:

Not sure what you mean there.  When I hired a car in the UK a few years back, I used my Taiwan DL not my valid UK one. No issue at all. I had forgotten to take my UK DL but had my Taiwan DL with me, so I had no option, but I was never asked.  Just had to produce my UK passport with it at the rental desk.  

I'm referring to the legal aspect of driving on UK roads, not to the rental company's legal aspect of renting to you.

 

If you're a UK resident (and, officially, you must be for a UK DL to be valid) and you have a UK driving licence you should be driving on the UK one, not a foreign one.  The only time it'd be a problem, though, is if the police stop you and check.  If you produce a foreign licence to them and they find that you are a UK licence holder there could be a problem.

Edited September 8, 2020 by Hi Tea

[jomtienisgood]

On 9/7/2020 at 10:16 AM, KhunBENQ said:

The question resurfaces from time to time.

As far as I know nothing has changed with the procedure.

See the thread below from 2016.

And it is not limited to Thai citizens, just Thai driving license (not temporary license) is needed.

To my understanding you can apply at every DLT office.

But not sure, maybe need to visit a central office for your region.

 

Yes you can apply any DLT, except Banglamung, in that case you have to go to Chon Buri

[yardrunner]

On 9/7/2020 at 10:40 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Also worth pointing out (from the link) that a Thai driver's licence does have an English translation so is perfectly valid for a visitor to the UK to use to drive there.

unless you want to hire a car in the UK and then you could have problems, 2018 i went to two different branches of euro-car the first one would not accept a Thai 5 year licence because some of the writing was in Thai had to find another branch of the same company who accepted the Thai licence

[swineninety9]

If your in the USA just go to a AAA office with your current license and pay $20. They will take photos there and issue you one.

[Highlandman]

On 9/7/2020 at 11:11 AM, Peterw42 said:

You get an IDP from the same place you got your Thai License, The DLT. (some locations you may need to go to the main area office)

https://www.dlt.go.th/en/international-driving-licence/

 

Keep in mind a Thai license is accepted in all ASEAN countries and most western countries without an IDP.

 

That's not true.

 

I have personal experience on numerous occasions having had trouble with the police in Cambodia and Vietnam just presenting a standalone Thai driver's license. You will get fined if you try that. You can get away with driving on a Thai license in the border areas of Cambodia adjacent to the Thai border no issue and are unlikely ever to be pulled over, but in Phnom Penh you need an IDP. You won't be allowed to rent a self drive vehicle in Cambodia without an IDP or Cambodian driver's license.

 

For Cambodia, a Thailand issued 1949 IDP, which mentions Cambodia on the inside of the booklet as a party to the agreement will work. Although not required, a translation into Khmer of said booklet would be helpful, as the police in Phnom Penh are found on every street corner and will radio each other if they spot a foreign vehicle or foreigner driving a vehicle so that they ensure you will be pulled over to check your documents.

 

For Vietnam, you'll basically need to convert your Thai license into a Vietnamese license. There is no longer car rental without a driver available for foreigners without a Vietnamese driver's license. AVIS Danang used to allow this, but now it's chauffeur drive only.

 

However, apparently foreigners in tourist areas riding rental motorcycles who are being pulled over are being asked for their IDPs (suggesting they're acceptable there, which Vietnamese news sources confirm) but you need to check carefully whether the 1949 or 1968 IDP applies. Thailand issues both but for the 1968 IDP, it's a separate document for motorcycles. Inside the cover of the 1949 Thailand issued 1-year IDP, Vietnam is mentioned as a signatory country but after checking online, sources suggest Vietnam only recognizes the 1968 IDP! That is, in tourist areas only as police elsewhere will likely fine you and threaten to impound your vehicle if you can't present a Vietnamese license. Additionally, Vietnamese police are much stricter when it comes to transgressions or not following the law if you're driving a car vs riding a motorcycle.

 

Keep in mind also whether your insurance will cover you in the event of an accident. For that reason alone, you'll want to have the correct license and unfortunately, the Cambodians or Vietnamese are NOT on board with accepting other Asean licenses (except Lao issued licenses in the case of Vietnam).

 

Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar all accept Thai driver licenses. I have personal experience of this too. In fact for Myanmar, an IDP issued by any non-Asean country isn't currently accepted. Meanwhile, I had no issues presenting my Thai license in Yangon after being pulled over for an illegal u-turn (this was in 2019). Got fined for the u-turn, no issue with the Thai license, which was readily accepted.

[Highlandman]

On 9/8/2020 at 4:21 PM, yardrunner said:

unless you want to hire a car in the UK and then you could have problems, 2018 i went to two different branches of euro-car the first one would not accept a Thai 5 year licence because some of the writing was in Thai had to find another branch of the same company who accepted the Thai licence

 

That's why it's best to get an IDP.