Us Driver's License

[chunhom59]

Hi there,

I am a new member here. I am Thai. I've been living in the US for a year. I have the US driver's license. Can I use it in Thailand ? If not, what should I do ? Could you please tell me step by step. Thanks for helping ka,

Thai girl

PS. I'm sorry if I post in the wrong forum. I have no idea because I am the new member.

[rito]

Hi there,

I am a new member here. I am Thai. I've been living in the US for a year. I have the US driver's license. Can I use it in Thailand ? If not, what should I do ? Could you please tell me step by step. Thanks for helping ka,

Thai girl

PS. I'm sorry if I post in the wrong forum. I have no idea because I am the new member.

I think it depends on the mood of the officer that stops you, if stopped. I been stopped twice and only shown my CA DL and it got me by. I also have an International Drivers license (IDL) but it wasn't asked for. It probably wouldn't hurt to get an IDL, it's only $15 plus to passport photos through AAA.

http://www.aaa-calif.com/Root/index.aspx?JSVisit=1&

[Torv]

That sounds about right.

You're pretty much guaranteed to be okay with CA driver license, but like rito said, it depends on the the mood of the police. So I guess it's not a gurantee after all.

AAA's route is very cheap, so I'd get that too.

The temp license lasts for a year.

[think_too_mut]

That sounds about right.

You're pretty much guaranteed to be okay with CA driver license, but like rito said, it depends on the the mood of the police. So I guess it's not a gurantee after all.

AAA's route is very cheap, so I'd get that too.

The temp license lasts for a year.

International driving license is an English language certificate of the source driving license.

When the source is in English, no problem.

I got stooped many times and not on a single ocassion did police ask for IDL. Neither has any rentacar company, ever.

One time, when they wanted 200B bribe, they were happy looking at no license at all - checked my passport.

Yet to see anything depending on the mood of the police.

Just pack your US license and don't worry.

[Crossy]

To drive legally in Thailand you need either a Thai licence or your national licence AND an International Driving Permit (IDP) which you get from the motoring organisations in your home country.

That said, usually if you get stopped your national licence works just fine (actually anything that look remotely official works ok), same with rental cars. BUT Be aware that without the IDP you are technically illegal so it's possible that in the event of a shunt the insurance will refuse to cough up.

Renting from the big names probably won't be an issue even if you bend the vehicle, driving a friends vehicle may just be a problem, get the IDP it's cheap and simple

[PeaceBlondie]

chunhorn doesn't say which one of the 50 states issued her the DL; they all look different. I cannot imagine the average Thai traffic cop knows Delaware from Ontario. Just after I brought an IDL in Texas (after living in Thailand one or two years) I got stopped at a checkpoint in Chiang Mai. They asked for my DL; I showed them my Texas one; they waved me on. I finally got a Thai DL (two of them) and haven't been stopped in 10 months yet.

chunhorn, get the IDL. Where are you?

[chunhom59]

Thank you so much rito, Torv, think_too_mut, Crossy, and PeaceBlondie you guys so kind. I have a MA diver's license. I am a Thai woman, but I am a permanent resident in the US so I don't want to get a Thai DL because it's gonna take time to get it. Again, big thanks to you guys kha :wai: Yaaaaaa Hoooooooo! I am going to visit my hometown soon!!

[TerryLH]

It would take you a couple of hours to get a Thai licence.

Is anyone positive a Thai can use an IDL? I don't think you can use them in your own country.

The police might not buy the arguement that you are a permanent resident somewhere else. They'll just see a Thai without a Thai DL.

[chunhom59]

It would take you a couple of hours to get a Thai licence.

Is anyone positive a Thai can use an IDL? I don't think you can use them in your own country.

The police might not buy the arguement that you are a permanent resident somewhere else. They'll just see a Thai without a Thai DL.

TerryLH, you brought up with a good point. Maybe they might not allow me to use IDL in Thailand because I am a Thai citizen. Aww! I hate to contact with Thai government.

[Crossy]

It would take you a couple of hours to get a Thai licence.

Is anyone positive a Thai can use an IDL? I don't think you can use them in your own country.

The police might not buy the arguement that you are a permanent resident somewhere else. They'll just see a Thai without a Thai DL.

TerryLH, you brought up with a good point. Maybe they might not allow me to use IDL in Thailand because I am a Thai citizen. Aww! I hate to contact with Thai government.

Dashed good point, also is the quick (no test) route to a Thai DL available to a Thai with a foreign licence or do you have to do the whole shooting match, which will likely take all day

[ballbreaker]

You should be able to get a Thai license quickly. Take your MA license, pictures and health letter from doctor down to license place and tell them you have been living in the US and they should issue license without any test. Thats what my Thai wife did on return from US and it took less than one hour.

[Heng]

I can confirm that. It's also better to have a Thai license in cases where you have to go somewhere that requires that you swap a driver license or Thai id card (which you probably shouldn't swap considering that these can be bought and sold on the black market) to gain entry to an office building or whatever.

[calibanjr.]

Thank you so much rito, Torv, think_too_mut, Crossy, and PeaceBlondie you guys so kind. I have a MA diver's license. I am a Thai woman, but I am a permanent resident in the US so I don't want to get a Thai DL because it's gonna take time to get it. Again, big thanks to you guys kha :wai: Yaaaaaa Hoooooooo! I am going to visit my hometown soon!!

Stopped outside Pattaya at a checkpoint, no seatbelt, ONLY a MA license. They wrote me up for no seatbelt, but that's it. Since you speak Thai, I doubt you'd ever have a problem, but as was mentioned above, with a valid license, you can get a Thai DL in a morning, no road test. Mine was expired so I did the whole DL adventure up here in CM. Kind of fun.

Slightly off-topic, but you live in MA? How do you like it there? Especially concerning the weather, I guess. Getting my Thai wife a visa to visit and thinking about the possibility of moving back and I'm from MA. Wondering if she'll dig it.

[chunhom59]

You should be able to get a Thai license quickly. Take your MA license, pictures and health letter from doctor down to license place and tell them you have been living in the US and they should issue license without any test. Thats what my Thai wife did on return from US and it took less than one hour.

I guess your wife had a Thai driver's license before, right ? I have a Thai driver license, but it's already expired over 1 year. My understanding is I can't renew my license if it's expired over 1 year. That's my problem. I don't want to take the written test and the road test again !!

PS. Sorry, my English isn't so good.

[chunhom59]

Thank you so much rito, Torv, think_too_mut, Crossy, and PeaceBlondie you guys so kind. I have a MA diver's license. I am a Thai woman, but I am a permanent resident in the US so I don't want to get a Thai DL because it's gonna take time to get it. Again, big thanks to you guys kha Yaaaaaa Hoooooooo! I am going to visit my hometown soon!!

Stopped outside Pattaya at a checkpoint, no seatbelt, ONLY a MA license. They wrote me up for no seatbelt, but that's it. Since you speak Thai, I doubt you'd ever have a problem, but as was mentioned above, with a valid license, you can get a Thai DL in a morning, no road test. Mine was expired so I did the whole DL adventure up here in CM. Kind of fun.

Slightly off-topic, but you live in MA? How do you like it there? Especially concerning the weather, I guess. Getting my Thai wife a visa to visit and thinking about the possibility of moving back and I'm from MA. Wondering if she'll dig it.

Yes, I am living in North Dartmouth, MA. The first time I arrived here it's terrible for me because of the weather, language ( I have to learn English as a second language ), food, culture, and etc. This year is better though because my body start used to the environment. Your wife will be fine, but she has to take time for a while to adapt it kha.

Thanks for sharing your an experienced, it's kinda fun and adventure trip.

[chunhom59]

You should be able to get a Thai license quickly. Take your MA license, pictures and health letter from doctor down to license place and tell them you have been living in the US and they should issue license without any test. Thats what my Thai wife did on return from US and it took less than one hour.

Thank you so much. It is such a good idea. Maybe I do like that. I hope they won't let me take the written test and the road test again. In my opinion, Thai gorvernment should allow who's holder the US license driving in Thailand without any condtions because the US license is higher standard than Thai license tenfold. It is not easy to get driver's license here. All of the teenager must take driving education if they wanted to have license before 18 years old. Anyway, I will follow the rules. I don't wanna have any problem while I go to visit my country. Thanks for the suggestion.

[autonomous_unit]

You definitely can get a Thai license quickly based on having the US license. My wife did the same as ballbreaker's and she never had a Thai license before moving to the US for school... unless things have changed, they just require some forms to be filled out, recent photographs, and give you basic vision and reflex tests. There is no written rules test nor driving test in this case.

[chunhom59]

You definitely can get a Thai license quickly based on having the US license. My wife did the same as ballbreaker's and she never had a Thai license before moving to the US for school... unless things have changed, they just require some forms to be filled out, recent photographs, and give you basic vision and reflex tests. There is no written rules test nor driving test in this case.

Wow! this is a good news. I hope they still have the same rules.Thank you so much for info. I will contact the Thai RMV when I arrive Thailand. ASAP.

PS. I really appreciate you guys aswered my question. Big thanks to all of you guys.