5 year licence renewal Khon Kaen

[yardrunner]

Went to the department of land transpore in Khon Kaen today to renew my five year licence, took photocopies of passport pages and yellow book as well as original documents, thought I had everything covered.

then she asked me for my Thai ID card which luckily I had obtaied 18 months ago, had to get a photocopy of that and after taking the tests I got my new licence.

But what I dont know is if they would have issued a licence if I had not had my Thai ID card

[Upnotover]

It gets stranger by the day here.  DLT wanting ID's, banks wanting yellow books....things the majority of people don't have and have never wanted or needed.  Anyway, at least you are good for 5 or 6 years, who can guess what you'll need next time.

[johng]

13 minutes ago, yardrunner said:

But what I dont know is if they would have issued a licence if I had not had my Thai ID card

Yes foreigners can also get a Thai drivers licence..no need for a Thai ID card which 99.9% of foreigners do not possess.

[Sydebolle]

On 6/30/2025 at 2:02 PM, johng said:

Yes foreigners can also get a Thai drivers licence..no need for a Thai ID card which 99.9% of foreigners do not possess.

Not quite so, in Nong Khai the DLT insisted on a pink ID card for the issuance of an international driver's license based on the Thai license. Was a walk in the park though, giggling and laughing for 60 Baht and an hour later I was back at the DLT. Officer there had changed (first one out for lunch/pipi break?), the new guy did not even look at it and gave me the blue-inked copy back "no need". There you go. 

Thailand's bureaucracy is in absolute overdrive and their inferiority complex towards anything non-Thai is reaching new heights daily

 

[Digitalbanana]

On 6/30/2025 at 1:46 PM, yardrunner said:

But what I dont know is if they would have issued a licence if I had not had my Thai ID card

In Bangkok they would not issue a DL without a Thai ID card. I didn't have one so applied and got it the next day from the district office then went back and got my DL renewed. New rules they said. You can still get a DL without a pink ID card but need to get proof of address another way, so if you have a Yellow Book already Pink ID card is quicker.

[Caiman]

In Prachuap Khiri Khan (Pranburi) they wouldn't let me renew my 5 year car licence without the Pink ID card otherwise COR required.

Last year the yellow book on it's own was accepted for 5 year motorcycle.

Also the ID card number is now on the licence where previously it was the passport number.

[MartinL]

Strange, although it might be due to the passing of time, but when I renewed my 5-yr. DLs in 2021 in KK province, the Yellow Book/Pink Card were acceptable but they then said the licence would only be valid 'within the local area' and if I wanted one covering the whole of Thailand (which I did, of course!) then a CoR was required. That 'local area' sounded ridiculous then and still does but the renewal criteria with PC seem to have done a 180 so that the card is now preferred.

[Monolith]

Thanks - good to know, I need to do the same soon.

[Caldera]

4 hours ago, Digitalbanana said:

In Bangkok they would not issue a DL without a Thai ID card. I didn't have one so applied and got it the next day from the district office then went back and got my DL renewed. New rules they said. You can still get a DL without a pink ID card but need to get proof of address another way, so if you have a Yellow Book already Pink ID card is quicker.

 

So your first sentence is obviously wrong. You don't need a Thai ID card, but you do need some (accepted form of) proof of residence. I've always used a certificate of residence from immigration in Bangkok. 

[Digitalbanana]

6 minutes ago, Caldera said:

So your first sentence is obviously wrong. You don't need a Thai ID card, but you do need some (accepted form of) proof of residence. I've always used a certificate of residence from immigration in Bangkok. 

Try reading the whole paragraph and see if it makes more sense. In my experience I was showing a Yellow Book as I did previous renewal and they told me I cannot get a new DL without a pink ID card. Maybe they assumed as I has a Yellow Book a Pink ID might be on me also.

[KhunBENQ]

43 minutes ago, Digitalbanana said:

Try reading the whole paragraph and see if it makes more sense. In my experience I was showing a Yellow Book as I did previous renewal and they told me I cannot get a new DL without a pink ID card. Maybe they assumed as I has a Yellow Book a Pink ID might be on me also.

You were faster.

Same thought here, yellow book plus pink card.

I carry the pink card with me anyway.

yb usually at home.

 

If the poster has a blue Thai ID card he is a Thai citizen.
Makes no sense combined.

 

52 minutes ago, Caldera said:

 

So your first sentence is obviously wrong. You don't need a Thai ID card, but you do need some (accepted form of) proof of residence. I've always used a certificate of residence from immigration in Bangkok. 

Fortunately KK DLT accepts yellow book plus pink card.

No need to run for residence certificate.

 

Another example of inconsistent administration: as I read they do not accept in Pattaya.

[pjmorton]

What is a "COR" that some respondents are referring to? Is this the document otherwise known as a "TM-30"?

[Upnotover]

9 minutes ago, pjmorton said:

What is a "COR" that some respondents are referring to? Is this the document otherwise known as a "TM-30"?

No. "Certificate Of Residence".  Not the same thing.  But beware, those with PR have a CoR which is another thing altogether.  Actually some (all?) offices actually refer to it as a "Letter of Residence".

[Stuck in Thailand]

Fwiw, as these things seem to change daily, I went to renew my license in Khon Kaen today and apart from original license, passport etc, the only additional doc required is proof of address, or COR, as some seem to wish to call it, from immigration. Nothing about a yellow book, a blue ID card, a pink card, or anything else related to a colour, which is just as well as I don't have it!