Getting A Thai Driver Liscence Or An International Drivers Liscence

[westbounder]

Hi,

I drive a car or a motorcycle everyday in Chiang Mai, and I currently have a Pennsylvania Drivers license that expires in Jan. 2013.

I am living in Chiang Mai for now and I may stay here forever..., but not 100% sure at this point in time.

I do not want to renew my Pennsylvania Drivers liscence in the future.

What do I have to do to get a Thai drivers liscence or an International liscence? Which is the best choice or the easiest way for me to get a new liscence?

Thank You

Joe

[Soutpeel]

Hi,

I drive a car or a motorcycle everyday in Chiang Mai, and I currently have a Pennsylvania Drivers license that expires in Jan. 2013.

I am living in Chiang Mai for now and I may stay here forever..., but not 100% sure at this point in time.

I do not want to renew my Pennsylvania Drivers licence in the future.

What do I have to do to get a Thai drivers licence or an International licence? Which is the best choice or the easiest way for me to get a new liscence?

Thank You

Joe

The first thing is to get an international license, it has to be based on an existing valid license ie your PA license, not sure whether you can apply online to get one, an IDL is not a a replacement for your existing license. Once you have an IDL, you can apply and get a Thai DL after doing some basic eye tests, reaction tests etc. As to the doumentation needed search on TV for the most upto date list of required documents.

Hope you know technically at present you are driving illegally...not that this generally matters in Thailand...

[noahvail]

An IDP - international drivers permit - can only be issued in your home country, can be valid up to one year depending on the country you're driving in. I understand it's only good for 3 months in LoS. If you go home and get one of those, it's a simple matter to get your Thai license. If you don't have an IDP with a valid home license, you'll have to sit the full test and do the practical in a car. Generally speaking, everyone that applies manages to get a license. Depending on the office you go to, it can be more-or-less painless.

[beano2274]

You do not need an IDL to get a Thai License, I used my German license to get one, it was written in German, no translation needed, no driving test just the distance, colour and brake test were required. Paid the nice lady got a Credit Card type license. Have insurance also.

[QED]

You do not need an IDL to get a Thai License, I used my German license to get one, it was written in German, no translation needed, no driving test just the distance, colour and brake test were required. Paid the nice lady got a Credit Card type license. Have insurance also.

Same here with a UK license - no problem at all. There was a french guy there who had been several times and they still refused him, maybe it depends on where your license is from?

[beano2274]

If I remember correctly one of the requirements is that you have a Valid Non Immigrants visa or extension, check the forum for the requirements, use the search function..

[personchester]

Hi,

I drive a car or a motorcycle everyday in Chiang Mai, and I currently have a Pennsylvania Drivers license that expires in Jan. 2013.

I am living in Chiang Mai for now and I may stay here forever..., but not 100% sure at this point in time.

I do not want to renew my Pennsylvania Drivers liscence in the future.

What do I have to do to get a Thai drivers liscence or an International liscence? Which is the best choice or the easiest way for me to get a new liscence?

Thank You

Joe

As always here in Thailand applications for official documents change from time to time, I had to renew my five year Thai license recently and I had to join the general procedure with all applicants (about 50 Thais & two Farangs) some of the Thais never had a license before and we the existing D/license holders had to follow the same procedure than the newcomers, that is to say filling in application forms, and completing various eye tests, body reaction tests, and thereafter a driving instruction lecture, for Thai applicants this was in a large conference room, and for us two Farangs the lecture took place in a separate room in English via a TV monitor and it took about one hour, after the lecture the newcomers had to cue up for the physical driving test. In the past it was much easier to renew one's d/license but the recent change made matters more difficult, although one can not criticize the administration for this, since their priority is to ensure that applicants are able (or still able) to drive a vehicle, a matter of public safety of course.

As regards "IDL" one can use them for a year in any country, but after expiry one has to apply for a local license, the proof you need are the usual immigration papers together with a medical certificate, plus your home d/license, then join the cue in order to follow the procedure.

[longball53098]

I believe if you reside here in LOS more than 3 months and drive a car/motorbike you legally need a Thai license regardless of what other licenses/permits you hold.

As for the OP hang on to you're PA license and look into getting an IDP from the USA from AAA. Then with those two in hand you can get the Thai license no worries.

[MJo]

You have this same post running in CM Forum, all the advice and answers have been given to you there. If you want to move it to different forum PM one of the mods to transfer it. Better than creating double posts...

[Soutpeel]

I believe if you reside here in LOS more than 3 months and drive a car/motorbike you legally need a Thai license regardless of what other licenses/permits you hold.

As for the OP hang on to you're PA license and look into getting an IDP from the USA from AAA. Then with those two in hand you can get the Thai license no worries.

Correct, 3 months it is, but believe if someone is doing a 90 visa run, the clock could go back to zero and you could get another 3 months, think the jury is still out on that one, re insurance etc etc...

Regards whether a Thai DL will be issued against your countries DL on its own or your DL + IDP, think it may be just a case of which office you go to.

Dont believe its a case of whether the license is in English or not...I my case my license is in English, but they wanted to see an IDP, as they didnt understand the coding system on the license, ie on my license it says "08", which is a motor car and different vehicles have different codes, My IDP based on this license confirmed that the "08" is in fact a motor car and was given the Thai DL.

[beano2274]

Dont believe its a case of whether the license is in English or not...I my case my license is in English, but they wanted to see an IDP, as they didnt understand the coding system on the license, ie on my license it says "08", which is a motor car and different vehicles have different codes, My IDP based on this license confirmed that the "08" is in fact a motor car and was given the Thai DL.

My license was in German, but on the reverse of the card were pictures, so there was no problem. Did not need an IDP.

[tutone]

Hi,

I drive a car or a motorcycle everyday in Chiang Mai, and I currently have a Pennsylvania Drivers license that expires in Jan. 2013.

I am living in Chiang Mai for now and I may stay here forever..., but not 100% sure at this point in time.

I do not want to renew my Pennsylvania Drivers liscence in the future.

What do I have to do to get a Thai drivers liscence or an International liscence? Which is the best choice or the easiest way for me to get a new liscence?

Thank You

Joe

I don't think you can get a legitimate IDP in Thailand. I believe it has to be issued in your home country. You could do it by mail with the help of a friend in the States. Having one makes it easier to get a Thai license. If you have a Thai friend or partner you should be able to go to the transportation dept and get things rolling. You'll need proof of residence (house book is best), passport, U.S. license, a recent medical certification, a letter from immigration. Hope that's all. After that it's a cake walk. I had my IDP when I got my Thai license so I can't speak to the process if you don"t have the Int'l Permit. So there's a few hoops to jump through but not to bad.

Its definitely worth getting. I have been able to use mine as an I.D. in lieu of my passport several times and one time it made a good impression on Thai cop and he let me out of a speeding ticket. Plus having it would probably take at least one bump out of a rough road if you were in an accident. Good Luck.

One more thing. I'm not sure if you can get a Thai license on a tourist visa. Might want to check if that's your case.

[moodysufc]

What are the eye tests? i am partial red/green colour blind, i have a full UK licence since i was 17 and have no problems seeing the difference with traffic lights etc, just can't see the numbers in the colour blind test books that they use (dots of colours mixed together that create numbers).

Will i have a problem getting a thai licence?

[MrSnrang]

What are the eye tests? i am partial red/green colour blind, i have a full UK licence since i was 17 and have no problems seeing the difference with traffic lights etc, just can't see the numbers in the colour blind test books that they use (dots of colours mixed together that create numbers).

Will i have a problem getting a thai licence?

I have that same problem.

The first colorblindness test was easy. The woman pointed to dots on a huge ishihara slide and I had to say what color the dots were.

I failed the peripheral vision test. They have two lights on either side of your face and make you focus your vision ahead and call out whatever color (red, yellow, or green) comes out. The red and green lights are hard to distinguish from each other as the lights are quite dim.

I was sent home and have to go back tomorrow to try it again.

[Soutpeel]

What are the eye tests? i am partial red/green colour blind, i have a full UK licence since i was 17 and have no problems seeing the difference with traffic lights etc, just can't see the numbers in the colour blind test books that they use (dots of colours mixed together that create numbers).

Will i have a problem getting a thai licence?

Dont worry about the eye test Re colour....I am red/green deficient and passed it no problem, you are not colour blind or partial for that matter, you are red/green deficient, 1 in 3 European males has it...not a biggie