Renting Cars In The Us With Thai License?

[Thaiquila]

Hi there,

Are there any Americans who have a Thailand driver license and no longer have a US driver license out there who have tried to rent a car in the US?

I talked to Avis today and they said over the phone, this was OK, but I have heard before on this board that people have had problems when they show up with a US passport, a Thai driver license, and NO US driver license. (Of course, it is OK for a Thai with a Thai license.)

So, if anyone has had actual experience of this, please share it.

[monty]

In most of Europe they require a Thai "international driving permit" together with the Thai driver license.

The regular Thai driver licence is not accepted as they cannot even read what's on it.

Might be the motorbike version for all they would know...

I think a foreigner needs the 5 year Thai license before you can get a Thai international one...

[autonomous_unit]

I think the laws may vary by state, so it is best to check the DMV websites for any states you might want to drive through. I have checked that California and Illinois both recognize licenses issued by the place of residence of the driver, which has nothing to do w/ nationality of the driver. They also have limits of how long you can be in state before you are considered a resident and must get a local license... something like 90 days for these two states. Neither recognizes international driver licenses (which are just a form of notarized translation anyway); they want to see the real license and do not care if you have the translation.

I have rented a car at Chicago O'Hare using my 1-year Thai license at Hertz and at Enterprise. It took quite a while at Enterprise the first time, and they eventually dragged out a big book of foreign licenses to "authenticate" it. I had the official translation of my license from the land transport office (what they will give you in lieu of an international license on a 1-year license) and the rental company didn't really care to see that. At Hertz it was more straight-forward.

[grahamb]

One point to be aware of - it may cost you more to rent a car with your Thai licence.

Out of interest, I did a reservation for a car with Hertz in Ireland telling them that I was resident in the UK and that I was resident in Thailand. When I said I was resident in Thailand, the price was more than double! Needless to say, I made the reservation with my UK licence...

I see from your OP that you don't have a US licence any more but if there is any way to get one again, it may save you money.