Getting A Thai Drivers License In Chiangmai

[Austhaied]

when you come to the first overpass bridge turn left into the purple gates..

Note This is a pedestrian overpass, not vehicular.

Whoops..Yeah pedestrian bridge that's it.. Otherwise you will be looking forever for a purple fence..

[mcgriffith]

Further clarifications:

1) If you want to buy a vehicle from a dealer (not a grey/black market shop) you also need a residence certificate (as of Oct 06- new law). That means they won't issue a plate, reg sticker, green book without...

2) you can get res certs from CM Immigration for free. Consulates usually charge.

This whole process sounds a lot more complicated than it really is in practice. I did the whole thing in about 6 hrs total in 3 days- med cert, landlord statement, res cert, drivers licence. Good Luck!

[Austhaied]

Further clarifications:

1) If you want to buy a vehicle from a dealer (not a grey/black market shop) you also need a residence certificate (as of Oct 06- new law). That means they won't issue a plate, reg sticker, green book without...

2) you can get res certs from CM Immigration for free. Consulates usually charge.

This whole process sounds a lot more complicated than it really is in practice. I did the whole thing in about 6 hrs total in 3 days- med cert, landlord statement, res cert, drivers licence. Good Luck!

Mate i am telling you you can not get residence certificates at immigration anymore unless you have a full one year extension on a non imm o-a-b visa..Fact. Just been there and done it..

[mcgriffith]

Further clarifications:

1) If you want to buy a vehicle from a dealer (not a grey/black market shop) you also need a residence certificate (as of Oct 06- new law). That means they won't issue a plate, reg sticker, green book without...

2) you can get res certs from CM Immigration for free. Consulates usually charge.

This whole process sounds a lot more complicated than it really is in practice. I did the whole thing in about 6 hrs total in 3 days- med cert, landlord statement, res cert, drivers licence. Good Luck!

Mate i am telling you you can not get residence certificates at immigration anymore unless you have a full one year extension on a non imm o-a-b visa..Fact. Just been there and done it..

You are absolutely right, my apologies if I did not make that clear. Must hold an EXTENSION to a non-immigrant O (as I do) to qualify for res cert issued by CM Imm....

Hey, I'm happy for you! You got your licences, I got mine. We just had to go about it different ways!

The confusion arises over the distinction between visas issued out of Thailand, and "extensions" to visas issued in country.

I had a 90-day non-imm O issued in Penang in Sept 06. In Dec 06 I applied for and received an extension, for 1 yr, for reasons of retirement. About a week later, I went to CM Imm and got 2 res certs- one to buy my new bike from a dealer, one to get my Thai drivers licence.

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

A few clarifications to this:

Only foreigners with a non-immigrant visa and currently on the one-year extension scheme can now get the residence certificate from Chiangmai Immigration. In addition to the passport photocopies and photos you will also need the Tabien Ban from your place of residence (the blue house registration book), and if you are renting, a copy of the rental contract - i.e. you must now provide some proof that you do in fact live at the stated address.

Apparently you can also get a residence certificate from your embassy, but I have no idea of what requirements they will impose, and suspect it'll be different from country to country anyway. If you don't fit Chiangmai Immigrations' criteria, contact your embassy.

Note however the the transport department is also requiring AND checking for non-immigrant visa's (or PR) now, so even if your embassy gives you a residence certificate on a TR visa, it still won't mean they'll give you a license. You can buy a car (in your name) with a residence letter from your embassy however.

On final note is that Chiangmai Immigration no longer charge for residence letters.

Renewal:

Your one year provisional license MUST be on it's absolute last day of validity OR expired (yes, expired - go figure) before you can apply for a renewal. If you try to renew it even with one day to go you will be wasting your time. In fact I was told to come back the day after my license expired, as this was the easiest way. I hope I made that clear enough

The documentation required for renewal is identical to that for the initial application (residence letter, passport photocopies, medical certificate, and license phtotos), but of course you also need to bring your current/expired Thai drivers license.

There is NO TESTING for the renewal whatsoever - simply walk up to the information counter with all your documentation and photos, fill out the required form, and 20-30 minites later you will be given a 5 to 6 year "open" (full) license (purple in colour) for 110 Baht.

The "full" license expires on your birthday that occurs after 5 years from the date of renewal. So if you're renewing on your birthday you will get exactly 5 years, but if you're renewing the day after your birthday you will get 6 years minus one day.

Edited March 21, 2007 by BlissfullyIgnorant

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

No not even Non Immigrant O Visas , unless you have been to Bangkok and applied for a one year extension on your non imm o and can meet the criteria..

You do not need to go to Bangkok for one year extensions Austied. In fact, if you did go to Bangkok for your one-year extension as a Chiangmai resident, they'd definately be wondering/asking you why you didnt do it at home.

[Rasseru]

Renewal:

Your one year provisional license MUST be on it's absolute last day of validity OR expired (yes, expired - go figure) before you can apply for a renewal. If you try to renew it even with one day to go you will be wasting your time. In fact I was told to come back the day after my license expired, as this was the easiest way. I hope I made that clear enough

I thought you were clear enough about it even in your original post. For what it is worth, I asked yesterday when getting my licenses if that part of the renewal process is still the case, and was told it is.

[mcgriffith]

Renewal:

Your one year provisional license MUST be on it's absolute last day of validity OR expired (yes, expired - go figure) before you can apply for a renewal. If you try to renew it even with one day to go you will be wasting your time. In fact I was told to come back the day after my license expired, as this was the easiest way. I hope I made that clear enough

I thought you were clear enough about it even in your original post. For what it is worth, I asked yesterday when getting my licenses if that part of the renewal process is still the case, and was told it is.

I was told in Jan 07 that it must be expired, AND YOU HAVE UP TO 1 YEAR AFTER THE EXPIRY DATE TO RENEW (my emphasis) before the temporary/provisional licence cannot be renewed.

BlissfullyIgnorant thank you very much for the renewal info- I had it backwards (need all docs, med cert, res cert, etc., but don't have to take any tests.) You don't have to take even the vision/reaction, etc. tests, I'm assuming you mean?

[Austhaied]

No not even Non Immigrant O Visas , unless you have been to Bangkok and applied for a one year extension on your non imm o and can meet the criteria..

You do not need to go to Bangkok for one year extensions Austied. In fact, if you did go to Bangkok for your one-year extension as a Chiangmai resident, they'd definately be wondering/asking you why you didnt do it at home.

Ok sorry, i didn't realize that. Good to know for future reference.

[Crow Boy]

Who Can Apply

1. Any foreigner with a non-immigrant visa.

2. Foreigners with Tourist visas (TR category only - NOT a visa on arrival) can apply *only* if they have a current driver's license from another country.

Can you provide a link, Thai or English where it states that a tourist can obtain a licence? This has never been the case in the past, and Thai legislation takes years to enact. I was only at the Dept of Lands and Transport the other day, and saw no mention of this. Thanks

Maejo Man - I got my original Driver's license on a tourist visa without any problems, you can only get a 12 month license. When I got my Non Imm sorted last year I just went in with it to renew the DL and they automatically gave me a 5 year license without any question. Must have been my charming smile and pleasant disposition that did the trick

BTW - I disn't do a practical driving test for the car or bike maybe a new thing since I did mine

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

You don't have to take even the vision/reaction, etc. tests, I'm assuming you mean?

Nope, renewing your license is purely just a paperwork thing.

One other note: some posters (including myself) have previously stated that you dont need a medical certificate when renewing your license, however when I renewed mine (5 months ago now) I took one with for the sake of completeness, and they accepted it without blinking an eye.

That doesn't mean you need it, but they certainly didn't refuse it either - it could be worth the extra 50 Baht and 15 minutes of your day just in case..

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

BTW - I disn't do a practical driving test for the car or bike maybe a new thing since I did mine

Did you present them with a current overseas (Australian?) license? If so that'd explain it.

[Crow Boy]

BTW - I disn't do a practical driving test for the car or bike maybe a new thing since I did mine

Did you present them with a current overseas (Australian?) license? If so that'd explain it.

Yes - car, motorcycle, articluated lorry

Best part is that I could use my Thai licence in Australia with an International License issued from the same offices. My Australian license is still current but I didn't want to use that. Any demerits and fines against a Thai license are not transferrable back here. I handed my Thai license over to two cops in Australia who were awefully confused and one was going to arrest me because "I wasn't Thai" No Sh#t Sherlock? He wanted to see my passport which by habit I had with me. In the end he let me go with warning.

[Crow Boy]

You don't have to take even the vision/reaction, etc. tests, I'm assuming you mean?

Nope, renewing your license is purely just a paperwork thing.

One other note: some posters (including myself) have previously stated that you dont need a medical certificate when renewing your license, however when I renewed mine (5 months ago now) I took one with for the sake of completeness, and they accepted it without blinking an eye.

That doesn't mean you need it, but they certainly didn't refuse it either - it could be worth the extra 50 Baht and 15 minutes of your day just in case..

I did the same thing not being sure if I needed it when I did my renewal. I go by the "better to have 10 pieces of documentation too much than 1 not enough" She also didn't care about the residence certificate but pinned it all together. I also paid about 4 baht for a couple of photocopies. I had my collection of 6 different sizes and background photographs and she choose two from them. She preferred the orange shirt with blue background over white shirt and white background.

I think it took about 10 minutes all up to do the whole thing. I also like that the license expires on your birthday which makes it easier to remember when you need to get it renewed. Queensland in Australia do the same thing - you get short changed in the first year but works out better after that.

[Maejo Man]

Best part is that I could use my Thai licence in Australia with an International License issued from the same offices. My Australian license is still current but I didn't want to use that. Any demerits and fines against a Thai license are not transferrable back here. I handed my Thai license over to two cops in Australia who were awefully confused and one was going to arrest me because "I wasn't Thai" No Sh#t Sherlock? He wanted to see my passport which by habit I had with me. In the end he let me go with warning.

You can also get an English translation of your Thai licence by filling out a form at the DL&T and supplying a passport size photograph, and paying the exorbitant fee of twenty baht! You can use this in Australia without the need of an international driving permit. It's what's done by thousands of Thai students at universities in both NSW and VIC.

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

Queensland in Australia do the same thing - you get short changed in the first year but works out better after that.

So you're a Banana-Bending Crows supporter from San Kampaeng?

Bugger me but Chiangmai surely does get all sorts

Edited March 22, 2007 by BlissfullyIgnorant

[p1p]

Yes - car, motorcycle, articluated lorry

Is it now possible for a Farang to get an HGV licence here. It used to be one of the bans against foreigners.

Would greatly help if I could legally drive a truck.....