Drivers License

[terry101]

Good day all,

I know this topic has been discussed many times already but with many different answers.

I have been living and working in Thailand (legally) for two years now and have decided it is time to get a drivers license.

I have also been married for more than one year (if it does help make the proccess any easier)

I have gone through 100s of forums and every single one of them is either outdated or gives a complete different answers to the same question.

Can anyone please help, I dont have any license at the moment because my RSA one expired long time ago, so I would obviously have to go through the whole proccess of getting a Thai drivers license. I am currently living and working in Prachuab Khiri Khan (100km from Hua Hin).

Any help will be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

[Soutpeel]

Which RSA license do you have ?....credit card type or in the old ID book ?....if in the old ID book no expiry date therefore could use this to get a Thai DL

[longstebe]

Me thinks it all depends on where you go for it. The people in Sakon Nakhon have asked for my fathers death certificate. Weird.

[soundman]

Moved to motor forum.

Also OP should look at pinned topic covering DL's above.

[Kwasaki]

Me thinks it all depends on where you go for it. The people in Sakon Nakhon have asked for my fathers death certificate. Weird.

Weird for sure. Well !! as long as they didn't want yours.

Op if you have not got a valid drivers license and it is too difficult to get your old one renewed.

Go along with your Mrs to your local DLT (Department of Land & Transport) office and get the information on what papers etc etc you need for that province.

Then go back with the Mrs in toe and go through the motions, it is no-where near as daunting as going for a test say in the UK.

Nothing to worry about you will find it easy.

Edited April 3, 2012 by Kwasaki

[Shurup]

You would need your passport, your work permit, a passport size pic (I think just one but take a few in case), some cash and a doctor's health certificate (can get it at any hospitals/clinic/doctor's office). It's easy test. Don't bother renewing your expired one but do a test and exam, it will be quicker.

[Soutpeel]

You would need your passport, your work permit, a passport size pic (I think just one but take a few in case), some cash and a doctor's health certificate (can get it at any hospitals/clinic/doctor's office). It's easy test. Don't bother renewing your expired one but do a test and exam, it will be quicker.

Dont even think you need photo's anymore....its all computerised these days...I renewed my 5 year not 4 days ago in Rayong....in an out in less than an hour (most of the time taken up by watching a "Safety video" at 40 odd minutes....500 odd BHT, Copies of PP, Copy of WP and old 5 year license and a colour vision test and done

Edited April 3, 2012 by Soutpeel

[glassdude007]

This topic got me thinking to go get a thai drivers licence

Here is my situation.....

I travel every month in and out of Thailand on a 30 day entry stamp,

can i get licence with this visa or need non imm o visa ?

have read all the forums and google seems like i need a non imm o visa to get thai licence?

to get non imm o visa then gets into all the banking stuff that i not need as never stay more than 30 days...

can get thai licence with 30 day at airport stamp or some type of visa thats close to it??

any reccomendations??

I have been told that your country or interntional licence is not valid while driving in Thailand..

when i get stoped now i show my company id and it works fine .....

buy i want to be legal if at all possible....

[Kwasaki]

This topic got me thinking to go get a thai drivers licence

Here is my situation.....

I travel every month in and out of Thailand on a 30 day entry stamp,

can i get licence with this visa or need non imm o visa ?

have read all the forums and google seems like i need a non imm o visa to get thai licence?

to get non imm o visa then gets into all the banking stuff that i not need as never stay more than 30 days...

can get thai licence with 30 day at airport stamp or some type of visa thats close to it??

any reccomendations??

I have been told that your country or interntional licence is not valid while driving in Thailand..

when i get stoped now i show my company id and it works fine .....

buy i want to be legal if at all possible....

" i want to be legal if at all possible "

OK this is Thailand and many people have there own understanding as what is legal, I will leave that with to decide who is right.

Many people here have there own agenda and they all think they are right, to what that is, my understanding is when coming in and out of Thailand, your countries valid full driving license for the vehicles enables you to drive up to 90 days within one year.

Check in with the insurance company about the license you are using to drive in Thailand.

After that you can use your own countries license to get a Thai license.

You can get a non immigrate 'O' visa outside of Thailand to re-enter Thailand.

There is a thread at the top of the page about licenses covering all the situations, it's all a bit of a lottery really but the way I first saw it coming to Thailand until the unforeseen happens like an accident, whether it's your fault or not, it's then the proverbial .

What you do and who you take notice of is up to you just be careful out there, hope this is of help.

[TerryLH]

I think the requirement is a Non Immigrant Visa. It doesn't have to be a Non Imm O.

[Shurup]

Dont even think you need photo's anymore....its all computerised these days...I renewed my 5 year not 4 days ago in Rayong....in an out in less than an hour (most of the time taken up by watching a "Safety video" at 40 odd minutes....500 odd BHT, Copies of PP, Copy of WP and old 5 year license and a colour vision test and done

You're right about the photo...They take your pic right before printing out your DL.

It must have been some other application that I've done at about the same time that required me to get a photo.

[GinBoy2]

Getting a Drivers Licence in Thailand tells you something about why they all drive like crap. Firstly you will need to get the Proof of Residency doc from immigration. After that you go to DLT. There will be some man outside who will 'facilitate' the medical certificate. You wont need to be seen by a Doctor, the only thing that you are required to have examined is your wallet! Now you come to a decision point. Do you want to take the crazy written test or not. If not, Baht will solve that. The written test from every farang I've ever come across is so bizarre that you will probably fail. eg. If you are tired what should you do? a. Take a Rest, b. Drink Coffee. c. Take amphetamines. Soooo the same dude who facilitated the medical cert can also streamline that process. Onwards to the test. You sit on a chair with two pedals, Gas & Brake. You watch lights in front on you turn from Green to Red at which time you slam on the brake before another set of LED's turn from green to red. Its not difficult but you'd be amazed how many of them fail. Onwards to the depth of vision test. two strings are thrust into your hand and you have to line up two sticks in a box about 15ft away from you, to this day havent a clue what was going on. Assuming that your 'facilitator' got enough cash, thats it you done. If not, onwards to to the driving test. Drive around a circle, stopping at the Stop Signs, then reverse and parallel park, go forward and you're done. Watching that part was the most hilarious for me, watching Thais try to reverse and parallel park confirms all your worst fears. I did think I must start manufacturing plastic cones... they destroy a lot of them during that test maneuver lol

Dont worry about pictures all done digitally before they print the license there and then right before your eyes. Strangely enough one of the most efficient interfaces I've ever had with Thai bureaucracy.

Oh, regarding the Proof of Residency, you will be some kind of non-imm visa at the very least, I have a B which works fine for all Thai official docs, although I have heard stories of people bribing immigration to give it to them with a tourist visa only

Edited April 9, 2012 by GinBoy2

[stevenl]

Getting a Drivers Licence in Thailand tells you something about why they all drive like crap. Firstly you will need to get the Proof of Residency doc from immigration. After that you go to DLT. There will be some man outside who will 'facilitate' the medical certificate. You wont need to be seen by a Doctor, the only thing that you are required to have examined is your wallet! Now you come to a decision point. Do you want to take the crazy written test or not. If not, Baht will solve that. The written test from every farang I've ever come across is so bizarre that you will probably fail. eg. If you are tired what should you do? a. Take a Rest, b. Drink Coffee. c. Take amphetamines. Soooo the same dude who facilitated the medical cert can also streamline that process. Onwards to the test. You sit on a chair with two pedals, Gas & Brake. You watch lights in front on you turn from Green to Red at which time you slam on the brake before another set of LED's turn from green to red. Its not difficult but you'd be amazed how many of them fail. Onwards to the depth of vision test. two strings are thrust into your hand and you have to line up two sticks in a box about 15ft away from you, to this day havent a clue what was going on. Assuming that your 'facilitator' got enough cash, thats it you done. If not, onwards to to the driving test. Drive around a circle, stopping at the Stop Signs, then reverse and parallel park, go forward and you're done. Watching that part was the most hilarious for me, watching Thais try to reverse and parallel park confirms all your worst fears. I did think I must start manufacturing plastic cones... they destroy a lot of them during that test maneuver lol

Dont worry about pictures all done digitally before they print the license there and then right before your eyes. Strangely enough one of the most efficient interfaces I've ever had with Thai bureaucracy.

Oh, regarding the Proof of Residency, you will be some kind of non-imm visa at the very least, I have a B which works fine for all Thai official docs, although I have heard stories of people bribing immigration to give it to them with a tourist visa only

In other DL offices things work differently from described here.

[GinBoy2]

I'm only reporting my personal experience. As the disclaimer goes in any prospectus...Previous performance doesn't guarantee future returns

[kriswillems]

I didn't see any corruption there at DLT in Pattaya (of course I can't see everything). People that failed (any of the tests) were sent back and told that they could try again tomorrow. Some pulled out their wallet but that didn't help.

I was told on this forum you don't need a residence permit if you've a WP.

Every office seems to have its own rules, so if your application gets refused in one office you might want to try in the next place.

[Soutpeel]

I was told on this forum you don't need a residence permit if you've a WP.

You do not need a residence permit if you have a WP.....Residence is already inferred if you have a WP

[Huayrat]

You would need your passport, your work permit, a passport size pic (I think just one but take a few in case), some cash and a doctor's health certificate (can get it at any hospitals/clinic/doctor's office). It's easy test. Don't bother renewing your expired one but do a test and exam, it will be quicker.

Dont even think you need photo's anymore....its all computerised these days...I renewed my 5 year not 4 days ago in Rayong....in an out in less than an hour (most of the time taken up by watching a "Safety video" at 40 odd minutes....500 odd BHT, Copies of PP, Copy of WP and old 5 year license and a colour vision test and done

Why do you need a colour vision test... I find this strange to say the least.. Ive been driving for 25 years and im colourblind.. Drove eveything to big rigs to a forklift truck and dont understand why u need this test..

[Huayrat]

been stopped by thai police loads and they have asked for my DL... I show them my british one and they look say nothing and let me travel onwards... 99% of them dont even know that u need a thai license if your a farang

[Soutpeel]

You would need your passport, your work permit, a passport size pic (I think just one but take a few in case), some cash and a doctor's health certificate (can get it at any hospitals/clinic/doctor's office). It's easy test. Don't bother renewing your expired one but do a test and exam, it will be quicker.

Dont even think you need photo's anymore....its all computerised these days...I renewed my 5 year not 4 days ago in Rayong....in an out in less than an hour (most of the time taken up by watching a "Safety video" at 40 odd minutes....500 odd BHT, Copies of PP, Copy of WP and old 5 year license and a colour vision test and done

Why do you need a colour vision test... I find this strange to say the least.. Ive been driving for 25 years and im colourblind.. Drove eveything to big rigs to a forklift truck and dont understand why u need this test..

Because thats what they want you to do, why even debate it...it takes literally 1 minute to do...all it is, at Rayong at least is different coloured traffic lights, ie you can indentify Red, Amber and green

You are colour blind ?...means you see in black and white ?...highly rare...I suspect you are red/green defficient...this is not colour blindness and affects 1 in 3 western males and I have it as well and it would prevent me from becoming a fighter pilot and in some countries from becoming an electrcian, so having a colour vison test for doing certain tasks is not unsual worldwide

Edited April 10, 2012 by Soutpeel

[Soutpeel]

been stopped by thai police loads and they have asked for my DL... I show them my british one and they look say nothing and let me travel onwards... 99% of them dont even know that u need a thai license if your a farang

Because BiB think you are a tourist thats all....if you are a resident 99% of the BiB do know you do need a Thai DL, not a problem in itself, but go and have an accident or god forbid you kill a Thai national and you will see how quick how the BiB dont know....if you are resident in Thailand get a Thai DL...not hard, people who resist doing this are just lazy a**holes who think the rules shouldnt apply to them

[kriswillems]

I know somebody that couldn't pass the colour vision test and therefore couldn't get a drivers license. In his country he already drives for years without an accident.

It would be much better if they would replace this test with a visual acuity test because many Thai people don't buy glasses or are too lazy to put them on, which is really dangerous (for sure compared to color blindness). Since the tests haven't changed even a bit the last years, I don't think our opinion is going to make any difference, and we just have to go with the flow.

Edited April 11, 2012 by kriswillems

[Kwasaki]

I know somebody that couldn't pass the colour vision test and therefore couldn't get a drivers license. In his country he already drives for years without an accident.

It would be much better if they would replace this test with a visual acuity test because many Thai people don't buy glasses or are too lazy to put them on, which is really dangerous (for sure compared to color blindness). Since the tests haven't changed even a bit the last years, I don't think our opinion is going to make any difference, and we just have to go with the flow.

Your friend must have a not so common form of colour blindness, the most common is Red / Green, pretty important when it comes to traffic lights I guess.

My youngest son has red/green blindness but has learnt to distinguish the differences he see's which maybe many people may not be able to do.

[ikbenhet]

I know somebody that couldn't pass the colour vision test and therefore couldn't get a drivers license. In his country he already drives for years without an accident.

It would be much better if they would replace this test with a visual acuity test because many Thai people don't buy glasses or are too lazy to put them on, which is really dangerous (for sure compared to color blindness). Since the tests haven't changed even a bit the last years, I don't think our opinion is going to make any difference, and we just have to go with the flow.

Your friend must have a not so common form of colour blindness, the most common is Red / Green, pretty important when it comes to traffic lights I guess.

My youngest son has red/green blindness but has learnt to distinguish the differences he see's which maybe many people may not be able to do.

I have the red/green blindness but could do test easily. I was sure i would fail the test but the difference in color/tone is obvious.

[topt]

This topic got me thinking to go get a thai drivers licence

Here is my situation.....

I travel every month in and out of Thailand on a 30 day entry stamp,

can i get licence with this visa or need non imm o visa ?

have read all the forums and google seems like i need a non imm o visa to get thai licence?

to get non imm o visa then gets into all the banking stuff that i not need as never stay more than 30 days...

can get thai licence with 30 day at airport stamp or some type of visa thats close to it??

any reccomendations??

I have been told that your country or interntional licence is not valid while driving in Thailand..

when i get stoped now i show my company id and it works fine .....

buy i want to be legal if at all possible....

Sounds like a similar situation to me. I was able to get mine on a 30 day Visa Waiver stamp at Pattaya DLT and as others have said a lot seems to depend on which office you go to. You also definitely need the registration certificate but i believe that can be obtained even from some sort of rental agreement.

The best thing to do is find out from an office or two what you will need and what they will accept. The process itself seems quite straightforward it is just the information and copies that are a pain. I had an IDP (had posted out from the UK) and with that they did not want to see my UK licence and I only did the colour and reaction tests but again I think it depends on the office and people involved.

The only issue is without a longer term visa as I understand it you cannot get a 5 year licence (after your first one year) and have to keep getting a one year "temporary" licence.

[topt]

Oh, regarding the Proof of Residency, you will be some kind of non-imm visa at the very least, I have a B which works fine for all Thai official docs, although I have heard stories of people bribing immigration to give it to them with a tourist visa only

Not always true. I managed and no bribe and I have read of many others on other forums who have also successfully managed it on a tourist visa/visa waiver.

[kriswillems]

Well, I noticed a change in the color vision test. The first time they had a paper with dots and the instructor pointed to dot on the paper and you had to say the color. This is the part where my friend failed. The colors on the paper were not so bright anymore because the paper was old and changed color.

Last time I went there that paper was still there, but the colors had changed so much it had become unusable, and they didn't do that test anymore but used lights instead. My friend is now driving around without Thai drivers license (but he still has his international license), so it would be better if he would redo the test. Maybe he can see the difference now they use colored lights.

I don't understand why you need to be able to see colors. The red light is always on top isn't it? You can derive the color from the position of the light. Or am I missing something....?

On the other hand, visual acuity is essential for driving and that simple test (just reading small letters from a certain distance) is not performed.

Edited April 12, 2012 by kriswillems

[Kwasaki]

Well, I noticed a change in the color vision test. The first time they had a paper with dots and the instructor pointed to dot on the paper and you had to say the color. This is the part where my friend failed. The colors on the paper were not so bright anymore because the paper was old and changed color.

Last time I went there that paper was still there, but the colors had changed so much it had become unusable, and they didn't do that test anymore but used lights instead. My friend is now driving around without Thai drivers license (but he still has his international license), so it would be better if he would redo the test. Maybe he can see the difference now they use colored lights.

I don't understand why you need to be able to see colors. The red light is always on top isn't it? You can derive the color from the position of the light. Or am I missing something....?

On the other hand, visual acuity is essential for driving and that simple test (just reading small letters from a certain distance) is not performed.

Reminded me way back when I got my licenses and they pointed to the colour and I said amber, I got the no, no silly farang look, it's yellow.

[Huayrat]

Well, I noticed a change in the color vision test. The first time they had a paper with dots and the instructor pointed to dot on the paper and you had to say the color. This is the part where my friend failed. The colors on the paper were not so bright anymore because the paper was old and changed color.

Last time I went there that paper was still there, but the colors had changed so much it had become unusable, and they didn't do that test anymore but used lights instead. My friend is now driving around without Thai drivers license (but he still has his international license), so it would be better if he would redo the test. Maybe he can see the difference now they use colored lights.

I don't understand why you need to be able to see colors. The red light is always on top isn't it? You can derive the color from the position of the light. Or am I missing something....?

On the other hand, visual acuity is essential for driving and that simple test (just reading small letters from a certain distance) is not performed.

Totally agree the colour vision test is stupid.... Top light means stop bottom means go lol...Im sure everybody in the world even non drivers know the sequence to a traffic light

[Soutpeel]

I had an IDP (had posted out from the UK) and with that they did not want to see my UK licence

Strange as an IDP on its own is not recognised, you need to present both an IDP and a valid DL.

[Soutpeel]

Well, I noticed a change in the color vision test. The first time they had a paper with dots and the instructor pointed to dot on the paper and you had to say the color. This is the part where my friend failed. The colors on the paper were not so bright anymore because the paper was old and changed color.

Last time I went there that paper was still there, but the colors had changed so much it had become unusable, and they didn't do that test anymore but used lights instead. My friend is now driving around without Thai drivers license (but he still has his international license), so it would be better if he would redo the test. Maybe he can see the difference now they use colored lights.

I don't understand why you need to be able to see colors. The red light is always on top isn't it? You can derive the color from the position of the light. Or am I missing something....?

On the other hand, visual acuity is essential for driving and that simple test (just reading small letters from a certain distance) is not performed.

Reminded me way back when I got my licenses and they pointed to the colour and I said amber, I got the no, no silly farang look, it's yellow.

Same thing happened to me as well