Registering A Motorbike In Cm; What To Do?

[rideswings]

I bought a new motorbike last week and now I need tor register it in my name. The dealer gave me some papers to take to immigration, but Im not sure what else to bring. I already have a letter from my condo but I was told by someone I needed to bring 2 photos as well. Should I go to the immigration office near the airport? Do I need to get there at 6am because of the crowds?

Any help would be appreciated.

[eyecatcher]

Yes I did the same 6 month ago, so if I can recall....yes you need some documentation to show where you live, so a letter from a hotel, or something to show you long term rent a place, or own a business, or whatever.

Take that to the Immigration just before the airport (not inside the terminal building)

there is no queue, no waiting...thats for all the extension visas and the like; you go to building at the back maybe 10 m from the queues and into another office.

show them your letter of residence then they will formally make you an official letter of residence, it will cost you 500bt, Photos, yes 2 I think but i forget. The process takes literally as long as it takes them to remmeber how to swtich on the printer.

Then go to the road transport office...along chang klaan and then almost opposite the Holiday Inn.

they will check the roadworthiness of your bike initially.

then you go an present your documents,...i Was sent over the road as they wanted a photocopy of my passport,.. dead easy

you have to go an collect the registration sticker the following day, and of course the revised entry in your green log book showing you as owner.

at the same time just make sure you get some insurance if not done so already--they have the office in the same place.

[eyecatcher]

edit sorry: at the transport place, they dont check the roadworthiness, they check and record the serial numbers of the frame; engine etc....so if its a heap of <deleted> youre still ok!!

[onthedarkside]

edit sorry: at the transport place, they dont check the roadworthiness, they check and record the serial numbers of the frame; engine etc....so if its a heap of <deleted> youre still ok!!

Depends on the test center. Over the years I have had test certificate declined for various reasons, some light not working, horn not working, noisy exhaust. So don't be so sure it's only a serial number check. Just saying ...

[chris5346]

a letter of residency from the immigration office is only valid for one month so i would make sure that the transport office are happy with your documents from the dealer first.

are you going to get a thai driving licence also ? because you can use the one residency letter for both if you do it right.

[eyecatcher]

a letter of residency from the immigration office is only valid for one month so i would make sure that the transport office are happy with your documents from the dealer first.

are you going to get a thai driving licence also ? because you can use the one residency letter for both if you do it right.

Must admit I didnt realise they were valid for a month...as I recall mine was valid for how ever many days I had left on my "admitted until" stamp in my passport. So for me personally that could well have been 59 days.

Also as you point out...and as I thought, it makes sense to do the licence same week...So anticipating the same, I had a couple photocopies of the residency letter and tried to offload one at the transport office. They would only ACCEPT the original (the 500bt one)

So until I go for a bike licence, I am guessing they will not accept photocopies either....so thats another 500bt on that ocassion.

It may be worth asking for 2 official copies and see if you can get away with a single 500bt fee....if you are so inclined.

[mania]

I am kind of surprised the dealer didn't take care of it all for you.

Of course you need to give the dealer the proof of address certificate.

But everything I have bought whether it be truck or bike the dealer took care of

getting the green(bikes) & blue (truck) books for me in my name.

[chris5346]

i thought the dealer usually sorts it out and my thai mrs said can take 3 months or something ?

that's why i recomemded talking to the transport office first and show them the papers you have.

when applying for driving licence or changing registration books they will want to see an original residence certificate but you can tell them you want to use the certificate twice and they can make a certified copy for you.

also one time at the transport office i showed them a residence certificate and they made a copy and returned the original to me and i then used it again for a driving licence.

i think the driving licence people will want to keep the original residence certificate .

[eyecatcher]

I am kind of surprised the dealer didn't take care of it all for you.

Of course you need to give the dealer the proof of address certificate.

But everything I have bought whether it be truck or bike the dealer took care of

getting the green(bikes) & blue (truck) books for me in my name.

Yes in fairness, when you buy new the dealer gives you all the documents, green book, licence etc (except number plate...still waiting now 11 months!!)...but when I bought It was easier there and then to register vehicles as part of my business, but as soon as i got the bike on the road, I went to change it into my own name...its not uncommon to do it this way...

[TommoPhysicist]

I am kind of surprised the dealer didn't take care of it all for you.

Of course you need to give the dealer the proof of address certificate.

But everything I have bought whether it be truck or bike the dealer took care of

getting the green(bikes) & blue (truck) books for me in my name.

Yes in fairness, when you buy new the dealer gives you all the documents, green book, licence etc (except number plate...still waiting now 11 months!!)...but when I bought It was easier there and then to register vehicles as part of my business, but as soon as i got the bike on the road, I went to change it into my own name...its not uncommon to do it this way...

My wife (Thai) bought a new m/c last month from the main Honda dealer on the way to bus station.

Got nothing apart from a letter from the company. No green book, no tax, no insurance, no license ......... come back in November for the paperwork they say.

Hard to see how they can give you any paperwork without knowing the license plate number. Also hard to see how you can drive on the road without it but TiT. Police already stopped us once, waved us over, saw no number plate, waved us on.

[mania]

i thought the dealer usually sorts it out and my thai mrs said can take 3 months or something ?

that's why i recomemded talking to the transport office first and show them the papers you have.

I think your wife & is speaking about what eyecatcher also mentions & that is the plates.

But that is a separate issue...all new plates have been delayed for close to a year now due to

some govt problems with the manufacturer.

They originally claimed it was due to poor quality paint but really it seems to be some kind

of stand off regarding the contract job of making the plates.

But no if a dealer takes care of transfer of teh vehicle both new & used...they usually get you your book in a day

or two at the most. This has been my experience.

[Semper]

edit sorry: at the transport place, they dont check the roadworthiness, they check and record the serial numbers of the frame; engine etc....so if its a heap of <deleted> youre still ok!!

Depends on the test center. Over the years I have had test certificate declined for various reasons, some light not working, horn not working, noisy exhaust. So don't be so sure it's only a serial number check. Just saying ...

The op bought a new bike.

[mania]

My wife (Thai) bought a new m/c last month from the main Honda dealer on the way to bus station.

Got nothing apart from a letter from the company. No green book, no tax, no insurance, no license ......... come back in November for the paperwork they say.

Hard to see how they can give you any paperwork without knowing the license plate number. Also hard to see how you can drive on the road without it but TiT. Police already stopped us once, waved us over, saw no number plate, waved us on.

The license number is determined & added to the reg paper right away.

If you look at all the new bikes that are running around today without plates

just glance at the Reg paper that needs to be displayed. On it you will see the License Number

even though they do not have a plate due to the problem i mentioned in my previous post.

But yes as you said some dealers like Niyom Panich are taking a month even for the book & reg these days

& yes cops are aware of the plate problem on new bikes & cars actually.

[TommoPhysicist]

The license number is determined & added to the reg paper right away.

If you look at all the new bikes that are running around today without plates

just glance at the Reg paper that needs to be displayed. On it you will see the License Number

even though they do not have a plate due to the problem i mentioned in my previous post.

But yes as you said some dealers like Niyom Panich are taking a month even for the book & reg these days

& yes cops are aware of the plate problem on new bikes & cars actually.

My wife says 2 month, 3 month before we get the book or tax, no license plate number on the letter.

[mania]

The license number is determined & added to the reg paper right away.

If you look at all the new bikes that are running around today without plates

just glance at the Reg paper that needs to be displayed. On it you will see the License Number

even though they do not have a plate due to the problem i mentioned in my previous post.

But yes as you said some dealers like Niyom Panich are taking a month even for the book & reg these days

& yes cops are aware of the plate problem on new bikes & cars actually.

My wife says 2 month, 3 month before we get the book or tax, no license plate number on the letter.

No the number is not on the letter it is on the Reg which you will get with the book.

Like I said some dealers are taking longer I guess to get the reg cert. But it is nowhere as long as it has been to get a plate.

We got our reg with lic number on it a few days after buying. But we have yet to get the plate & we bought in June.

All that aside though I still wonder why the dealer did not do it for the OP?

Even if the OP goes to the DMV they will also not get a plate

Maybe the backlog now of paper & having to later call the new owners is getting to be too much for them?

[rideswings]

This is all great information and I appreciate all the responses. BTW I should have said in my post that it was a new bike, and Im going to get the letter from immigration and then go back to the dealer and see if they take care of the rest. I went to immigration this morning, but they were out of queue numbers so we went home. I think I went to the wrong building, but the security guard told us it was the front building.

[mania]

This is all great information and I appreciate all the responses. BTW I should have said in my post that it was a new bike, and Im going to get the letter from immigration and then go back to the dealer and see if they take care of the rest. I went to immigration this morning, but they were out of queue numbers so we went home. I think I went to the wrong building, but the security guard told us it was the front building.

Not sure which country your from but US Citizens can also get it at the US Consulate

Albeit for $50, easy though & you make an online appointment the day before usually suffices

I'm sure all countries probably offer it too but again at a price.

Yes if I were in your place I would tell the dealer handle it or no deal

[Semper]

This is all great information and I appreciate all the responses. BTW I should have said in my post that it was a new bike, and Im going to get the letter from immigration and then go back to the dealer and see if they take care of the rest. I went to immigration this morning, but they were out of queue numbers so we went home. I think I went to the wrong building, but the security guard told us it was the front building.

Normally the dealer should take care of the registration after you have the immigration papers.

[rideswings]

Thats what Im going to try, and also get an extra copy of the immigration letter (if I can get 2 for the price of 1) to get a license.

Thanks everyone.

Normally the dealer should take care of the registration after you have the immigration papers.

[ForumUsername]

Did this two days ago. I was told it is valid for one year, not one month.

Bought a brand new bike. Twice in three days that I've had to get the letter of residency. Get two if you can, because if you need another one you can't just simply copy the original and use that. Whoever needs that document, needs an original.

[TommoPhysicist]

This is all great information and I appreciate all the responses. BTW I should have said in my post that it was a new bike, and Im going to get the letter from immigration and then go back to the dealer and see if they take care of the rest. I went to immigration this morning, but they were out of queue numbers so we went home. I think I went to the wrong building, but the security guard told us it was the front building.

You don't queue for a cert of residency at CM, straight to the front RH desk, no waiting.

[mania]

You don't queue for a cert of residency at CM, straight to the front RH desk, no waiting.

Thanks that is good info.

If that is the case I may go there next time instead of buying one at the Consulate

I know it is a lot cheaper at Imm

[ForumUsername]

Yeah you don't pay, just go to the front desk (they'll give you a form to fill in)

Hand it back with your two photos, and you'll be told to come back in an hour. Can head to Airport plaza to break up your time if you don't want to sit around

[ForumUsername]

Ugh, I mean you don't *queue

[mania]

Ugh, I mean you don't *queue

What do they charge? Was it 500 Baht or so?

Thanks

[ForumUsername]

Yep. 500. Did it twice in three days

[kjhbigv]

I am kind of surprised the dealer didn't take care of it all for you.

Of course you need to give the dealer the proof of address certificate.

But everything I have bought whether it be truck or bike the dealer took care of

getting the green(bikes) & blue (truck) books for me in my name.

Yes in fairness, when you buy new the dealer gives you all the documents, green book, licence etc (except number plate...still waiting now 11 months!!)...but when I bought It was easier there and then to register vehicles as part of my business, but as soon as i got the bike on the road, I went to change it into my own name...its not uncommon to do it this way...

My wife (Thai) bought a new m/c last month from the main Honda dealer on the way to bus station.

Got nothing apart from a letter from the company. No green book, no tax, no insurance, no license ......... come back in November for the paperwork they say.

Hard to see how they can give you any paperwork without knowing the license plate number. Also hard to see how you can drive on the road without it but TiT. Police already stopped us once, waved us over, saw no number plate, waved us on.

Correct, I bought a new bike a few weeks ago, they just needed a letter of residency from Imm. They said green book etc will not be ready for 3 months! So no plates on the bike for 3 months, all I have is some paperwork from the dealer and this is sufficient if pulled over by BIB.

[kjhbigv]

Yep. 500. Did it twice in three days

Agree with poster....no need to queue at Immigration, ask for a Certificate of Residency form (the middle counter, normally manned by younger staff) , fill it in, attach a photo, hand it back and they will tell you to come back around a certain time.

[mania]

Yep. 500. Did it twice in three days

Agree with poster....no need to queue at Immigration, ask for a Certificate of Residency form (the middle counter, normally manned by younger staff) , fill it in, attach a photo, hand it back and they will tell you to come back around a certain time.

That is good to know & seems simple enough with no que'ing

I think next time I will try this route & save some $$ over the consulate $50 method

Thanks