So I got my car with no plates, since the dealer was out of red plates (as most of them are around here). I've got a border-run (to Nong Khai) coming up this weekend and I would really like to take the car, but how concerned should I be about police checkpoints, and more importantly getting the car stolen while parked near the border?

We just need to do a quick turnaround, so we'll probably only leave the car for a few hours. I see topics on this forum that tell me that there are "secure" parking lots near the bridge. But how secure can they be if I have no plates, no easy way to identify our car? My Thai relatives are full of stories that my un-plated car will be immediately targeted and floated across the river. Not sure if they are being overly paranoid or just sensible. Anybody done this in an up-plated car? Any experience or advice out there?

If the plates made a big difference, a thief would remove the plates. So I would not be overly concerned about not having plates.

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

Just make sure the book is up to date...

Just make sure the book is up to date...

He doesn't have any red plates.

Where are you driving from? I went through 4 checkpoints in 200km but it was Christmas day's evening

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I waited 10 months for my plates. Drove nearly 40,000 km in that time. only 1 time was asked to see papers. Had all copies for dealer, government, tax sticker, insurance. All in order. Sorry I can't help it if the government is unable to stamp a few plates quickly enough for my car and 1.3 million others. Not my problem and went on my way

Strangely they can make millions of cars here but not a few simple plates to go on them

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

How would they know that you are out your home province,if there is no plates...?

Where are you driving from? I went through 4 checkpoints in 200km but it was Christmas day's evening

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Driving from Phetchabun city, so through Lom Sak, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, then onto Nong Khai. I drove around a bunch over the holidays, saw a bunch of checkpoints, but nobody so much as gave me a second glance.

I've had no plates for over 3 months and never even though about it....sorry,actually I did have a plate in the back...see my avatar...

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

How would they know that you are out your home province,if there is no plates...?

Yeah, I don't think they would know at all. I've driven out of my home province several times already - nobody bothered me at any checkpoints then.

Yesterday my wife and I stopped at a police checkpoint near our home, parked the car and asked them about it. They said we would be fine, so long as we had all the paperwork for the car. Though they did advise us not to drive at night when outside our home province - apparently that is still an issue if you don't have the white plates yet. They were polite and helpful and did not ask us for anything.

I had no plates for about 6 months. Drove from Phayao to Chiang Rai and Mae Sai about 6 times. There were many police ckecks. No problems. Never asked about no plate. Only questions were where are you from and where are you going.

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

How would they know that you are out your home province,if there is no plates...?

The police have road blocks all over the country, hundreds on any given day and the closer you are to the border the more interest they will take in you!

Having no plate is going to raise some interest. If all your paperwork is in order.....no problem.

Happy to report we traveled to Nong Khai and back over the weekend without any problems. Drove there overnight, and back home in the daytime. There were police checks, but we were never stopped. The checkpoints at Nam Nao national park stopped us every time, but never even asked a question or glanced at our paperwork, just waved us through once we stopped and put the window down. No problems, no interest, no "new police friends", it was an uneventful trip.

Happy to report we traveled to Nong Khai and back over the weekend without any problems. Drove there overnight, and back home in the daytime. There were police checks, but we were never stopped. The checkpoints at Nam Nao national park stopped us every time, but never even asked a question or glanced at our paperwork, just waved us through once we stopped and put the window down. No problems, no interest, no "new police friends", it was an uneventful trip.

All that anxiety - over nothing! Lesson learned?

I waited 10 months for my plates. Drove nearly 40,000 km in that time. only 1 time was asked to see papers. Had all copies for dealer, government, tax sticker, insurance. All in order. Sorry I can't help it if the government is unable to stamp a few plates quickly enough for my car and 1.3 million others. Not my problem and went on my way

Strangely they can make millions of cars here but not a few simple plates to go on them

Yes the Thai car industry is booming yet they haven't learnt how to make number plates,sums it up in one.

Happy to report we traveled to Nong Khai and back over the weekend without any problems. Drove there overnight, and back home in the daytime. There were police checks, but we were never stopped. The checkpoints at Nam Nao national park stopped us every time, but never even asked a question or glanced at our paperwork, just waved us through once we stopped and put the window down. No problems, no interest, no "new police friends", it was an uneventful trip.

All that anxiety - over nothing! Lesson learned?

Well, how do we explain all the dire warnings and bad experiences of so many other members? Are most TV members so overly paranoid? Or is it just that I don't live in a tourist area, and we just don't get so many bad apples up here? What's your take?

drove from khon kaen to Nong Khai in november with no plates. went through a few check points but not stopped. . there is that many cars around without number plates it is normal

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

How would they know that you are out your home province,if there is no plates...?

Yeah, I don't think they would know at all. I've driven out of my home province several times already - nobody bothered me at any checkpoints then.

Yesterday my wife and I stopped at a police checkpoint near our home, parked the car and asked them about it. They said we would be fine, so long as we had all the paperwork for the car. Though they did advise us not to drive at night when outside our home province - apparently that is still an issue if you don't have the white plates yet. They were polite and helpful and did not ask us for anything.

The brown log book has a space foreseeing the signature of your provincial DLT allowing for travels outside of your province. Absent that signature, then you are indeed traveling illegally out of your province.

As for me, driving at day or at night out of my province was not an issue with my red plates.

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

How would they know that you are out your home province,if there is no plates...?

Yeah, I don't think they would know at all. I've driven out of my home province several times already - nobody bothered me at any checkpoints then.

Yesterday my wife and I stopped at a police checkpoint near our home, parked the car and asked them about it. They said we would be fine, so long as we had all the paperwork for the car. Though they did advise us not to drive at night when outside our home province - apparently that is still an issue if you don't have the white plates yet. They were polite and helpful and did not ask us for anything.

The brown log book has a space foreseeing the signature of your provincial DLT allowing for travels outside of your province. Absent that signature, then you are indeed traveling illegally out of your province.

As for me, driving at day or at night out of my province was not an issue with my red plates.

"The brown log book". Is this a new thing? My book is blue.

"The brown log book". Is this a new thing? My book is blue.

The blue book comes when all administrive requirement shave been fulfilled and white plates are issued. With red plates officially comes a brown logbook, although most people seem to not receive one.

Once you are out of your home province you will get to know a lot of very nice policeman.

How would they know that you are out your home province,if there is no plates...?

Yeah, I don't think they would know at all. I've driven out of my home province several times already - nobody bothered me at any checkpoints then.

Yesterday my wife and I stopped at a police checkpoint near our home, parked the car and asked them about it. They said we would be fine, so long as we had all the paperwork for the car. Though they did advise us not to drive at night when outside our home province - apparently that is still an issue if you don't have the white plates yet. They were polite and helpful and did not ask us for anything.

The brown log book has a space foreseeing the signature of your provincial DLT allowing for travels outside of your province. Absent that signature, then you are indeed traveling illegally out of your province.

As for me, driving at day or at night out of my province was not an issue with my red plates.

The not-so-subtle difference is that I'm not talking about "red plates" (which come with the brown book), I'm talking about no-plates (no book, no nothing). A LOT of cars are being sold without any plates at all, no book, nothing. The police are aware of it, the DLT is aware of it, its a grey area.

We actually went to the DLT to get said permission to travel, but without the brown book, cannot do. They pretty much said, "everybody just does it". They told us to have all the paperwork with us, and we'd be fine, but no guarantees.