Thai Drivers License Valid In Cambodia?

[Tomtomtom69]

As posted above, need to be the 5 years license.

Yes, it's definitely valid in Cambodia.

It's valid in all the ASEAN countries (and some additional countries), since the change to the plastic credit card style license.

Unfortunately that's still not a guarantee that the local policeman won't try to fine you anyway

Vietnam did not sign the protocol. It insists on you getting one of theirs. You have to take your 5 year to them and I think it is a direct issue.

Who wants to drive in Vietnam anyway? Even compared to Thailand it's a madhouse, leave it to the locals.

"Who wants to dive in Vietnam anyway?". Most likely, those that want to exercise freedom and choose to do so. I prefer to let others live their own lives and not to direct them to do this or that.

I have driven in Vietnam many times (BTW I also possess a Vietnamese driver's license, but have driven in Vietnam even before I got one). I also did what very, very few foreigners have ever managed to do: drive the same car from Thailand to Vietnam without changing vehicles at the border. However the car I used was LHD and Lao registered, which is OK. Thai registered cars unfortunately can't enter Vietnam, despite Vietnam agreeing to the terms of the 2001 GMS cross-border transport agreement that should allow vehicles registered in the 6 countries party to the agreement (Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, China's Yunnan and Guangxi provinces and Myanmar) to cross freely between each other's territories and allowing for a maximum of 30 days stay in each country I believe. However, currently only Thailand and Laos fully honor this agreement, but mostly in the form of reciprocal or individual agreements rather than necessarily following the exact terms of the GMS agreement. In other words, Thailand and Laos are mostly OK with any foreign registered vehicle (car, truck or bus) entering temporarily for tourism purposes. Unfortunately Cambodia is inconsistent, whilst Vietnam just says no altogether.

[GTI68]

You can drive anywhere until you get caught.

In Cambodia you can pay petty fines for not having a license.

In Cambodia you will not have any form of insurance without a Cambodian license. International licence will not do any good at all.

You must have a Cambodian license in Cambodia.

Easy to get. Any hire car or travel agent will arrange you a legal license within a matter of hours. Around $25 for a year. There is no other. Just 1 year.

Yep Lucky has done it for yonks. They hire motorbikes. They have to cover their insurance. They ask you to buy a Cambodian license. Q.E.D.

Car and moto license are not the same. But just ask and it will be done.

Car and moto insurance are not the same. Moto $2 a day. Car $5. Call or email an insurance agent prior. They all speak English. They even have websites!

I drove my car from Cambodia to Thailand lots of times. One year insurance on the border for 3000B. Easy done.

Other way around is not that well setup, but call or email an insurance agent in Phnom Penh and get a cover note. Simple. The cops don't give a flying fandango either way, they will fine you if you let 'em. But jeepers!

If I got pissed and plouged my 4WD through a dark village I'd rather not have to deal with it without an interpreter and full cover from an insurance company.

However I could stand around a milling, multiplying crowd after the fact in the dark and talk about the lack of street lights!

Best to you on your Holidays.

[Tomtomtom69]

You can drive anywhere until you get caught.

In Cambodia you can pay petty fines for not having a license.

In Cambodia you will not have any form of insurance without a Cambodian license. International licence will not do any good at all.

You must have a Cambodian license in Cambodia.

Easy to get. Any hire car or travel agent will arrange you a legal license within a matter of hours. Around $25 for a year. There is no other. Just 1 year.

Yep Lucky has done it for yonks. They hire motorbikes. They have to cover their insurance. They ask you to buy a Cambodian license. Q.E.D.

Car and moto license are not the same. But just ask and it will be done.

Car and moto insurance are not the same. Moto $2 a day. Car $5. Call or email an insurance agent prior. They all speak English. They even have websites!

I drove my car from Cambodia to Thailand lots of times. One year insurance on the border for 3000B. Easy done.

Other way around is not that well setup, but call or email an insurance agent in Phnom Penh and get a cover note. Simple. The cops don't give a flying fandango either way, they will fine you if you let 'em. But jeepers!

If I got pissed and plouged my 4WD through a dark village I'd rather not have to deal with it without an interpreter and full cover from an insurance company.

However I could stand around a milling, multiplying crowd after the fact in the dark and talk about the lack of street lights!

Best to you on your Holidays.

A 5-year one is available but you must do a driving test. It takes a while to get and is quite expensive hence not suited to most visitors. I'm pretty sure the 1-year license is at least $45 nowadays, not only $25. I have never paid less than $40 myself and that was the lowest quote I received.

[andvari26]

I have Thai licence for car & moto, also NZ Licence, I have been in Cambodia near 2 years.

The Thai licence is OK, many traffic police ( Blue Uniform) will try it all on to relieve you of money.

Next year it will become law to have a Cambodia licence, you can buy one for $50.00 = 1 year - no worries, try Lucky Motorcycle on Monivong Blvd.

Every time I have an issue I say - no problem I have a friend - very High rank Military police man - and I go back to bike to get my mobile, every time they (profanity removed) - No No not worry, it helps that I do have a contact - however none have carried it thru, they threaten to impound my bike - so I say, no problem you talk to my friend and he sort you out, whereupon they (profanity removed( and all is forgiven for $2

They usually start at $15 to $20 fine - I get down to $2 or $3 then move on.

They are rapacious for sure, the best bit is if you see one leap out & you know you are not in the wrong, you can just hit the gas & drive around them, I have never had one try to follow and catch me.

Be staunch or lose is the game !

[GTI68]

And when you have an accident, your "high power" mate may not be so forth coming!

It generally becomes a "dick" show" How big is yours? Well call him and ask Him! Good luck with that.

All ok 'till you get caught. In an accident or any other situation. One that you cannot Barang (Farang) your way out of.

Simple laws, not too difficult to become licensed for.

Lucky is not the only place. There are many. It is a service for a fee. You produce your foreign license and a photo, have it copied and signed. Off goes your service agent to get you a Cambodian 1 year license. $45 maybe! Not that I have experienced. $20 + $5 service fee.

And then you can buy insurance! Cheap and effective.

You can also pay upwards of $50 for a visa on the border but the real fee is $20, or $25 for business.

QED.

[Sheryl]

Profanities have been removed from a post. Please keep it clean. We're not that other forum here....

[Degobuy]

If stopped in Cambo with my five year Thai lic. the police want a dollar they will come up with something.We got fined in Sahiinouk Ville for running a green light.

[phuketrichard]

if u are stopped ;

SHOW them ur license,

DO NOT EVER LET THEM take it from you or you will find the $1 turns into $5

Out of the 6,000 or so Kms of driving in Cambodia only stopped twice, once in PP an once in shv

[Tomtomtom69]

I have Thai licence for car & moto, also NZ Licence, I have been in Cambodia near 2 years.

The Thai licence is OK, many traffic police ( Blue Uniform) will try it all on to relieve you of money.

Next year it will become law to have a Cambodia licence, you can buy one for $50.00 = 1 year - no worries, try Lucky Motorcycle on Monivong Blvd.

Every time I have an issue I say - no problem I have a friend - very High rank Military police man - and I go back to bike to get my mobile, every time they (profanity removed) - No No not worry, it helps that I do have a contact - however none have carried it thru, they threaten to impound my bike - so I say, no problem you talk to my friend and he sort you out, whereupon they (profanity removed( and all is forgiven for $2

They usually start at $15 to $20 fine - I get down to $2 or $3 then move on.

They are rapacious for sure, the best bit is if you see one leap out & you know you are not in the wrong, you can just hit the gas & drive around them, I have never had one try to follow and catch me.

Be staunch or lose is the game !

I think you'll find it's probably the other way round. Currently you are supposed to have a Cambodian license, while international driving permits are a bit of a grey area, but seem to be accepted by some car and motorcycle rental places.

By next year once AEC 2015 kicks in on December 31, 2015, you will probably find that Thai and other ASEAN issued licenses will have to be recognized in Cambodia. Until then I would recommend getting a Cambodian one because in practice a Thai licence is not currently valid in Cambodia, or at least Cambo officials don't recognize them yet.

[Tomtomtom69]

You can drive anywhere until you get caught.

In Cambodia you can pay petty fines for not having a license.

In Cambodia you will not have any form of insurance without a Cambodian license. International licence will not do any good at all.

You must have a Cambodian license in Cambodia.

Easy to get. Any hire car or travel agent will arrange you a legal license within a matter of hours. Around $25 for a year. There is no other. Just 1 year.

Yep Lucky has done it for yonks. They hire motorbikes. They have to cover their insurance. They ask you to buy a Cambodian license. Q.E.D.

Car and moto license are not the same. But just ask and it will be done.

Car and moto insurance are not the same. Moto $2 a day. Car $5. Call or email an insurance agent prior. They all speak English. They even have websites!

I drove my car from Cambodia to Thailand lots of times. One year insurance on the border for 3000B. Easy done.

Other way around is not that well setup, but call or email an insurance agent in Phnom Penh and get a cover note. Simple. The cops don't give a flying fandango either way, they will fine you if you let 'em. But jeepers!

If I got pissed and plouged my 4WD through a dark village I'd rather not have to deal with it without an interpreter and full cover from an insurance company.

However I could stand around a milling, multiplying crowd after the fact in the dark and talk about the lack of street lights!

Best to you on your Holidays.

There is also a 5-year Cambodian license. I have asked about and was about to get it but you have to go through a driving school, do the theory and practical tests, pay at least US$250 and wait for around a week or more between the theory and practical tests. It's OK for expats but unless you have a lot of time to spare isn't practical for tourists. Not sure if you need a business visa or not (nobody mentioned it at the time) but that's easy anyway. Right now I am on a Cambodian 1-year visa and was at that time on the half year one so for all intents and purposes, I was/am a Cambodian expat even though I don't spend much time there.

[GTI68]

You can drive anywhere until you get caught.

In Cambodia you can pay petty fines for not having a license.

In Cambodia you will not have any form of insurance without a Cambodian license. International licence will not do any good at all.

You must have a Cambodian license in Cambodia.

Easy to get. Any hire car or travel agent will arrange you a legal license within a matter of hours. Around $25 for a year. There is no other. Just 1 year.

Yep Lucky has done it for yonks. They hire motorbikes. They have to cover their insurance. They ask you to buy a Cambodian license. Q.E.D.

Car and moto license are not the same. But just ask and it will be done.

Car and moto insurance are not the same. Moto $2 a day. Car $5. Call or email an insurance agent prior. They all speak English. They even have websites!

I drove my car from Cambodia to Thailand lots of times. One year insurance on the border for 3000B. Easy done.

Other way around is not that well setup, but call or email an insurance agent in Phnom Penh and get a cover note. Simple. The cops don't give a flying fandango either way, they will fine you if you let 'em. But jeepers!

If I got pissed and plouged my 4WD through a dark village I'd rather not have to deal with it without an interpreter and full cover from an insurance company.

However I could stand around a milling, multiplying crowd after the fact in the dark and talk about the lack of street lights!

Best to you on your Holidays.

There is also a 5-year Cambodian license. I have asked about and was about to get it but you have to go through a driving school, do the theory and practical tests, pay at least US$250 and wait for around a week or more between the theory and practical tests. It's OK for expats but unless you have a lot of time to spare isn't practical for tourists. Not sure if you need a business visa or not (nobody mentioned it at the time) but that's easy anyway. Right now I am on a Cambodian 1-year visa and was at that time on the half year one so for all intents and purposes, I was/am a Cambodian expat even though I don't spend much time there.

Fines are easy, call your big swingin' man and yeah, so on so forth. But when you have an Accident you will need a Cambodian licence. Nuf said. That's the current rule, set to change, but not as yet.

Even a cheap 1 year is OK, you just have to have it. Otherwise you are currently, legally, un-licenced under Cambodian traffic law without one.

[Sheryl]

AFAIK Cambodia accepts international driving permits so not the case that you must have a Cambodian license to be legal.

However you may not be able to get local insurance, a consideration if driving your own vehicle.