How to get a Thai motorbike license Bangkok

[dluek]

Hi all,

I've been researching the forums here and other sites for the last 30 minutes but am finding conflicting info on how to get a Thai motorbike license in Bangkok. I have a valid US drivers license but not with the motorcycle amendment. I also have a valid Non-Immigrant visa and work permit. I understand that I also need a health certificate and a couple of passport size photos. But if someone could answer the following questions I would really appreciate it:

1. Does the paperwork need to be filled out in Thai?

2. Will I need to actually get on a motorbike and do a road test? (It's fine if so, just want to know.)

3. Anything else I need to bring?

4. About how long does it take?

Thank you.

[Card]

I've been wondering the same thing for many years. I have a Thai vehicle driver's licence just by applying with my UK licence but that is easy peasy compared to a Thai motrorcycle licence.

I researched it several times and apparently it involves having to do both the practical and theory tests at Mo Chit, even if your foreign licence includes that for a motorbike. Makes you wonder why they distrust motorcyclists from abroad when you see how the Thai ones behave. But we don't live in a logical time or place.

I've given up thinking about it now - I hire a motorbike sometimes and have never been stopped by a BIB in 37 years so can't be bothered anymore. Good luck anyway.

[dotpoom]

Fill out the form in English....Don't need to have the motorbike in your name......Issued the same day if you pass.....Practice balancing, one of the tests is driving along the equivalent of about a 10 mtr. plank.

[gjoo888]

I just renewed my license at the Dept. of Land Transport near Chatachuk 3 weeks ago. Renewal is virtually identical to obtaining a new license, except now I believe that you also have to take a written test for the first license, which has been changed since the coup. Your first license is a only a one year license compared to a 5 year license when you renew.

1. English is accepted.

2. Yes, you will need to take a driving test on a motorbike since you don't already have a motorcycle license. Since you already have a license for driving a car, you can also get a car license without having to take a driving test. You also need to take a ridiculous series of reaction tests, that is almost impossible to flunk and only takes about 3 minutes.

3. You also need Certificate of Residence, which you can get from the US Embassy for a lot of money, or from an Immigration Office for 200 Baht at Chang Wattana. However, it takes two or three weeks from an immigration office before they send it to you, I believe a certificate from the embassy is issued the same day you apply.

You also need copies of the main page of your passport and the page with your current visa stamp, as well as the original medical certificate. Make sure you bring your US license too, and it can't hurt to make a copy. You no longer need to bring photos (at the office I went to), they take the photo for you.

4. If you go early, I was in and out in less than an hour (I was there at 8:00 AM), but since you need to take a driving test and I think the written test, plan on at least twice that long. If you pass all the tests, your license will be issued to you the same day. If you go later in the day, the place is a madhouse. Good luck.

[bigyin]

I had an International Driving permit issued in the UK which did not stipulate car or motorbike so in Pattaya I used that to get both a car and motorbike license. Scary really because I had never been on a bike until I came to Thailand and have never passed a test anywhere. Now have 5 years for both.

[darkian]

I don't have a bike licence in my home country but got given a Thai bike licence because my international permit has a stamp for "Motorcycles up to 450kg". I think experiences on this will vary like so many things in Thailand. For example I asked at CW about a certificate of residence and they got angry with me and basically told me to go away.

My licence came from Bang Chak, and my Thai isn't very good but I managed ok.

[fakser]

Its a funny thing.

I wanted to purchase a motorbike in Bangkok and drive by the law with a valid license to be insured in case of accident.

I went to driving schools in Bangkok and they looked at me like a lunatic. They said that nobody in Thailand, actually learns to ride a motorbike in a school.

So I went to my homeland took 5 lessons and passed the test in an internal court (bike control test).

Then I issued an international DP with the motorcycle included, went to Land Transport office in Chatuchak, gave them a consul confirmed declaration of residence, a health certificate (5 point, in any clinic), passed the colour definition and the reaction test, paid 250 THB and went out with 2 plastic permits. One for car and one for motor cycle.

You can fill in the forms in English. You can download them from the web.

The will even assist you to fill in the forms.

[dluek]

Thanks all for the advice. Couple more quick follow-up questions:

1. I don't have my own motorbike; I assume they can provide one for you to test with?

2. I've read that a work permit is acceptable in lieu of the Certificate of Residence -- can anyone verify that?

I don't ride all that often and never in Bangkok, but when I travel I like to rent a bike to spin around the countryside, islands, etc. I got stopped once by a cop in Kanchanaburi after inadvertantly doing an illegal u-turn... I showed him my US license, he said 200 baht, all I had was a 1,000 baht bill, he said "just go."

So really my main concern is insurance. I assume no type of insurance would cover someone who gets in an accident and doesn't have any license to ride a motorbike anywhere.

[stoli]

I had an International Driving permit issued in the UK which did not stipulate car or motorbike so in Pattaya I used that to get both a car and motorbike license. Scary really because I had never been on a bike until I came to Thailand and have never passed a test anywhere. Now have 5 years for both.

The international Drivers Permit has many languages in one small book. It does stipulate what you are licensed for in your home country. Maybe you were just lucky. This happens if you get the right person that does not know what to do, so I am not saying you are wrong, just fortunate.

[stoli]

I just renewed my license at the Dept. of Land Transport near Chatachuk 3 weeks ago. Renewal is virtually identical to obtaining a new license, except now I believe that you also have to take a written test for the first license, which has been changed since the coup. Your first license is a only a one year license compared to a 5 year license when you renew.

1. English is accepted.

2. Yes, you will need to take a driving test on a motorbike since you don't already have a motorcycle license. Since you already have a license for driving a car, you can also get a car license without having to take a driving test. You also need to take a ridiculous series of reaction tests, that is almost impossible to flunk and only takes about 3 minutes.

3. You also need Certificate of Residence, which you can get from the US Embassy for a lot of money, or from an Immigration Office for 200 Baht at Chang Wattana. However, it takes two or three weeks from an immigration office before they send it to you, I believe a certificate from the embassy is issued the same day you apply.

You also need copies of the main page of your passport and the page with your current visa stamp, as well as the original medical certificate. Make sure you bring your US license too, and it can't hurt to make a copy. You no longer need to bring photos (at the office I went to), they take the photo for you.

4. If you go early, I was in and out in less than an hour (I was there at 8:00 AM), but since you need to take a driving test and I think the written test, plan on at least twice that long. If you pass all the tests, your license will be issued to you the same day. If you go later in the day, the place is a madhouse. Good luck.

Concerning # 3, I have always just taken a copy of my lease. This costs nothing, and can be had immediately. That shows where you live, and is your Certificate of Residency. Very easy. However, do not think you can go to a stationary store and buy a blank lease form and fill it out. They actually called my landlord to make sure it was real, right at the time of my presentation to them. Very smart on their part. They have seen every trick. believe me.

[recom273]

The OP has a work permit, so theres no need to get a certificate of residence. His address is on the WP, the staff will ask you to confirm, best to say yes, even if its not correct.

If they make you take a test over accepting your international DP, then there is a good link here with the answers to the theory test.

You go at 9.00 AM, they do a funky eyesight test as mentioned, then ask you to watch a video .. I sent the missus in to ask if i could skip it that part, and we returned after lunch .. the balance bar isn't hard, if you can't do it, you shouldn't be riding, after that its a theory test.

I think the form was in dual language, but I'm sure they filled it in for me. I mean, how could a farang be expected to fill in a form correctly.

Hoping you don't have to go through the ball ache of doing the test. Good luck.

[Pib]

I arrived Thailand with a U.S. drivers license endorsed with motorcycle license. Also came with an international drivers license but can't remember if it had the motorcycle endorsement--it probably did. Got my first Thai drivers and motorcycle licenses with above mentioned documents...no written test...no driving test...only an eye & coordination test...also needed a 100 baht medical certificate to confirm I was still alive. After those two 1 year licenses expired I renewed both licenses for 5 years. By the end of this year l will renew again...have already checked with the Bangkok drivers license office in KhetTalingchan as to renewal requirements...can renew up to 90 days before license expiration, watch an approx one hour safe driving video, no medical certificate required, no written/practical tests per my Thai wife's conversation with the office's customer service.

[carlyj]

Hi. I'm not sure if this has come up already, but I want to get my Thai bike license, but I do not have bike option on my UK license. I do not have an IDL either. I do have my Thai car license already. I am a resident of Thailand, so I have all the necessary paperwork, etc. Can I just go for a test? I am booked in for September, but Honda Driving School said I need to do 4 days of lessons first.

[moonoi]

I arrived Thailand with a U.S. drivers license endorsed with motorcycle license. Also came with an international drivers license but can't remember if it had the motorcycle endorsement--it probably did. Got my first Thai drivers and motorcycle licenses with above mentioned documents...no written test...no driving test...only an eye & coordination test...also needed a 100 baht medical certificate to confirm I was still alive. After those two 1 year licenses expired I renewed both licenses for 5 years. By the end of this year l will renew again...have already checked with the Bangkok drivers license office in KhetTalingchan as to renewal requirements...can renew up to 90 days before license expiration, watch an approx one hour safe driving video, no medical certificate required, no written/practical tests per my Thai wife's conversation with the office's customer service.

When I did my 5 year renewal, everyone had to do the reaction tests again, good news if that has changed as it was a waste of time anyway.

I also hope they have redone the "safety" video, as in typical Thai TV drama fashion, they've thought more about the story and not the message. If it's the same one, you'll discover that apparently not wearing a seatbelt means you get out of an accident with minor injuries and wearing one you end up paralyzed. It's one of the most inane hours you'll spend, at least they had English subtitles! :-)

And for the OP, as others have stated WP is fine in lieu of the residence certificate.

Edited July 14, 2015 by moonoi

[Bezpoleznyak]

Can I get the residence certificate if I'm staying in a hotel or guest-house paying for it daily?