Dept of Land Transport: Smart Card driver license optional for current holders

[ratcatcher]

Incomplete article.

Need more explanation or at least pictures of a normal driving license and a smart card.

I even don't know what is the category of my current driving license.

Since when do they make smart card?

Is the exchange free?

Etc.

"I even don't know what is the category of my current driving license."

Your current license probably entitles you to drive private cars, pickup trucks and mini vans.

If you own a motorcycle,you probably have a motorcycle license.

Anyone in possession of a Smart Card driver's license will automatically be deemed "Smart".

Thus there will be huge demand, as most of the vehicle operators on Thai roads fall into this category.

Thus there will be huge demand, as most of the vehicle operators on Thai roads fall into this category.

Did you mean that they fell into the SMART category ?

Naturally. Remember where you are.

[Shurup]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

Never heard of something like this. The very 1st one you get is valid for one year only, then you get another one which is valid for 5 years. Each time you renew after that will give you yet another 5 years license.

Check her card, the expiry date is stamped on it.

[Don Mega]

Your Thai wife or g/f may be in for a surprise when it comes to renew their Drivers licence. My wife had to renew hers and it her took from 08:00h to 16:00h for the many test she had to do.

She is only been driving for 9 years with a valid drivers licence. I may ad that she is one of the better drivers I have know. By the way you as a Farang will sail through the whole procedure in a short time. All this took

place in Pattaya.

I have just renewed mine in pattaya and whilst I was there for 3 hours the actual tests took less than 5 minutes.

What tests did your wife have to do ?

[fosseway]

Anyone out there have any actual facts about this, that would be very useful to all members. Adding to this, most of us choose to live here, so I fail to understand the constant "Thai Bashing" on almost every subject, if you really don't like Thailand or it's people, there is a very simple solution, just go back home !

[fosseway]

Just found some links regarding the new license http://thainews.prd.go.th/centerweb/newsen/NewsDetail?NT01_NewsID=WNSOC5712310010063

[green job]

Anyone out there have any actual facts about this, that would be very useful to all members. Adding to this, most of us choose to live here, so I fail to understand the constant "Thai Bashing" on almost every subject, if you really don't like Thailand or it's people, there is a very simple solution, just go back home !

Happy new year,,, God bless you. They also bash us,, I am sure most of this is light banter. How can they give a smart license to such bad parkers

This is only a joke ok, its the same all over the world

A smart license is a good idea,

New years Joke. please do not get knickers in a twist

[mikebell]

The police stole my licence yesterday at The Ambassador checkpoint Pattaya. Apparently my tax disc was out of date.

[spidermike007]

Most do not have a licence at all.

Please post proof of that statement.

Robby

At one time i was actually shocked to realise of all the thai people i know less than 50% have a licence, when asked why they dont go and do the very simple test in order to get one the most popular answer was,,for what?,, some who do have admit to buying the licence,

They also seem to have no qualms about letting their kids drive or ride around unlicenced or under aged.

In a country where there is no traffic safety enforcement, there is little incentive to get the drivers license, unless it is required for a car loan, or insurance. The toy police are indifferent, so the public has little incentive to follow the rules.

[Don Mega]

The police stole my licence yesterday at The Ambassador checkpoint Pattaya. Apparently my tax disc was out of date.

go to the police station and pay the fine, they will give you your licence back.

[Porkster]

can someone confirm you need a 12 month visa to get a Thai driving licence

No you don't

Just proof of address from immigration which requires a couple of utility bills.

[lj cm]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

Never heard of something like this. The very 1st one you get is valid for one year only, then you get another one which is valid for 5 years. Each time you renew after that will give you yet another 5 years license.

Check her card, the expiry date is stamped on it.

The law was changed about 15 years ago. Before then Thais would first get a one year license and then a "permanent" one. Falangs had to renew every year. After the change all people would start with a 1 year and then continue with 5 years at a time. So the change was good for us but bad for Thais.

[roath]

My friend has an old style Thai licence which is just typed onto card. Similar to ID cards in Myanmar which are very easy to forge and have very little information on them. It is unlikely that they would be accepted by any Western country as valid ID whereas the new "smart" licence is compliant with most international standards and is bilingual, plastic and has a magnetic strip on the reverse (and probably why it is called a smart card). the old card is valid indefinately though which is why so many hold onto them

[roath]

The new card also has some pretty pictures on the reverse making clear graphically what forms of transport you are licensed for

[johng]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

She should be able to get the new type (as in plastic with photo) valid for "life"

Even though they don't issue "life time" licences any more they will convert the old paper types to plastic with all benefits grandfathered in.

[lj cm]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

She should be able to get the new type (as in plastic with photo) valid for "life"

Even though they don't issue "life time" licences any more they will convert the old paper types to plastic with all benefits grandfathered in.

That's also what I think.

Last time she used 1,000+ Baht in the Beauty Salon to look as good as possible; because "it had to last forever". Result was, no one can see, it's her.

She will probably do the same again.

[retell]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

She should be able to get the new type (as in plastic with photo) valid for "life"

Even though they don't issue "life time" licences any more they will convert the old paper types to plastic with all benefits grandfathered in.

That's also what I think.

Last time she used 1,000+ Baht in the Beauty Salon to look as good as possible; because "it had to last forever". Result was, no one can see, it's her.

She will probably do the same again.

again next week

[how241]

Most do not have a licence at all.

+1...Very true. None of the many Thai ladies I have know ever had a drivers license. Their thinking was "why bother", Just pay the police and go.

[lj cm]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

She should be able to get the new type (as in plastic with photo) valid for "life"

Even though they don't issue "life time" licences any more they will convert the old paper types to plastic with all benefits grandfathered in.

That's also what I think.

Last time she used 1,000+ Baht in the Beauty Salon to look as good as possible; because "it had to last forever". Result was, no one can see, it's her.

She will probably do the same again.

again next week

Yes; when they get the "real smart" driving license!.

[PETERTHEEATER]

My wife will never qualify for a 'smart' licence according to these statements. Her Thai driving licence is valid for life. She was contacted a few years ago by the local office to upgrade her original pink card licence - with encapsulated black and white photo - to the current photocard standard.

[PETERTHEEATER]

The police stole my licence yesterday at The Ambassador checkpoint Pattaya. Apparently my tax disc was out of date.

It would be if it was a disc. The current format for the tax 'sticker' is a square and has been for decades.

[nickcar]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

Never heard of something like this. The very 1st one you get is valid for one year only, then you get another one which is valid for 5 years. Each time you renew after that will give you yet another 5 years license.

Check her card, the expiry date is stamped on it.

The law was changed about 15 years ago. Before then Thais would first get a one year license and then a "permanent" one. Falangs had to renew every year. After the change all people would start with a 1 year and then continue with 5 years at a time. So the change was good for us but bad for Thais.

My license is clearly stated "for life" and was issued about 13 years ago.

[nickcar]

My wife has the old type driving license. It's valid until she's 60 or 70.

She claims, that if she change it to the new type, it has to be renewed every 5 years.

Does anyone know if that is correct?.

Never heard of something like this. The very 1st one you get is valid for one year only, then you get another one which is valid for 5 years. Each time you renew after that will give you yet another 5 years license.

Check her card, the expiry date is stamped on it.

The law was changed about 15 years ago. Before then Thais would first get a one year license and then a "permanent" one. Falangs had to renew every year. After the change all people would start with a 1 year and then continue with 5 years at a time. So the change was good for us but bad for Thais.

My license is clearly stated "for life" and was issued about 13 years ago.

I am not aware of any rule that says it is only valid to age 70. ???

[retell]

Sheik yerbouty

[Langsuan Man]

Until a Thai drivers license can serve as a proof of where you live, like it does in other countries, why bother to make it smart, if those who issue it are not very smart in the first place

What are the cops going to do, slide it through a portable scanner to issue you a receipt for your on the spot traffic fine payment

Another hair brained idea, to let another contract, to another connected vendor, to fleece the Thai taxpayer once again

[roath]

Until a Thai drivers license can serve as a proof of where you live, like it does in other countries, why bother to make it smart, if those who issue it are not very smart in the first place

What are the cops going to do, slide it through a portable scanner to issue you a receipt for your on the spot traffic fine payment

Another hair brained idea, to let another contract, to another connected vendor, to fleece the Thai taxpayer once again

Maybe you should check the back of your licence....your address is printed there (in Thai), which will be the address that you had registered at the time that you applied for your licence (which is no different to any other country, although I appreciate that the circumstances for foreigners is somewhat different in that proof of address is usually a certificate of residence from Immigration, which can be based on nothing more than a hotel receipt). Saying that, both my bank and my Embassy (UK) have so far accepted this as proof of address and/or residency.

[Tomtomtom69]

"The new Smart Card driver license will allow holders to drive vehicles not only in Thailand but also all 10 ASEAN countries."

I haven't heard of a more inaccurate, wishful thinking statement come out of the LTD than this one.

First of all, Mr. Teerapong Rodprasert, try driving a car in Vietnam on a Thai licence and see how far you get. If you are driving a Thai car, you won't get past the Lao border post on your way into Vietnam because your Thai car will be refused entry into Vietnam. Even if you are visiting Vietnam and want to rent a car locally, note that self-drive car rental is almost non-existent apart from some small local operators, all of whom insist on a Vietnamese driving licence and some also insist on a large deposit as collateral, such as a motorcycle, to secure the rental. Additionally, Vietnamese customs has recently even refused Lao cars driven by non-Lao citizens from entering the country, as strange as that sounds, but it happened to me in 2012.

While Cambodian customs allows Thai vehicles to enter the country at some checkpoints, Thai cars aren't supposed to leave the border provinces they entered and thus Thai driver licences are not valid in Cambodia. You can easily convert a Thai licence to a Cambodian one in Phnom Penh though, but for car rental purposes example, AVIS Cambodia for example will NOT accept a Thai driver's licence. They try to insist you convert your foreign licence into a Cambodian one if you haven't already got one, or you can drive on an international driving permit too, though they try to encourage the adoption of a Cambo licence.

Myanmar doesn't recognise Thai licences either. Although you can drive a Thai car in the border regions on any licence (they don't care), for further travel inside the country a tour is required and then they might still insist on an international driving permit, not merely a Thai licence.

So apart from Laos, Malaysia and maybe Singapore and Indonesia, I wouldn't make much of the hype behind the apparent acceptability of Thai driver's licences outside of Thailand.

In the same way that you are barely allowed to drive a Thai car outside of Thailand except for journeys to Malaysia or Laos, Thai licences are barely accepted in the other ASEAN nations too.

[Tomtomtom69]

Until a Thai drivers license can serve as a proof of where you live, like it does in other countries, why bother to make it smart, if those who issue it are not very smart in the first place

What are the cops going to do, slide it through a portable scanner to issue you a receipt for your on the spot traffic fine payment

Another hair brained idea, to let another contract, to another connected vendor, to fleece the Thai taxpayer once again

Maybe you should check the back of your licence....your address is printed there (in Thai), which will be the address that you had registered at the time that you applied for your licence (which is no different to any other country, although I appreciate that the circumstances for foreigners is somewhat different in that proof of address is usually a certificate of residence from Immigration, which can be based on nothing more than a hotel receipt). Saying that, both my bank and my Embassy (UK) have so far accepted this as proof of address and/or residency.

For the Aussies, proof of address is what you write on the statutory declaration form that they sign and stamp. It's this form that is used by the Thai DLT that they put on your licence. There is no need for the embassy to request "proof" of your address, whatever that means. Besides, I live in a house with my Thai fiancee, the only ways I could "prove" my address here are by bringing in an envelope containing some mail addressed to me or for her to confirm her living with me over the phone. I'm so glad at the Aussie embassy all we have to do is make a personal declaration as to where we live.

[retell]

Great drove around Holland 6 months on a Thai driving licence, no problems

[mikemac]

Incomplete article.

Need more explanation or at least pictures of a normal driving license and a smart card.

I even don't know what is the category of my current driving license.

Since when do they make smart card?

Is the exchange free?

Etc.

"I even don't know what is the category of my current driving license."

Your current license probably entitles you to drive private cars, pickup trucks and mini vans.

If you own a motorcycle,you probably have a motorcycle license.

Anyone in possession of a Smart Card driver's license will automatically be deemed "Smart".

Thus there will be huge demand, as most of the vehicle operators on Thai roads fall into this category.

Actually Ratty, if you believe what you read on TVF only a select group of "elite" farang TV posters will qualify for the new Smart Card.

You and are not included I'm afraid.

[green job]

When I first read the topic,I thought it was a wind up...... They have been issueing these since last march in Bangkok ( I have one ) looks like the new UK one.