Update - driver's license renewal - Phuket only

[stevenl]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Your ca license is not valid here since you're living here. So yes, law broken.

Now I don't care about broken laws, just did the same with my renewal but for almost 1 month, the cops don't care and it can be renewed upto 1 year late, but but but I really have no idea what would have happened if I would have been in a serious accident in the mean time.

[Badrabbit]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Your ca license is not valid here since you're living here. So yes, law broken.

Now I don't care about broken laws, just did the same with my renewal but for almost 1 month, the cops don't care and it can be renewed upto 1 year late, but but but I really have no idea what would have happened if I would have been in a serious accident in the mean time.

You don't care about broken laws until someone who is breaking the law involves you, then you will care!!

[stevenl]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Your ca license is not valid here since you're living here. So yes, law broken.

Now I don't care about broken laws, just did the same with my renewal but for almost 1 month, the cops don't care and it can be renewed upto 1 year late, but but but I really have no idea what would have happened if I would have been in a serious accident in the mean time.

You don't care about broken laws until someone who is breaking the law involves you, then you will care!!

Strange comment from somebody who just said "I care, dont give a stuff about anyone else!".

[Badrabbit]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Your ca license is not valid here since you're living here. So yes, law broken.

Now I don't care about broken laws, just did the same with my renewal but for almost 1 month, the cops don't care and it can be renewed upto 1 year late, but but but I really have no idea what would have happened if I would have been in a serious accident in the mean time.

You don't care about broken laws until someone who is breaking the law involves you, then you will care!!

Strange comment from somebody who just said "I care, dont give a stuff about anyone else!".

I care about the law and do not break it, You quoted "I don't care about broken laws" well I do care but have no control over others which includes the police! Edited June 12, 2015 by Badrabbit

[Gregory Morozov]

Question: Renewal of a 5 year DL on a 1 year multiple entry visa issued outside Thailand.

Is this possible ? I hear conflicting stories that only 1 year extensions issued inside Thailand are accepted.

I believe that multiple entry visa should also be good to renew a 5 year DL.

Renewed 5 years to 5 years twice on 1 year Non-B multiple + WP, last time this March, without any problems.

[Gregory Morozov]

This is a followup on the same topic.

For expats wanting to RENEW their 5 year license.

You need:

Original passport with copies of the usual pages (information page, visa and front and back of the arrival form)

Old drivers lic.

Certificate of residence from immigration OR OR work permit copies that are valid for at least 6 months

AFAIK Work Permit long-term validity requirement does not exist, otherwise many people wouldn't be able to renew on time if WP and DL expire on close dates.

[Somtamnication]

I did say OR. That is what they required of me. Depends on the tide and what moon we have, I suppose.

[Pakaty]

I'm sure some of you remember it used to be that you could not renew until after your license expired. Irony at its best. I was out of the country when my license expired in Feb. I renewed in April got the extra year. I have no problems with that.

[Valentine]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Insurance here will not pay unless you have a valid driver's licence. In the event of an accident, no matter who was at fault, you could find yourself liable. The cops would be rubbing their hands in glee thinking about what they can gouge out of you plus you could be faced with some heavy civil penalties.

[Badrabbit]

Many people here do not care and do not Think about the consequences of breaking the law, up to them!

[schlog]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Insurance here will not pay unless you have a valid driver's licence. In the event of an accident, no matter who was at fault, you could find yourself liable. The cops would be rubbing their hands in glee thinking about what they can gouge out of you plus you could be faced with some heavy civil penalties.

May you have a proof or link for your statement?

For the 1 year dl you are sure right but for the real 5 year dl maybe not. They give you a time window to renew it and in this time window it might be valid and you have no problems at all.

Like a ID card is also valid and accepted over the exiration.

[Felt 35]

I'm sure some of you remember it used to be that you could not renew until after your license expired. Irony at its best. I was out of the country when my license expired in Feb. I renewed in April got the extra year. I have no problems with that.

Its been to and from for years. Had my first 1-year hear "97" those years foreigners got only one and one year, (well at least I was told that back then) want to renew in 98. Came before it expired and was told I had to come one day after it expired Still doing some work in Europe summertime those years and couldn't sit here and wait for my birthday in May. Had to start all over later that year but in the meantime come the regulations that allowed foreigners to be issued Thai driving licence based on a International driving Licence from their home country instead of sitting a new test. I used that option then and got a new one year and never had a five year license before 2005.

[Valentine]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Insurance here will not pay unless you have a valid driver's licence. In the event of an accident, no matter who was at fault, you could find yourself liable. The cops would be rubbing their hands in glee thinking about what they can gouge out of you plus you could be faced with some heavy civil penalties.

May you have a proof or link for your statement?

For the 1 year dl you are sure right but for the real 5 year dl maybe not. They give you a time window to renew it and in this time window it might be valid and you have no problems at all.

Like a ID card is also valid and accepted over the exiration.

Check your insurance policy & you should also note that the driver's licence has expiry date clearly displayed. Not sure what you consider expiry means. Just because you can renew after expiry does not mean it is still valid & is definitely not worth putting to the test in the event of a serious accident.

[Gregory Morozov]

I did say OR. That is what they required of me. Depends on the tide and what moon we have, I suppose.

My WP was expiring in a week, on a same date as DL, did not cause any problems for me

[schlog]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

Insurance here will not pay unless you have a valid driver's licence. In the event of an accident, no matter who was at fault, you could find yourself liable. The cops would be rubbing their hands in glee thinking about what they can gouge out of you plus you could be faced with some heavy civil penalties.

May you have a proof or link for your statement?

For the 1 year dl you are sure right but for the real 5 year dl maybe not. They give you a time window to renew it and in this time window it might be valid and you have no problems at all.

Like a ID card is also valid and accepted over the exiration.

Check your insurance policy & you should also note that the driver's licence has expiry date clearly displayed. Not sure what you consider expiry means. Just because you can renew after expiry does not mean it is still valid & is definitely not worth putting to the test in the event of a serious accident.

You are absolutely correct, it is not worth to test it. Better save then sorry.

I meant the formal expiration date on the DL may not be the same like the insurance and juristical expiration date.

Say formal ex. date: 01.01.2015 and insurance/juristical ex. date 01.01.2015+3 month renew timeframe=01.04.2015.

But i don't know if this is the case here and i would appreciate a thai law link.

When i remember correct, till last year it was not possible to renew a DL before expiration, so it would make sense.

In some legal aspects of life formal, insurance and juritical dates are totally different.

[JetsetBkk]

For anyone doing their first renewal (1 yr to 5 yr) a medical certificate IS required. There is a clinic opposite Robinsons that will give you the certificate for 100THB without having to even see a doctor

Also, no video and the only test required is the colour blind test.

I was told that for renewals, you can be there anytime before 3pm.

That's this week's rules. Who knows what they will want next week! That's why up to date info is always useful but, like with immigration, go along with everything that MIGHT be asked for and you should be OK.

That's not so mad, Mitch.

@David: that's a lot of changes from the "known" requirements - medical certificate, no video, no reaction test, late time.

Were you going for a 5 year bike or car license? (Not that it should make a difference...)

[stevenl]

For anyone doing their first renewal (1 yr to 5 yr) a medical certificate IS required. There is a clinic opposite Robinsons that will give you the certificate for 100THB without having to even see a doctor

Also, no video and the only test required is the colour blind test.

I was told that for renewals, you can be there anytime before 3pm.

That's this week's rules. Who knows what they will want next week! That's why up to date info is always useful but, like with immigration, go along with everything that MIGHT be asked for and you should be OK.

That's not so mad, Mitch.

@David: that's a lot of changes from the "known" requirements - medical certificate, no video, no reaction test, late time.

Were you going for a 5 year bike or car license? (Not that it should make a difference...)

No, pretty standard for a 1 year to 5 year upgrade. For 5 year renewal video is required, no medical, etc.

[davidjg]

I renewed both car and bike. Renewal date was my birthday.

[JetsetBkk]

For anyone doing their first renewal (1 yr to 5 yr) a medical certificate IS required. There is a clinic opposite Robinsons that will give you the certificate for 100THB without having to even see a doctor

Also, no video and the only test required is the colour blind test.

I was told that for renewals, you can be there anytime before 3pm.

That's this week's rules. Who knows what they will want next week! That's why up to date info is always useful but, like with immigration, go along with everything that MIGHT be asked for and you should be OK.

That's not so mad, Mitch.

@David: that's a lot of changes from the "known" requirements - medical certificate, no video, no reaction test, late time.

Were you going for a 5 year bike or car license? (Not that it should make a difference...)

No, pretty standard for a 1 year to 5 year upgrade. For 5 year renewal video is required, no medical, etc.

Yes, you're right - I still have a copy of my medical certificate for my 1 to 5 year license upgrade.

[Valentine]

I did my 5 yr to 5 yr renewal yesterday. Pretty straightforward apart from the waiting but all done by about 11.30am after getting there about 8.20. Only copies needed were passport, visa & certificate of residence which I obtained the day before at immigration (also pretty painless as no big numbers there these days). Residency thing can be either certified letter from embassy, work permit or certificate residence from immigration for which I now have a paper stapled into my passport.

Once you get to information counter & she is satisfied with your paperwork then you go to room 7, (I think) last one downstairs, & do a test where you have to identify the colours on a traffic light simulator except the orange or amber is more like a yellowy green colour. The Thais were speaking something other than orange or yellow but I did not understand the word they were using so perhaps it was the Thai word for amber. I just said yellow in English. After that back to the information desk to be told to go upstairs at 10 for the watching of the video. Video was in Thai with English sub titles. Some Thai guys in there talked throughout but were pulled out before it finished. About 15 minutes later the rest of us were also pulled out before the video finished. We then had to go back to information & get a queue number to pay the bill which in my case was Baht 550. After that had to wait for a short time to have photo taken & new licence issued which cost a further 100. Done.

You are allowed to renew licence up to 1 year after expiry, later than that you have to sit the full test again & if I remember correctly will only get 1 year before being eligible for 5 years. Problems with not renewing on time are that you risk being fined by police (up to Baht 2,000) for not having a valid licence but more importantly you could be held liable for some very heavy damages in the event of an accident as your insurance may not cover you without a licence.

I thought I heard them talking with one guy saying his visa expires next month & he had to go to immigration to get an extension before he could do his licence. No idea what type of visa he had.

[Peterocket]

Many people here do not care and do not Think about the consequences of breaking the law, up to them!

Most people know the consequences are about 20,000 thb and don't really care

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

certificate of residence which I obtained the day before at immigration (also pretty painless as no big numbers there these days). Residency thing can be either certified letter from embassy, work permit or certificate residence from immigration for which I now have a paper stapled into my passport.

<snip>

Thanks for the detailed report Valentine.

One unclear (for me ) part, I've quoted above.

The Certificate of Residence is a full A4 (-ish) size piece of paper that they used to try to screw you for 300 baht. Yes?

Is that what you now have in your passport? (Seems a bit big.)

Or do you mean the "Notification of Alien's Address" slip, which is the same size as a 90-day report slip, and which I have stapled in my passport.

[Valentine]

Somtum & Steven are correct apart from the monkey comment which IMO is derogatory to say the least. All the staff I have dealt with downstairs, including for 90 day report, have always been polite & helpful. I was asked to pay 300 for the certificate of residence but when I said no she checked & said never mind you have registered previously.

[Felt 35]

can be either certified letter from embassy, work permit or certificate residence from immigration

I wonder if they accept R.O.22 as documentation of residency, seems a bit ironic if not but then again TIT

[Secondmouse]

my birthday is the 15th of march the date my license expires

PS i also hold a valid ca license,

no law broken , am driving with a valid license.

even so

waaaa, had a invalid Thai license for 2 days, you think the cops care?? LOL

I care, dont give a stuff about anyone else!

Hmm...read and re-read phuketrichard's post...can't see anywhere that mentions he was personally driving for those 2 days......he could have been driven to DL center by friend, taxi, whatever......a bit libellous to accuse him of breaking the law without any hard evidence...?!

[merijn]

<snip>

certificate of residence which I obtained the day before at immigration (also pretty painless as no big numbers there these days). Residency thing can be either certified letter from embassy, work permit or certificate residence from immigration for which I now have a paper stapled into my passport.

<snip>

Thanks for the detailed report Valentine.

One unclear (for me ) part, I've quoted above.

The Certificate of Residence is a full A4 (-ish) size piece of paper that they used to try to screw you for 300 baht. Yes?

Is that what you now have in your passport? (Seems a bit big.)

Or do you mean the "Notification of Alien's Address" slip, which is the same size as a 90-day report slip, and which I have stapled in my passport.

The address registration will be stapled in your passport.

Certificate Of Residence is the A4 paper with your picture on it (this can be used for your DL)

To get the Certificate Of Residence you only need copies of your passport and the address registration slip.

( you can not get a Certificate Of Residence anymore without doing the adress registration first)

No need for the house papers as your address is already confirmed.

[RedCardinal]

The address registration will be stapled in your passport.

Certificate Of Residence is the A4 paper with your picture on it (this can be used for your DL)

To get the Certificate Of Residence you only need copies of your passport and the address registration slip.

( you can not get a Certificate Of Residence anymore without doing the adress registration first)

No need for the house papers as your address is already confirmed.

How does one complete this address registration step? I live in a rented house and the last time I renewed my licences a few years back I simply went to immigration with some bills with my name and rented address and they issued me with the 300thb letter. Are they no longer issuing these letters based on simple household bills?

Thanks in advance.

[JetsetBkk]

The address registration will be stapled in your passport.

Certificate Of Residence is the A4 paper with your picture on it (this can be used for your DL)

To get the Certificate Of Residence you only need copies of your passport and the address registration slip.

( you can not get a Certificate Of Residence anymore without doing the adress registration first)

No need for the house papers as your address is already confirmed.

How does one complete this address registration step? I live in a rented house and the last time I renewed my licences a few years back I simply went to immigration with some bills with my name and rented address and they issued me with the 300thb letter. Are they no longer issuing these letters based on simple household bills?

Thanks in advance.

Correct - they now want a new form completed. You can download the form here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/806756-retirement-visa-new-residency-declaration-form/?p=9167091 It is the one that Phuket Town immigration volunteers hand out.

In your case, your landlord can fill it in. The first section is about the property, the second section is about the landlord. (Some people who own their house or live in other arrangements do it differently).

You will also need a copy of your landlord's ID card. A copy of the "tabien baan" (house book) for the property would help, but I don't think it is essential.

Go to the downstairs room at Phuket Town Immigration to submit the documents. Show the papers to the volunteer first.

[phuketrichard]

It is Essential;

copy of landlords id, copy of house paper, copy of rental agreement SIGNED are needed

[JetsetBkk]

It is Essential;

copy of landlords id, copy of house paper, copy of rental agreement SIGNED are needed

You piqued my curiosity, so I checked in my files for what I presented at Phuket Town immigration to register my address and get the "Notification of Alien's Address" slip in my passport.

I did take a copy of my Rental Agreement because I did not have a copy of the tabien baan for where I live - the landlord couldn't find it. I did have a copy of the tabien baan for where he lives, though, and of his Thai ID card.

That was enough for them, this time.

Your mileage may vary.