Renew Thai Driving License - Residency Proof

[leytonorient]

I need to renew my Thai driving license. Is it correct that I need copy of passport, medical certificate and proof of residence? Is there anything else I will need?

Regarding the residence proof I tried to get one from immigration in Bangkok and they refused. They said no because I never do 90 reporting. I don't do 90 days because I travel a lot, always travel within 90 day periods and so it is not necessary to do 90 days as the new arrival card suits the 90 day report. I am on retirement extension visa.

I rent a condo and my lease is in English so don't think I can go to the local Amphur.

Can I get proof os residence from the Canadian embassy or British embassy? I have passports of both countries. I prefer to go to Canadian embassy because I strictly travel on it and my Thai visa is in it. What would I need to show the embassy?

Edited February 2, 2016 by leytonorient

[ubonjoe]

You can do a certificate of residency at the Canadian embassy. It will be done as a statutory declaration.

[Pepper9187]

Yep, you can do the residency certificate easily at your embassy but you have to be registered there.

If you're registered but if you currently own a 1 year visa, you should be able to register there fast (can't tell for the Canadian embassy but in particular but it should not be much different than from the others embassies).

For the driving license renewing you need a 1 year visa with at least 3 month of validity remaining ;

At least it's what they asked me 4 month earlier when i renewed mine, however as always it pretty much depends on "who" you're talking to at the land of transportation office (some people say they could get it with a tourist visa, but i believe what i see and not what i hear).

Just for info when i renewed mine i had less than 3 month remaining so instead of giving me a 5 years driving license they gave me another 2 years temporary driving license, which so far i had no idea that it existed.

Also, last time i had to watch a new 1-2 hours "educational video" while renewing my driving license (luckily with EN subtitles), so if you plan to get it / out of the office with your new license within 2 hours as it was possible before, maybe you should ask someone to give a call for you and grab the intel, in the office where i went the video is scheduled everyday at 1PM, which made me had to come back and basically waste the entire day doing that renewal.

Edited February 2, 2016 by Pepper9187

[leytonorient]

^{Thanks for the help.}

^{My Thai driving license is already a 5 year one that expires on February 21st. My visa extension expires on April 18th.}

^{I am not registered at the embassy but will go. Is the passport copy and medical certificate the only other things I need?}

Edited February 2, 2016 by leytonorient

[Pepper9187]

Yep, passport copy (front + visa page with departure card), medical certificate and certificate of residency is all you need.

[MartinL]

I renewed my driving licences less than 2 weeks ago in my smallish Khon Kaen province town. Needed copy of passport pages (details page + visa + extension), departure card. No medical cert. for renewal in my location.

As for residence proof - a recent TM30 was good enough.

Even though you travel a lot, you must live somewhere when in Thailand so should be registered, on a TM30, as a foreigner living at some address and that can be done - in fact, must be done, by law - at your local police station (or immigration if it's as convenient to go there) by the housemaster/owner of the condo you rent.

Edited February 2, 2016 by MartinL

[Pib]

You don't need a medical certificate for renewal...at least here in Bangkok you don't (unless something as very recently changed). You can renew up to 6 months before the license expires and I'm not sure of the grace period after expiration...it's at least 3 months and maybe a year....but you don't want to be driving around on an expired license in case you have an accident/get stopped by the police.

I just renewed my 5 year license here in Bangkok a few months ago....they didn't ask for residency certificate since I provided a copy of my Yellow Book instead. No test...just had to watch a useless video which had a lot of accident clips taken from YouTube which lasts about 30 minutes and take the typical color vision, depth perception, and reaction speed tests which only take about 30 seconds each to take and you should pass if you keep your eyes open during the tests.

[Pepper9187]

Yah, as always here it seems that the rules are quite different depending on where you go and to whom you speak.

Give a call to your local land and transportation office before to avoid any bad surprises.

[turgid]

I have a similar issue due to travel and so cant police report have an appointment for the Embassy this week.

The British Embassy has asked me to bring proof of ID and address (which I have) and the document to be certified which I need a template for.

Can anyone point me at a sample that will be acceptable to the Thai authorities so I can type one up ?

[ubonjoe]

I have a similar issue due to travel and so cant police report have an appointment for the Embassy this week.

The British Embassy has asked me to bring proof of ID and address (which I have) and the document to be certified which I need a template for.

Can anyone point me at a sample that will be acceptable to the Thai authorities so I can type one up ?

From embassy website. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/notarial-and-documentary-services-guide-for-thailand

"Affirmation of residency

This service is provided for British nationals required to make an affirmation of residency. The affirmation template will be available at your appointment for you to complete.

To complete and affirmation of residency you will need to bring with you:

Proof of your identity. We accept passports or national identity cards

Proofs of address

We accept driver’s licence, utility bills or postal mail showing your name and local address or house registration."

[Don Mega]

I renewed my 5 year licence not that long ago in Pattaya. No medical required.

[topt]

Yah, as always here it seems that the rules are quite different depending on where you go and to whom you speak.

Give a call to your local land and transportation office before to avoid any bad surprises.

I renewed my 5 year licence not that long ago in Pattaya. No medical required.

Well documented in motoring and other driving licence threads that no medical cert is needed to renew a 5 year licence but is required for the (now) 2 year provisional licence and going from a provisional to a 5 year. Normally (depending on the office) you need at least a 1 year visa/extension to get a 5 year but provisional can be obtained on Visa Waiver stamps (certainly in Pattaya ).

[Don Mega]

Yah, as always here it seems that the rules are quite different depending on where you go and to whom you speak.

Give a call to your local land and transportation office before to avoid any bad surprises.

I renewed my 5 year licence not that long ago in Pattaya. No medical required.

Well documented in motoring and other driving licence threads that no medical cert is needed to renew a 5 year licence but is required for the (now) 2 year provisional licence and going from a provisional to a 5 year. Normally (depending on the office) you need at least a 1 year visa/extension to get a 5 year but provisional can be obtained on Visa Waiver stamps (certainly in Pattaya ).

The OP is renewing his 5 year licence .

[mgjackson69]

After this drivers license discussion, I pulled my licenses out and gave them a look, just for curiousity.

The dates are a bit hazy, but I think the chronology is roughly:

2006 - obtained the first license ( 1 year )

As I recall, the one-year license cannot be renewed until after it expires, while the 5-year licenses

can be renewed before they expire)

2009 - obtained the 5-year license

12 January 2014 - renewed the 5-year license, a few months before expiration

But here is the strange part, or perhaps it is normal and I am not aware:

My current licenses, renewed in 2014, show the Issue Date as 12 January 2009/12 มกราคม 2552, with the Expire Date as 8 November 2019/8 พฤศจิกายน 2562.

Now, I am not a young guy, but my recall of dates and the general timeline of my life are pretty clear in my head...I know that I have gone through the drivers license "gauntlet" in Thailand three times, and I am certain that the last time was not 7 years ago.

It appears that they gave me a 10-year license, but made it retroactive back approximately five years, so it is effectively 5 years from the time it was issued.

Is this normal?

Edited February 2, 2016 by mgjackson69

[topt]

Yah, as always here it seems that the rules are quite different depending on where you go and to whom you speak.

Give a call to your local land and transportation office before to avoid any bad surprises.

I renewed my 5 year licence not that long ago in Pattaya. No medical required.

Well documented in motoring and other driving licence threads that no medical cert is needed to renew a 5 year licence but is required for the (now) 2 year provisional licence and going from a provisional to a 5 year. Normally (depending on the office) you need at least a 1 year visa/extension to get a 5 year but provisional can be obtained on Visa Waiver stamps (certainly in Pattaya ).

The OP is renewing his 5 year licence .

Yes I know. Sorry my reply was aimed more at Pepper9187 and reinforcing your reply but that wasn't very clear

[Pib]

Yes, it is normal as far as I can figure out. When the wife and I renewed ours (one the same day) late last year for the second time the issue date remained the issue date as when we got our first 5 year license.

When I first noticed it a few days later and thought the clerk who made my license just made a mistake on the date of issue by retaining the old date of issue.

I asked to look at my wife's and her's was the same way...and she dealt with a different clerk in getting her renewal...and the wife is Thai...so it's not a Thai or farang thing.

A few months later I saw another TV thread talking the same thing and how their license dates appeared just as the wife's and mine...making it look like you have a ten year license. Guess it's just the way they do it for some reason...the "important date" is the expiration date.

[turgid]

"Affirmation of residency

This service is provided for British nationals required to make an affirmation of residency. The affirmation template will be available at your appointment for you to complete.

To complete and affirmation of residency you will need to bring with you:

Proof of your identity. We accept passports or national identity cards

Proofs of address

We accept drivers licence, utility bills or postal mail showing your name and local address or house registration."

So probably over thinking but. .

The reason I want to prepare the document before I go there is.

My 3 proofs of address are in Thai only.

I have the address in English which is the only Language I can write. I was going to paste in the Thai address to the Template. The embassy aren't going to let me anywhere near a computer. The same website does state explicitly they wont prepare documents.

How does this work in practise?

[ubonjoe]

"Affirmation of residency

This service is provided for British nationals required to make an affirmation of residency. The affirmation template will be available at your appointment for you to complete.

To complete and affirmation of residency you will need to bring with you:

Proof of your identity. We accept passports or national identity cards

Proofs of address

We accept drivers licence, utility bills or postal mail showing your name and local address or house registration."

So probably over thinking but. .

The reason I want to prepare the document before I go there is.

My 3 proofs of address are in Thai only.

I have the address in English which is the only Language I can write. I was going to paste in the Thai address to the Template. The embassy aren't going to let me anywhere near a computer. The same website does state explicitly they wont prepare documents.

How does this work in practise?

The will give you the template and you fill it out in English. The entire document will be in English.

[honu]

this article contains a link to what looks like the official reference page:

http://www.expat.com/en/guide/asia/thailand/8593-driving-in-thailand.html

as I recall I didn't need any eye test for the renewal step to a 5 year license, about 2 years ago now, but I did need it for the initial license. that sort of requirement might change over time though.

as others have stated there wasn't much to it, just a requirement to watch a video (a couple of them), and a few reaction or periphreal vision tests, the kind of thing it would be hard to fail unless you really did have some serious limitations.

[stevenl]

After this drivers license discussion, I pulled my licenses out and gave them a look, just for curiousity.

The dates are a bit hazy, but I think the chronology is roughly:

2006 - obtained the first license ( 1 year )

As I recall, the one-year license cannot be renewed until after it expires, while the 5-year licenses

can be renewed before they expire)

2009 - obtained the 5-year license

12 January 2014 - renewed the 5-year license, a few months before expiration

But here is the strange part, or perhaps it is normal and I am not aware:

My current licenses, renewed in 2014, show the Issue Date as 12 January 2009/12 มกราคม 2552, with the Expire Date as 8 November 2019/8 พฤศจิกายน 2562.

Now, I am not a young guy, but my recall of dates and the general timeline of my life are pretty clear in my head...I know that I have gone through the drivers license "gauntlet" in Thailand three times, and I am certain that the last time was not 7 years ago.

It appears that they gave me a 10-year license, but made it retroactive back approximately five years, so it is effectively 5 years from the time it was issued.

Is this normal?

For renewal of 5 years licence you get to your birthday plus 5 years to that date, so depending on renewal date up to almost 6 years.

[mgjackson69]

After this drivers license discussion, I pulled my licenses out and gave them a look, just for curiousity.

The dates are a bit hazy, but I think the chronology is roughly:

2006 - obtained the first license ( 1 year )

As I recall, the one-year license cannot be renewed until after it expires, while the 5-year licenses

can be renewed before they expire)

2009 - obtained the 5-year license

12 January 2014 - renewed the 5-year license, a few months before expiration

But here is the strange part, or perhaps it is normal and I am not aware:

My current licenses, renewed in 2014, show the Issue Date as 12 January 2009/12 มกราคม 2552, with the Expire Date as 8 November 2019/8 พฤศจิกายน 2562.

Now, I am not a young guy, but my recall of dates and the general timeline of my life are pretty clear in my head...I know that I have gone through the drivers license "gauntlet" in Thailand three times, and I am certain that the last time was not 7 years ago.

It appears that they gave me a 10-year license, but made it retroactive back approximately five years, so it is effectively 5 years from the time it was issued.

Is this normal?

For renewal of 5 years licence you get to your birthday plus 5 years to that date, so depending on renewal date up to almost 6 years.

I understand that aspect...I effectively got 70 months from when I renewed the license.

My point was, I renewed my 5-year licenses on 12 January 2014...the new licenses have Issue Date of 12 January 2009 (backdated 5 years), with the Expire Date of 8 November 2019.

I was only curious about the backdating of the issue date, and if others have observed the same.

Edited February 3, 2016 by mgjackson69

[stevenl]

After this drivers license discussion, I pulled my licenses out and gave them a look, just for curiousity.

The dates are a bit hazy, but I think the chronology is roughly:

2006 - obtained the first license ( 1 year )

As I recall, the one-year license cannot be renewed until after it expires, while the 5-year licenses

can be renewed before they expire)

2009 - obtained the 5-year license

12 January 2014 - renewed the 5-year license, a few months before expiration

But here is the strange part, or perhaps it is normal and I am not aware:

My current licenses, renewed in 2014, show the Issue Date as 12 January 2009/12 มกราคม 2552, with the Expire Date as 8 November 2019/8 พฤศจิกายน 2562.

Now, I am not a young guy, but my recall of dates and the general timeline of my life are pretty clear in my head...I know that I have gone through the drivers license "gauntlet" in Thailand three times, and I am certain that the last time was not 7 years ago.

It appears that they gave me a 10-year license, but made it retroactive back approximately five years, so it is effectively 5 years from the time it was issued.

Is this normal?

For renewal of 5 years licence you get to your birthday plus 5 years to that date, so depending on renewal date up to almost 6 years.

I understand that aspect...I effectively got 70 months from when I renewed the license.

My point was, I renewed my 5-year licenses on 12 January 2014...the new licenses have Issue Date of 12 January 2009 (backdated 5 years), with the Expire Date of 8 November 2019.

I was only curious about the backdating of the issue date, and if others have observed the same.

Normally it should be the date your first Thai DL was issued.

[Pepper9187]

Yes I know. Sorry my reply was aimed more at Pepper9187 and reinforcing your reply but that wasn't very clear

Thank you ... aha.

Nevermind, i misread the fact that he was talking about a 5 years renewal.

Pretty weird anyway, when you renew a temporary license you need a medical certificate, but when you renew the 5 years you can be a freaking alcoholic... no p'ob'em.

Fortunately i realized a long time ago that laws and common sense around here were not the best friends.

I'm still wondering why did i get another 2 year temporary driving license because my visa was short, shouldn't they have just declined me the renewal ? (I'm happy with that, but just wondering).

[topt]

[

I'm still wondering why did i get another 2 year temporary driving license because my visa was short, shouldn't they have just declined me the renewal ? (I'm happy with that, but just wondering).

I had 3 or 4 consecutive one year temporary licences because I used to only have a visa waiver stamp. If they did not renew it you would be driving on an expired licence.......

Not sure I understand why you think they should decline to renew?

[Pepper9187]

[

I'm still wondering why did i get another 2 year temporary driving license because my visa was short, shouldn't they have just declined me the renewal ? (I'm happy with that, but just wondering).

I had 3 or 4 consecutive one year temporary licences because I used to only have a visa waiver stamp. If they did not renew it you would be driving on an expired licence.......

Not sure I understand why you think they should decline to renew?

I'm not sure to understand the "visa waiver stamp" part ... ?

Anyway i meant why to give a "new" 2 years temporary driving license (which by the way, makes me look like i just had the license a few months ago so that i have it for 1 year+) instead of a 5 year because my business visa was too short.

Either give 5 years, nothing, or ask me to pass the full exam again, it's what i thought, it just looks like a grey area.

[ELLHNAS]

Just bump this thread to confirm something...need confirmation about how many months prior to the expiry date of the drivers licence can apply for renewal? If it expires in may 4 2016 can i renew in october 2015?

[Pib]

Up to six months early is what my Bangkok driving license office told me.

[stevenl]

Just bump this thread to confirm something...need confirmation about how many months prior to the expiry date of the drivers licence can apply for renewal? If it expires in may 4 2016 can i renew in october 2015?

This will vary from office to office. So check with your local office.