michemiche Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 55 minutes ago, Namrevlis said: In the 1960's it was still possible to get a lifetime Thai driver's license which I still have. Are they still honored? Thanks, David how old are you ??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Dwyer Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Wrong. If you have the IDP you breeze through skipping the exam and practical. If you just have a regular DL you must do everything.Well I have a valid uk license and an IDP and they made me do the 3 tests.Colour blindness Reaction Depth perception Sent from my iPhone with the usual amount of sincerity and sarcasm [emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentonian Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 23 minutes ago, michemiche said: how old are you ???? Why is my age of an significance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agudbuk Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Did my test late last year. Local office still made me do ALL the tests even though I had UK licence with IDP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentonian Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 3 hours ago, ThaiWai said: Wrong. If you have the IDP you breeze through skipping the exam and practical. If you just have a regular DL you must do everything. 1 hour ago, Formaleins said: You are 100% correct- Under the Geneva convention licences in English are accepted as legal in Thailand. If you don't hold a licence in English you will need a translation or an IDP. In theory a licence in English is valid in Thailand for the duration of the licence. In practice many Insurers will only provide cover for 3 months using a foreign licence which is why you should obtain a Thai licence to ensure you are fully covered in any eventuality. If you hold a licence in English, or an IDP from a Country where the licence is not issued in English you only have to take the compulsory tests, which are colour blindness, reaction, peripheral vision and depth perception. You are only required to take the full driving and theory course if you don't hold a foreign licence. IDP's all have translations into English. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agudbuk Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Under the Geneva convention licences in English are accepted as legal in Thailand. If you don't hold a licence in English you will need a translation or an IDP. In theory a licence in English is valid in Thailand for the duration of the licence. In practice many Insurers will only provide cover for 3 months using a foreign licence which is why you should obtain a Thai licence to ensure you are fully covered in any eventuality. If you hold a licence in English, or an IDP from a Country where the licence is not issued in English you only have to take the compulsory tests, which are colour blindness, reaction, peripheral vision and depth perception. You are only required to take the full driving and theory course if you don't hold a foreign licence. IDP's all have translations into English.That's what I told the local office but still had to do the whole thing. The practical is not exactly taxing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentonian Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 18 minutes ago, agudbuk said: That's what I told the local office but still had to do the whole thing. The practical is not exactly taxing. You should have gone to another office, they were wrong or didn't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scouse123 Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Sorry guys, Bit confused. I have a Thai five year licence and believed next time in 2019, I would get th lifetime licence, am I wrong? My UK licence runs until 2032. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentonian Posted February 25, 2017 Share Posted February 25, 2017 Lifetime licences are no longer issued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunbillmex Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 I'm not color blind but I kept telling the examiner in Khon Kaen that the middle light on the test semaphore was Green. It was a light green. I was adamant that that was the color. My wife coached me to say something different every time the middle light was illuminated. I tried "Orange" but that didn't fly either. Finally I gave in and went with Yellow and was passed. Earlier upstairs I was advised when going to the examining room to leave my cane behind which I did. Re: License in English. My Mexican license is in Spanish and English but that wasn't accepted so I needed to show an IDP. These cost something like $15 in the US from the AAA. In Mexico the issuing authority charges over $100 so I never bothered to get one. Two possible solutions: take the written and road test or use an on-line service that charged $39. I took the 2nd option. Note the IDP is supposed to be issued from the same country as your license. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggg88 Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 On 25/02/2017 at 9:34 AM, ThaiWai said: Wrong. If you have the IDP you breeze through skipping the exam and practical. If you just have a regular DL you must do everything. Wrong. I had IDP and driving licence and had to do all the tests. I also did this with just a tourist visa (so the rules obviously vary from area to area). Its worth noting you have a separate Thai licence for a motorbike if you're qualified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dentonian Posted February 26, 2017 Share Posted February 26, 2017 (edited) 1 hour ago, Jaggg88 said: Wrong. I had IDP and driving licence and had to do all the tests. I also did this with just a tourist visa (so the rules obviously vary from area to area). Its worth noting you have a separate Thai licence for a motorbike if you're qualified. It's not that the rules vary, it's the people you deal with that don't know the rules. It also depends if your IDP and licence covered the class of vehicle you were trying to get a Thai licence for. Edited February 26, 2017 by dentonian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullcave Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 It's easier than opening a bank account.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agudbuk Posted February 27, 2017 Share Posted February 27, 2017 It's not that the rules vary, it's the people you deal with that don't know the rules. It also depends if your IDP and licence covered the class of vehicle you were trying to get a Thai licence for.True, they don't all know the rules in the provinces. Test is easy enough or if you are worried maybe apply in Pattaya where they are used to farang IDPs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thaibook Posted March 5, 2017 Share Posted March 5, 2017 Not quite on topic, but driving from Nakon Phanom to Nong Khai I was stopped at a police check point. When I showed my USA (Florida) driving licence I was fined 400 Baht and told that I needed an IDP. Perhaps I shall apply for a Thai licence instead. The police had a white board with the 11 points they were checking (speeding, wearing helmet, invalid licence, using seat belts, defective vehicle, not using telephone, drug use, etc) and then for each of the 10 day checking period, the number of people guilty of each offence. The most common was no or invalid licence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenTriangle Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 I must be lucky. No tests, no docs and my Calif DL. And 500b of course. Whole thing took 10 mins. Maybe cuz it's far north. Amazing T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avvocato Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 One document not mentioned here that I had to provide was a document showing the class of vehicle my license was valid for, ie "car". My US (NJ) license stated "Class D", so I printed an explanation (english) from the web. This was in Khon Kaen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giddyup Posted March 6, 2017 Share Posted March 6, 2017 42 minutes ago, GoldenTriangle said: I must be lucky. No tests, no docs and my Calif DL. And 500b of course. Whole thing took 10 mins. Maybe cuz it's far north. Amazing T. Where in particular? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenTriangle Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 The big Licensing and driving test center in Hang Dong, just south of Chiang Mai, maybe 50 yards north of the Big C mall. The exterior wall is purple and white and you'll see a huge lot and grassy areas. I think they also do emissions there as well. I went up stairs, took a number and it all went easy and quick, as I mentioned above. I've been told it's because I have a current foreign license. Others who've shown up with expired foreign license had to go through the whole shebang. You actually get 2 license cards. 1 for bikes and 1 for cars. Why they wouldn't just put the qualifications on the same card? Amazing Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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