Can I get a scooter endorsement in Thailand if I can't in the US before my trip?

An IDP is simply a translation of your government issued license.

You CAN take a motorbike course in Thailand that will enable you to get a motorbike license, but if you're in the US still it would be better to get it there.

There are classes here, i know you looking to get prior but its type of bike you would ride here.

Honda do good classes and i believe fatboys do as well.

Hi Ruth,

I drive a scooter in Phuket. One of the things I love most about being in Thailand. The feeling of freedom is amazing.

But it's not without danger. To minimize the danger I went to a very good motorcycle driving course in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida before moving to Thailand. Had never been on a motorcycle before. The course is good enough that you got your motorcycle endorsement when you graduated (no need to take the state's motorcycle driving test). 3 days about $300.



I moved to Florida before coming to Thailand for three reasons (in order of importance):

1) Establish residence in a state that didn't have a state income tax

2) Attend this particular motorcycle course and get the motorcycle endorsement on my FL driver's license.

3) Acclimatize myself to living in a hot and humid tropical climate.

Objectives 1) and 2) were achieved. Still working on 3).

Highly recommend this course. Was not like boot camp, no-drill instructors fired live ammunition over our heads as we learned how to ride motorcycles. To this day I feel totally unqualified to lead an amphibious assault team. Also, unless I fell asleep in class we never had to lift the motorcycles over our heads while standing on one foot. But I could have done it, I was much younger then.

Got a motorcycle endorsement added to my Florida Driver's Licence. Went to AAA got my International Driver Permit (showing my endorsements for car and motorcycle).

Arrived in Thailand. Walked around on the street for one month observing traffic. Learned everything I could about crossing the street by following old dogs. Think about it. Rented a scooter (Honda Click). Went out in the countryside and drove around and around for several days until I was comfortable enough to drive in traffic. Initially, wouldn't drive at night, wouldn't drive in the rain, wouldn't drive in heavy traffic, or busy times of the day. Gradually, started doing all those things.

As foreign driver's license and international driving permit are only good for driving in Thailand for 3 months, I went to the Land Transport Office and got my Thai car and motorcycle driver's licenses based on my foreign license. Had to watch a video, did not have to take the written test, did not have to take a practical driving test, did have to take physical color recognition and reaction time tests. Got both car and motorcycle driver's licenses.

Some final random comments:

I drive an automatic Honda Click. All the time I would have to spend on shifting manually I use to watch the environment around me in an effort not to be killed. I need every second of that extra time the automatic saves me. Maybe some don't.

A man robs a bank and isn't caught by the police. Strangely, the lesson I draw from this isn't that robbing banks is legal. I feel the same way about people driving scooters without a motorcycle license. You might not get caught but what you're doing sure isn't legal no matter how much you fool yourself it is. You might never be caught, but on the other hand, you might be paying 1,000 baht to the boys in brown every time they catch you driving without a motorcycle driving license. Not to mention that without being a legal driver you've just given your insurance company a get-out-of-paying-for-your-accident card. Whether they play that card or not is up to them.

In the time some people spend arguing about whether you need an International Driving Permit you could have already got an International Driving Permit. Less than $15. Saves hours of your time having to educate the nice lady at the Land Transport Office about how you don't really need one and explaining to her the finer points of the Geneva Convention. Time much better spent getting a massage.

The average 10-year-old Thai child has more experience riding motorcycles than I do or ever will.

Get yourself a decent full-face motorcycle helmet and wear it always. When on the motorcycle, I mean.

Been riding a scooter in Thailand for 8 years and having a great time. Good wishes and good luck!

The step-by-step info you need us here. Including the test questions and the training schools.

Here, in Thailand. Scooters are call motorcycles.. Motorcycles are called big bikes.

License are not strictly necessary for scooters (motorcycle/s). I have been driving them six or seven years and haven't had any issues. However... I am sure the law maybe requires a license? I am not sure. People drive them anyway. On occasion you will get stopped and have to pay a fine (or tea money). That will happen to you to you for being a foreigner anyway. Fine in Pattaya is $15/US.

If you feel like being a rebel and getting a motorcycle license (scooter) AND you are unable to get a Motorcycle license in the US, your only other option is to get it here.

It's easer to learn hospital procedure

Thailand is NO PLACE to learn bike skills.

There is Honda Training School in Chiang Mai also. I’m sure they accept Foreign students as I see people recommending them in the Chiang Mai Expat Forums all the time to people wanting to get licensed. I think it is a 2 day course and they can issue the License. They also have bikes available.

In most every US state I have been in, the local DMV is responsible for issuing your motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license after you pass their driving and written test. There are no private businesses that can issue you an endorsement in the US. If you speak Thai, the main Honda dealership has motorcycle driving classes in Bangkok.

If you want to get an IDP to drive a bike here, my experience, I went to AAA in America and was told I would need a USA motorcycle license. I opted to get an automobile IDP, but when I showed it at a police traffic stop in Chiang Mai I was busted and had to pay the fine.

>I have been trying to find a scooter class to get an endorsement added to my U.S. license before heading to Thailand.

I don't know what state you're in. MOST States have the same requirements for a "scooter" and a motorcycle. CONTACT the Motorcycle Safety Foundation at

You do *NOT* want to learn how to ride a motorcycle/ motorscooter in Thailand. LEARN how to ride a manual motorcycle (a Ninja would be more than enough). Riding a manual motorcycle is almost the same as a scooter. The skills you learn and get drilled into your head at an MSF class *WILL* save your life.

Motorscooters ARE dangerous, and if you don't feel comfortable enough on a smaller motorcycle like a Ninja, you should NOT go on a scooter in Thailand; you'll get killed :(