What are the requirements and process for temporarily driving in Thailand?

@Will ***********

what is IDP?

I haven't had one 6 year, no issue.

@Terary *********

no license required uh?

@Terary *********

"drivers know the law" 🤣🤣🤣 ive yet to see a single Thai driver who follows any traffic laws

@Terary *********

Of course a license for motorcycle is required.

I don't really know. But from what I understand anual auto insurance is mandatory when registering a vehicle.

@Gary ********

When I looked at the requirements it seems getting a Thai licence is quite complicated. Tests in Thai that I would need a translator for, a health certificate, a translated notarised copy of my licence and idp from the Australian embassy in Bangkok and a certificate of residence which apparently can take up to six weeks to process from immigration.

Are these the actual requirements? I’d be interested to know since I only just found out about the 90 day rule. This is the site where I got my information.

Thanks

David Broadfoot ok thx you

@Gary ********

UK International licences are valid for one year. My local Post Office even asked me what date I wanted it to run from to get maximum use from it.

The real benefit of the IDP is that it's a standard format in which it's really easy to tell whether someone has a car only, motorcycle only, or both driving license. As an example, each state in the US seems to have its own special way of indicating that the driver's license covers motorcycles. Instead of having to decipher that (a bit difficult for someone that may not be exactly fluent in English) it's a lot easier to just reference the IDP, which is also in English, but in a very standardized format.

David Broadfoot , I hear you. The yellow house book from the local amphur office was much tougher to get than a residence certificate (I needed two Thai witnesses, blue house book, chanote, etc.), but it's fairly well known that Phuket LTO doesn't accept the yellow book and insists on a Residence Certificate or letter from your embassy. It's like the LTO doesn't trust the documentation issued by the amphur or more likely, the instruction manual for granting driver's licenses to farangs only lists the RC and letter from the embassy and doesn't mention a yellow book and so even though the yellow book is for all practical purposes a better confirmation of your address no one wants to accept it because it's not by the book.

But to be honest it's such a frightful experience to visit the DMV back in the states where I'm from that I regard visiting the LTO in Phuket like a day at the beach. ;-) The grumpiest bureaucrat in all of Thailand couldn't hold a candle to the average one in the US. True story. ;-)

David Broadfoot , You might be right about this or it might be that different Land Transport Offices interpret the rules differently, or maybe both. ;-) All I know is that I showed my foreign English language driver's license and an IDP and the testing was waived for me. I don't rightly know what would have happened if I hadn't had the IDP. I deal with the Phuket Town LTO and they seem to be pretty strict about things. For example, I needed a residence certificate from Thai Immigration instead of a yellow house registration (tabian bahn). I understand the yellow book is accepted at some LTOs outside of Phuket.

George Marinkovich. It has to be the 1949 Geneva Convention IDP. Some countries issue the 1968 one as they were not signatories to the 1949 one, and the driver licence centre won't accept it. Thai anality!

@Gary ********

mine lasted a year

@Anita *****

you can get the ones from Australia online sent to Thailand

David Broadfoot thanks!

David Broadfoot where can you get a Thai drivers license? I am in Surin Province.

David Broadfoot , im thinking it may depend on your visa . i was told 6 months on my non b years ago .

@Keith *****

wonder if it would be accepted if you had an accident?

International Driving Permits can be obtained in your home country often from automobile associations (e.g.,, AAA in the US). Easy to get just a matter of having a driving license and paying a nominal fee.

@Paul ******

Yes, that's the requirement. They might be willing to overlook the absence of an IDP if your license is in English, but they don't have to. Also, if you're on a motorcycle you need a motorcycle driver's license or a motorcycle endorsement on your driver's license. A car driving license only will probably not be accepted for driving a motorcycle.