What is the process for obtaining a Thai driving license as an expat and what paperwork is required?

@Lee *******

temp applies to everyone even if Thai. After two years you can apply for 5 years and then 10 after that.

So unless someone has already had their 2 year temp and now on a DTV while renewing they wouldn’t have a different one.

@David **********

yeah totally agree

@Joe *********

no need to pay, if you do it all yourself. Other than processing fees

@Gabriel ********

yes, you need your original licence, and must also have your intentional driving permit.

You then just need the other bits they require you to do here like resident certificate, medical certificate etc

@Steven ******

yes almost all people don’t realise your UK driving licence only covers upto 50cc bike and pretty much every bike here is higher than that. You also must have your International Drivers Permit which you can get very easy in the UK for £6. I have bother my 1968 and 1949 in case i visit some other places, so can legally drive.

when I was here last year I actually had a minor accident on a bike and the insurance company did pay out. They did want to know the engine size and I provided them with my CBT which showed I can ride a 125cc in the UK.

They asked for a rental agreement and I told them I was never given one and was on some small island, the woman I spoke to understood things are done very different here. They also asked for a copy of my IDP and CBT cert.

I could have been just lucky but they accepted everything I gave them.

However in Feb I made a permanent move here staying for the foreseeable future, so I wanted to do things properly and get my Thai licences so there is no doubts and not relying on my UK licence. My GF is Thai and her car insurance covers me, and for a bike I will just make sure I do the same if I buy one etc

@TheinToe *****

1. So I went to Area 3 DLT first of all to enquire about what’s required and when I could make an appointment to have it all done.

The soonest I could book in for was today which was a 2-3 week wait from when I originally went.

I was told I needed a medical certificate and a residential certificate but it can be a 30 day temporary one. ( temp ones can be issued for buying and selling a car/bike and also converting driving licences )

2. A few days later I went to the immigration offices ( no appointment needed ) near DMK airport, filled out forms for a temporary residency certificate and marked down it was for Car/Bike Licence. It lasts for 30 days and i received this in the post the next day, tracked.

For the temporary residential certificate you need your TM30 and a rental contract. This wasn’t in my name but my G/F but was fine.

3. went to the local private hospital ( no appointment needed ) and let them know I needed a medical certificate for the purpose of a driving licence, it’s important you let them know it’s intended purpose as they use a form for this use case. This cost me around 600baht

4. arrivated at Area 3 DLT at 8am, huge queue but it goes down quick. Provided them with copies and originals of all my paper work. I had to provide 2x copies of everything as I was applying for both bike and car licences. They keep the original resident certificate and medical certificate.

5. had to do a couple of basic health checks based around sight and reaction times, these where extremely basic, and I mean next level basic

6. after that you wait to watch an instructional video which is around 1 hour long or you can do it online. They only have one slot which was around 11 am, so I just went somewhere quiet and logged on to the website and did it to save time. You can do this at home beforehand.

You are asked a few questions ( 4 ) during the video by prompt and after you get a certificate code which you go back and show them.

7 joined a queue to have my photo taken, paid my 310 baht and within 5mind was issued my two licences which are made there and then for you.

The whole process took maybe 3 hours but half of that was doing the video online.

Normally there is a test where you have to answer 50 questions and get a certain percentage to pass, but I was sold I didn’t need to do this because of my UK licence.

@Bob *********

it lasts for 30 days and is for the propose of either registering/selling a car/bike and/or obtaining your driving licence.

You just need proof of your TM30, no 90 day reporting required and some additional paper work like rental contract of where you live and copies of passport/visa etc

@Gigi ***

Area 3 in Bangkok

@Pyae ********

you need an appointment. I walked in and the earliest i could get was 2-3 weeks