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Expats planning to drive a car or ride a motorbike in Thailand should always apply for a Thai driving license. This is not difficult and it's the only way to ensure that you can drive legally in the country and are fully covered by a car insurance policy. It can also serve as an ID card issued by the government.
Traffic police routinely set up roadblocks to stop motorists and check if they've got their license and vehicle tax in order. Having a Thai driving license in this situation will mean that you're back on your way in under 30 seconds.
While the fine is only a couple of hundred baht, it can be a lot of hassle, sometimes involving a trip to the local police station, which of course you can't use your motorbike for, so you have to use the 'conveniently placed' motorbike taxis nearby.
You can use an International Driving Permit as a tourist, but these have to be issued in Thailand by the Land Transportation Office (Banglamung Provincial Transport Office - Pattaya). So provided you qualify you are better off just getting proper Thai Driving License.
Getting a Thai driving license can be done in a single day (sort of), costs a few hundred baht, and is valid in 10 ASEAN countries.
In order to qualify for a Thai driving license, you must be at least 18 years old, in good physical and mental health and hold a valid non-immigration visa.
The driving license is issued at any Department of Land Transport offices in Thailand (Banglamung Provincial Transport Office - Pattaya).
If you wish to be able to drive both cars and motorcycles in Thailand, then you'll have to apply for 2 separate driving permits, and you'll be issued 2 different physical cards, but you can get both done during the same visit (or series of visits) to the Land Transportation Office. If your home country driving license is only valid for automobiles then you may still have to take the written and driving tests to get your Thai motorcycle driving license.
If it's your first time getting a Thai driving license, you'll be issued a temporary license valid for 2 years. When the first 2 years are nearly up, you can make another trip to the Department of Land Transport and get a regular license which is valid for 5 years.
TIP: The 5 year license always expires on your birthday, so with good timing you can get a license valid for up to 6 years
You can get this at just about any hospital or clinic. It will cost about 200 baht. It's not a thorough examination. I went to a small clinic near me where I saw the receptionist, she asked me my name and address then asked my height and weight. That was it.
CARE!! This certificate is only valid for 30 days.
You can get a Residence Certificate proof of address either at your local Immigration Office (Chonburi Immigration Pattaya) or from your Embassy. You will need 2 passport photos, a copy of your rental agreement or proof of address, passport, and a copy of the TM30 form with your landlord's signature (a form all hotels and apartments need to submit when taking in foreigners). You'll need to hand over signed photocopies of all the important pages in your passport too: info page, current visa, latest entry stamp, arrival card (TM6) - if you have one.
When you complete the form you need to state that you require the certificate for a Driving License.
CARE!! This certificate is only valid for 30 days.
If you have a valid Thailand Work Permit already, the Land Transportation Office accepts this as a proof of address, so you can skip getting a Residence Certificate.
You will need to have copies of all the important pages in your passport:
Info page.
Page containing the current valid non-immigrant visa.
Page containing the latest entry stamp.
Arrival card (TM6) - if you have one.
There are occasional reports of people having got a Thai driving license on a tourist visa but these are few and far between and not strictly allowable. But here in Thailand anything is possible with all rules mostly being just guidelines!
The whole process will be much easier if you have a valid driving license from your home country or International Driving Permit. If the license is not in English, then you'll need to get a translation from your embassy. You'll need photocopies of the front and back of your license or copies of all pages of an International Driving Permit.
One of the newer required documents is the 1 hour training certificate from www.dlt-elearning.com
If you need this document you can do the online test any time before the appointment date and print out the pass certificate.
After creating an account and logging in (by far the hardest part of the whole process!) you then get to watch the hour of training video.
This is broken down into 4 parts which you can stop and start, and around half way through each part you will get a multi choice question to answer.
The whole thing is in English and the questions are have pretty obvious answers.
When you have finished you get to review your 4 questions again and then you re issued with your certificate which you then need to print out.
There is also a large room in the test center where people were doing this test.
The application form is available at the Land Transportation Office.
You will need 2 sets of all the documents if applying for both an automobile and motorcycle license at the same time. A photocopy of the Medical Certificate and Residence Certificate will be accepted for the second set of documents.
All the copies should be signed and dated.
It seems that this form is now completed by the official who checks you documents now.
The process has changed a bit recently. Mostly for the better.
Now first off you have to go to the Land Transportation Office (Banglamung Provincial Transport Office - Pattaya) to make an appointment.
When I went in early 2024 the waiting list was around 3 weeks but obviously this will vary.
When you make your appointment you will be asked for you passport and then given a date and time (This was flexible so you can pick something convenient for you). The choice was either 9:00 or 1:00.
At this point you will be given a slip with a list of the documents that will be needed. (There are several different slips for various requirements such as first time, or renewal).
There is also an App you can download and use to make this appointment but when I tried this the earliest possible appointment was over 9 months away!!
Also the signs at the Test Center ALL said that the appointment could ONLY be made in person at the Test Center.
On the day of your appointment you'll want to arrive at the Land Transportation Office (Banglamung Provincial Transport Office - Pattaya)
at least 30 minutes before you assigned time in order to queue up and get your ticket.
At this point the official will check all your documents and then if in order give you a ticket and send you upstairs to the second floor (In Pattaya).
Since the Department of Land Transport is a government organization, applicants must dress politely: shirts must have sleeves and shorts/skirts must be below the knees.
Go to the information desk (in the Pattaya office, this is on the 2nd floor), and present all your documents.
You will then sit in the waiting room until an official comes and takes a group of you to do the tests.
Once the documents have been approved and stamped, you will need to complete and pass all the tests. It should be noted that applicants who already hold a driver's license for their own country or an international driver's license do not need to take the theory and practical driving test in order to receive their Thai driving license.
One of the officials at the testing station will point to different colored dots on a poster, or a flashing light on a Traffic Light pole. You just need to call out the correct color.
They also now use the traffic lights from the Stop Light Reaction test. This is pretty much the same thing with the lights comming on and you just call out the color, but it does throw you a bit because any of the three lights can be any color. It's suprisingly easy to call out Red when the top light comes on and but it is Green!!
You need to put their head on a test station, pointing their eyes ahead to an official. Then, they are required to tell the exact traffic color shown on their left and right side a few times without moving their eyes. If answered incorrectly, you will get a few chances to get this correct.
I have never seen this test being done - They do not even have this station in the Pattaya test center.
You take a seat behind a simulated brake pedal and gas pedal and push the accelerator until the green led lights on the panel in front of you start to light up. It is essential to make sure that you hit the brake pedal before the led lights enter the red zone. Similar to the peripheral test, you will get a few chances to get this correct.
Watching some of the other applicants perform this test while you are waiting for your turn is probably one of the scariest things you will see in Thailand!!
This test can be rather tricky and requires a steady hand as you must use special forward and back buttons in order to align a moving pin with one that is fixed in a small box that is set several meters away. If you fail the test, you can still try it for a few more times.
This is the test that a lot of people fail on!!
On my last visit in 2024 this station was not being used for anybody.
While this is inconvenient you can just return the next day and go through the process again. (Last time I renewed my license, maybe 70% of the people doing this test failed and had to return the next day!)
For those people that do not have a valid license from their home country you now continue with the following tests:
You must take the time to study the rules of the road in Thailand, as they can be quite different from those in their home countries. Before taking a theory test, you need to take a class on Thai Traffic rules (Reports on the length of which vary quite considerably from 1 hour to 5 hours), which is normally a video with English subtitles teaching traffic rules and regulations in Thailand.
While this class is pretty much useless, the following Theory Test is rather tricky. While you can take the English version, there are many grammatical errors, the diagrams and pictures are of very poor quality or badly drawn, and many of the questions are just plain illogical.
Consequently it is highly suggested that you try some of the many practice tests online before your visit.
Next you can move on to the computer testing room for the theoretical exam. The test consists of 50 multiple choice questions, and you'll need to score 90% correct in order to pass. If you fail the first time, you will be able to take the test once more on the same day. If you fail again, then you'll have to return the next day to try again.
Those who fail the theory test can make an appointment to retest again on the next day without having to retake a theoretical class.
You will be asked to drive a vehicle around a small track outside the test center. A tester will be watching at a distance to make sure that you complete the track correctly.
This is a ridiculously easy practical test and there are no tricky maneuvers to perform such as hill starts or parallel parking.
For the motorcycle test, the most difficult things you'll be asked to do is zig-zag through a series of cones and drive about 10 meters balanced on top of a 20cm wide board. For the car test you will be alone in the vehicle. However, you will be expected to demonstrate your depth perception skills by reversing between a set of poles and pulling up as close to the curb as possible.
Although you are not permitted to knock over traffic cones during their test, you might still pass the test based on the tester's decision.
You will be required to provide your own vehicle for the driving test.
In case you fail the practical driving test, you can retake it again after three business days and redo only the test that you fail. You need to pass all practical driving tests within 90 days. Otherwise, you need to redo the whole process again.
Go back up to the 2nd floor of the Land Transportation Office. Pay the license fee (currently 105 baht for Motorbike and 205 baht for Car for the two year temporary license, and 255 or 505 baht for the 5 year license) and get a ticket so that they can take a digital photo. They then print out your new license and you are done.
Although the process may seem complicated for non-Thai people, the good news is that the cost of obtaining a Thai driving license is extremely low. and the whole thing is done in one go. Once you have made your appointment, the whole thing can normally be completed in 1 - 2 hours.
Renewing a Thai driving license is fairly simple. You basically just do the same as above, but some of the documents or tests are not needed.
This can now all be done two months before it expires (up until recently this could not be done until the day your old license expired!!)
Failing to renew your license past expiration will require you to redo the whole process.
If the license is expired for more than a year, the theory test is required.
For more than 3 years, you need to provide a medical certificate and do the practical driving test.
It was announced in mid 2020 in the Royal Gazette that from February 19 2021 anyone with a bike over 400cc will need to attend additional training sessions and take a test in order to comply with the law.
However since this announcement has been made there has been no solid official news or details about this. There have been several reports for various requirements covering minimum age and stricter health requirements but as yet, years after the deadline there is still nothing official.
