Let’s start this off by saying loud and clear: YOU DO NOT NEED TO HIRE AN AGENT
It’s super easy to get your license without one and will take a similar amount of time because there are certain documents that you’ll need to be present to get anyway.
So do yourself a favor and skip the extra fees to have your hand held. Just get your own license. No need to speak Thai, especially at the Department of Transportation in Bangkok near Mo Chit.
Everyone speaks the basics there as they deal with foreigners everyday.
Mind you this will take about a week and a half from start to finish because immigration will need to mail you the Residence Certificate (it’s silly and convoluted) and you might need to make an appointment to take the driving exam.
Prerequisites
You must have the following to get a license:
- A contract for a lease
- A long term visa (not a travel visa)
- Have completed a 90 day report (so have been in Thailand for 3 months)
- Some Patience 🙂
General Steps Outline
- Get your Certificate of Residence from Immigration (this expires in 30 days)
- Get your Medical Health Check (this also expires after 30 days)
- Make Copies of Other General Documents (like passport etc)
- Go to the Department of Transport at Mo Chit to Submit Initial Docs and Make Appointment (if you need to take a test)
- Study for the Written Exam (If you need to take the test)
- Take the Test and Get Your License(s)
General Steps in Detail
Please note that these steps will change depending if you are just converting an existing license you already have (ie American driving license and/or American motorcycle license).
If you are just converting a license then you will skip the test portion and can usually get the license(s) all in one trip to the Department of Transport office.
Yay!
Otherwise here’s the breakdown of each step.
Get your Certificate(s) of Residence from Immigration
You’ll need [2]
- Scan of your passport
- Scan of your current visa page
- Copy of your 90 day report
- Copy of your lease
- Headshots (just get them done at Immigration, they know the size and it’s quick)
- 200 baht in CASH ($)
This is the most annoying and time-consuming part of this process besides actually taking a written and driving exam.
You must have a lease contract and a completed a 90 day report before applying for this at immigration in .
This effectively means you need to have been in the country for 3 consecutive months before applying. Which for some frequent travelers is alot to ask.
You can actually make appointments online but I just showed up and it was fine. I probably waited about an hour and a half total. Just show up latest around 2pm as they cut off new number at 3pm and it takes some time to get a number.
Each permit costs 200 baht (IN CASH) and if you want two licenses then you should ask to receive two documents which will cost 400 baht.
Anyway the form I used in August 2024 for this is here
Go to Immigration at Chang Watthana if you’re based in Bangkok.
Once you complete this you will receive a letter from immigration after maybe 2 or 3 days. Inside will be your certificate.
Please note that the certificate expires after 30 days so don’t wait to finish everything else or you’ll need to go back to immigration.
Get your Medical Health Check
This sounds like it would be bad, but it’s one of the easiest and quickest steps to complete.
There are a number of clinics that specifically offer this to foreign customers around areas like Asok.
I went to WellMed near Asok BTS and it was 200 baht for the check-up with no appointment. I was finished in like 10 or 15 minutes as really they don’t do anything other than weigh you and take your blood pressure.
You might need extra copies of this check-up if you’re getting two licenses (motorcycle and car), but you should just scan and print a copy for yourself.
The clinic would ask for an extra 200 baht to make an “extra copy” of the same document.
Note: This checkup is valid for ONLY 30 days. So don’t get the certificate and wait 3 weeks to do anything.
Make Copies of Other General Documents
At the DMV you should just go ahead and overprepare.
The officer shouldn’t actually ask for these but best to have them anyway.
Anyone who has lived in Thailand for some time understands why; the requirements on any given day for any given process is at the discretion of the worker.
Anyway, a robust list of general documents should include:
- Copies of your Passport Front Page (likely not needed)
- Copies of your Passport Visa Page (likely not needed)
- Copy of your Lease (likely not needed)
- Headshots (2 images) (likely not needed)
Go to the Department of Transport at Mo Chit to Submit Initial Docs and Make Appointment
Yay!
You’re now ready to go to the Department of Transportation. This is in a large complex just south of Mo Chit BTS.
The building you need is building 4 which is a good walk inside the complex. Better consult a map.
Once there you’ll get a number on the first floor and the officer will check your documents. If you’re just converting an existing foreign license, then you will be able to go ahead and get the license by following the signs upstairs. The staff will also guide you.
However, if you’re getting a brand new license (like I did for motorbike), you’ll be asked to complete online training first and to book a day for the driving and written exam.
Typically, you can’t get a same day appointment, but should schedule one for later in the week.
Let’s talk about the online course.
Study for the Written Exam
There is a required course that you will need to complete online that takes about 1.5 hours or so online. They will give you the link when you make your appointment, but you should be able to do it ahead of time as the site is open for anyone to sign up with their passport number. [3]
Once you successfully complete the extremely tedious course, you will receive a QR code verifying your completion. Save this QR code in your phone.
The QR code also expires after some time but I think it is good for around 3 months compared to the other documents that expire in 30 days.
Note that you need to make sure you spell your name correctly when you do the online course. I had a single letter typo and the officer almost told me no on my appointment day.
The other thing you SHOULD do, but is not required is to study for the written exam. The questions on the written exam are poorly translated into English and you have to get at least 45 out of 50 correct to pass.
You won’t be able to just guess your way through and pass unless you’re really lucky because some questions literally don’t make sense in the poorly translated English.
You’ll need to just memorize these questions and also the signage is a bit foreign and hard to guess the meanings of.
You can only take the test twice on any given day so study beforehand.
The QR that the Department of Transportion provides is below:
There are lots of 3rd party sites, but just use what the government provides directly which is also kind of crap, but at least it’s free.
To be honest, the site the government sends you to almost looks 3rd party as it has ads on it.
Whatever.
Take the Test and Get Your License(s)
This part should be simple. There are three actual parts to this. The first two occur in Building 4 and the last actual driving portion occurs outside.
The Physical Test
This is a super quick set of three tests that test your ability to see colors, reaction time and depth perception.
I won’t break this down as there is a video explaining it they will show and you can just copy what everyone before you does.
The Written Exam
This one is the biggest point of failure for most people (myself included actually).
You’ll go into a room of computers and will start a timed exam of 50 questions. At the end, it will give you a score and you need 45 out of 50 to pass.
I didn’t really study beforehand and scored 39/50 and 44/50 respectively.
You can only take the test twice in one day so they asked me to come back and gave me a slip of paper with my an ID of some sort. I actually lost the paper (I’m amazing), but they looked me up when I came back and it was fine.
I studied up and passed the written test on the 3rd try.
The Driving Exam (motorcycle)
I won’t explain the driving test for a car because I just converted my American license and didn’t actually do it.
I did do the motorcycle test though.
This is held in the building adjacent to Building 4 and they will rent you a motorbike and helmet (how did people bring their own motorbike with no license? 🤔)
The exam is simple and has three sections.
The first is a long, narrow raised ledge you need to balance on. Stop at the edge as you get on as you will bounce off to the side if you simply try to drive onto it without slowly down. (I did this)
The second is a shady curving, winding path where you aren’t allowed to put your feet down. This one is pretty easy as long as you don’t psyche yourself out.
The third is just a series of stop signs and turns. The exam people just want to see that you can come to full stops, read signs, and use your turn signal. This is probably the easiest part.
I failed the first section and passed the last two. They gave me my license anyway. Perhaps if you fail two sections then they will fail you but I’m not sure.
Conclusion
So that’s it!
After you pass the driving exam then they’ll ask you to go back into Building 4.
You’ll wait a bit and then will be issued a license after you take a photo and pay a small fee (something like 50 baht? I don’t remember what I paid).
Congrats and finally enjoy driving without techincally breaking the law 🙂
Additional Questions
Do I need a license to drive a motorbike in Thailand?
Technically yes, it is against the law to ride a motorbike in Thailand without a license.
That being said, practically speaking, yes you can rent a bike in famous tourist areas with no issue or hassle. Largely, police look the other way especially if tourism drives the local economy.
This includes Krabi, pretty much every island, Chiang Mai, Pai, Ayuttaya, Pattaya etc etc…
I rented motorbikes long before I actually got my motorbike license and never had any issues.
Really the only places you might get checked for a license is in Bangkok or non-touristy urban areas.
The only reason I finally got my license was because I wanted to covered by health insurance in case an accident happens.
This is probably the most compelling reason to get a license and the biggest reason to not ride a motorbike without a license as insurance will deny any claims.