Getting a Thai Driving Licence in Bangkok

Driving in Bangkok might be scarier than playing Russian roulette. I certainly wont be driving on the roads here anytime soon. But having a Thai drivers licence brings many benefits even if you have no intention of going on the road. You can use it as ID meaning you can leave your passport at home. It can also be used to get discounts at national parks, museums etc. So I decided to apply for my licence and want to tell you about getting a Thai driving licence in Bangkok.

Documents You Need

I actually went to get my licence last week but failed as I didn’t have the correct documents. See this checklist below.

Passport

Driving Licence ( must not be expired )

Work permit / Proof of residency

Medical certificate from a clinic within last 30 days. ( go to a clinic and tell them you need a check up for your driving licence and they will do the relevant checks )

Photocopies of all above ( can be done at the centre for 1 Baht per copy – they know what to copy )

Do I Need To Do A Driving Test?

Holders of most European and North American countries do not need to do a physical driving test as long as their licence hasn’t expired. I imagine for people from Australia and New Zealand no test will be required either.

I spoke to a couple of Indian people at the centre and they had to do a driving test before getting their licence.

Types of Licence

There are two types of licence, one for cars and another for motorbikes. My UK licence is only for cars so if I wanted a bike licence I would need to do a full test ( although I don’t imagine its too difficult ). I am now able to drive cars, pickup trucks and even vans according to my licence.

Where To Go

You need to go to Department of Land Transportation to get a driving licence. There are many centers around Bangkok you can go to, click here for a full list.

I chose JatuJak branch as it is about 5 minutes walk from Mo Chit BTS station. Just get off the BTS on the opposite side of the Park and walk back toward Saphan Kwai and you will see it on the left after 5 minutes, the name is in English too. You need to go to building 4, which is at the back right of the complex about another 5 minute walk from the entrance.

The complex is open from 8.30am – 3pm for driving applications and tests.

First Stage

Go in and get any documents you need photocopied. Then head upstairs to the second floor. Here there is an initial check and they make sure you have all the documents as above. If everything is ok then you will get a ticket and need to go to cubicle 17 / 18 which is for foreigner registrations.

As with all Thai government complexes there is a strict lunch time at 12-1pm. And also with all Thai government complexes there is always a big queue to wait in. I arrived at window 18 at 11.15am and had to wait until 1.30pm as everything shuts down for an hour for lunch. My advice is to arrive early morning, before 10am or come after 1pm. I arrived at 10.45am and didn’t really enjoy the long wait.

At counter 18 they check the documents you have and add your details to the computer. If everything is in order you get sent to the 3rd floor for the physcial test….

Physical Test

I admit I was a little bit nervous about the physcial test. I haven’t driven for over 2 years and not being able to read Thai I thought I would be in trouble.  But don’t worry its a bit like a Thai high school, you literally cant fail!

You hand in your passport and documents at the counter on the 3rd floor and get given a number. Wait for your number to be called and go into the test room. There are 4 tests here to pass. I say pass because you can actually do them as many times as you want and cheat to complete each one.

Test 1  – This tests your ability to see the colors red, yellow and green as per traffic lights. You stand 5 meters away from a traffic light and a lady presses different buttons and you just tell her what colors you see. One man couldn’t do it and was allowed to come stand 1 meter away and still wasn’t perfect. He passed.

Test 2 – I wish I could tell you more about this test but I have no idea what I was supposed to do. You press a green button and are supposed to get two white lines to be parallel with each other but they didn’t move. After a few tries the women just said ok and let me pass.

Test 3 –  This test is quite simple but again many people needed many attempts to pass. You sit on a chair and you have a brake and accelerator on the floor. You press the accelerator and then a red light comes on and you have to hit the brake within .75 seconds. Imagine girls in crazy high heels doing this and you can see the problems. But no worry if you fail, just go to the back of the line and try again!

Test 4 – The final test is like the first but tests your ability to see to your side. You have the 3 colors which you must shout out. Again, if you couldn’t do it you could try again.

Last Stage

So now you have passed the test you go back to the counter 18 on the 2nd floor after you collect your passport from the 3rd floor.

Next its another wait. When called you get your picture taken and pay, the total was 205 Baht. After a few minutes you get your Thai drivers licence. Mine is valid for 2 years although some of my friends were only given 1 year licences. I spoke in Thai to the employees so I don’t know if that made a difference.

Overall not a bad experience and for 205 Baht I have 2 years of official ID. If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment.