I was looking online for informations about how to get a Thai Drivers License and found some – more or less – valid informations.
I decided to write about how to get a drivers license in Chiang Mai because I just did it yesterday – succesfull!
If you live in Chiang Mai and if you drive a motorbike, driving gets annoying pretty soon. There is police waiting on the side of the road, pulling every motorbike driver over. Wether you not wearing a helmet or not having a valid drivers license for Thailand, you will be charged 400 Baht each time. Also, if you have a international drivers license, and you stay in Thailand longer than 60 days, this license is no longer valid. Furthermore, sometimes if you´re unlucky, you have to pay even if your international drivers license is still valid.
That´s why I got my own Thai Drivers License, it´s a bit of a hassle, but after that you´ll be fine…
What you need in order to get a Thai drivers license
1. Medical Certificate
Go to a doctor and ask for a medical certificate. They will show you a couple of colored cards with numbers on it, check your blood pressure and thats it. It´s around 50-100 Baht.
2. Certificate of Residency
How to get a Certificate of Residency:
Go to the second floor of Promenada mall.
Documents needed for the Certificate
1. 2 Color Photos 1.5 in x 2.36 in (4 cm x 6 cm)
2. Copy´s of Passport (1st Page; VISA Page; TM6, TM30).
3. Original Passport
4. Proof of Residence (Rental Contract or Yellow Residency Book or Letter from your Landlord)
5. Filled out Application Form (Thai-Residency-Certificate-Form)
After you give the everything, they will take some time to process it. You will be given a number with a date and time on it, so you have to go there again on that specific date and collect your Resicency Certificate.
I did not cost a thing, and it only took 4 Days so maybe the speed of the procedure got optimized…
3. Copy´s of Passport, latest Visa Stamp, TM6 Card, TM30 Card
4. You international drivers license – if you´re lucky to be from an english speaking country you just need your original drivers license (Make copy´s of both your international and your original drivers license)
5. Application for Drivers License (Application_For_Driving_License)
Filled out form for the drivers license. If you want Motorbike and Car, you´ll need to fill this out twice.
Same with all the copy´s above. You need 2 copy´s of everything if you wanna get two drivers licenses.
6. Original drivers license
7. Passport
Note that both Medical Certificate and Certificate of Residency are only valid for 30 days so get your stuff together!
How to obtain a Thai Drivers Licence in Chiang Mai
First you need to go to the Chiangmai Provincial Land Transport Office which is located on Hang Dong Road, about 3 Kilometers south of Airport Plaza. There is a Big C right after it and it´s easy to find.
Go in there and a guy will hand you out another form in Thai. You just need to put your name and telephone number and what drivers license you´re applying for on it. (It´s all in Thai, but the people there will help you).
As soon as the second floor is opened, pass the information and go directly to the Information for foreigners. Hand them your filled out forms, copys, passport and drivers licence.
They will give you a queue card (C 10) for example, but it won´t show up on any screen. They also keep all your papers, including your passport! Ask at the counter where to wait.
There is an open door that leads inside to the testing area. With your queue card, you´ll have to sit and wait until everyone waiting around you will go into that area. You go there too, stand in line and make a color blindness test.
Remember the Thai words for blue, yellow, green and red!
Blue (fah)
Yellow (luang)
Green (kheow)
Red (daeng)
A guy will point at a color and you just name it. If you say it in Thai you get some extra appreciation. In my case, the last green dot I couldn´t remember the Thai name so I said it in english, it was a big lough from everyone around.
Once you finished with the color blindness test, you give the queue card to a lady inside that area, just follow the locals… You get back your papers.
Next you´ll be asked to go into room 2. It´s a small room with computers and a projector. Don´t make the mistake and go into room 3. It´s a huge class room, I went in there being the only foreigner, and after a few minutes I was asked to leave and go to room 2.
Anyway, you will be shown a video about safety and the general rules of driving in Thailand. The video is about 45 minutes, pretty boring, but maybe you can get something out of it.
Once finished, they will tell you to which counter you need to go (27 in my case). Pay for the drivers licence.
155 Baht for motorbike and 205 Baht for car.
The stuff will tell you to go inside the area where you took the color test. There a photo booths, where you pic a queue card (again). Sit down and wait until your number is on the screen.
Go into the booth, they take your photo and will issue your 1 year valid drivers license. You´re done!
Pretty easy right, get your Thai Drivers License right now…
The whole process for getting a Thai Drivers License took me around 2 and a half hours. I was lucky cause there where so many Thai people applying for a drivers license, and their video take more time than the english version…
In my case, there was no such thing as reflex test or depth perception test. Maybe it happens on any other day, i don´t know.
BTW, the first drivers license is only valid for one year but after that year you can renew it and get 5 years.
Hope that helped.
If you want to print this post here is the PDF on how to get a Thai Drivers License in Chiang Mai.
How_to_get_a_Thai_Drivers_License_in_Chiang Mai
