My Thai Drivers Licence Story

This is the story version. If you just want the procedure, requirements and costs, that lives in How to get a Drivers License in Bangkok. This is everything that went wrong on the way to mine.

The saying goes #

The saying goes, ’there are only two guarantees in life, death and taxes’, and in Thailand, this is frequently demonstrated as uninsured motorbike accidents and requests for cash payments to be slipped under a policemans clipboard.

Rental agencies are happy to rent a scooter or motorbike to you with nothing more than a photo of your passport and a decent deposit. But unless you are authorised to ride on Thai roads, you may face some significant consequences.

1. Your health and/or travel insurance may not provide coverage if you are breaking the law. If you are found riding without a license (also drunk or without a helmet), and you end up in an accident, do not expect your insurance to reimburse your expenses or cover liabilities to others and their property.

2. To the police, you are simply a fast-moving cash bag, looking to be collected.

I knew all of this, and it still took me months to get around to it. Here is why.

The residence certificate saga #

Before going in I needed a residence certificate. I went to the Australian embassy, and was politely told they do not issue these anymore. I would need to have Thai Immigration issue a certificate.

I headed out to Immigration Division 1 at Chiang Wattana and was turned away as I didn’t have a 90-day stamp. A few weeks later, I headed out again to get the certificate, and once again asked for the residence certificate and was told it could not be issued on the same day (although I have since heard others have had luck with this). No worries, I went back the following week, but was told that the systems weren’t working. No worries, I waited a few days and went back out. This time I was told that my visa was issued by another district, so I would need to go to Chamchuri to get the residence certificate. This simply dumbfounded me. I have been here multiple times over the past few months, first to get my visas issued, and then to do the 90-day check in. Now I was told that another office had ‘issued my visa’, and I would need to go to their office (where I had never been before), and ask them…

… Stubbornly, I ignored their nonsensical advice and the following week, I once again went to Chiang Wattana and was once again told by a different officer, that I would have to visit the Chamchuri office. FFS!

In total, I have made more than 10 trips out to Chaing Wattana (which is a minimum of a 1,000 baht return taxi ride from the Sukhumvit area each time), first to get my visa, do the 90-day checking and then to stubbornly attempt and get this letter… But this would be my last time I visit this place!

A few days later, I went to Chamchuri, was ushered straight to a service window at the back of the office, paid a few hundred baht and told to come back after lunch. After a delicious ramen in the office eatery, I returned and was handed both certificates with absolutely no fuss (one was required for my bike license, and a second required for my car license). I had spent less than 5 minutes in the Immigration office!

Ten trips to one office. Five minutes at the other. If you take one thing from this story, check which office issued your visa before you start.

The doctor in the corridor #

Next, I needed a medial certificate. Luckily, there is one just before the entrance to DLT. Jump on the BTS to Sapan Khwai and exit north from the station (on the eastern side of the station). You should walk down some stairs, and find yourself under a bright orange ‘Kerry’ sign. Keep following this road up for about 5 to 10 minutes, until you see a discreet little green ‘doctor’s office’.

It is not easy to find, but on the day I went, there was a ‘Gang of green Grab riders’ lining up to do the same thing I was doing. The office is set up with waiting chairs out the front in the street front, and a large table for visitors to fill out a form. There was a woman managing things, and she called me over, spoke just enough English to help me fill out the form and then asked me to sit in the inside waiting room… The ‘waiting room’ is a kind way of describing a random line of chains cutting through the middle of the room, to a portable partition, where a single doctor sat, one-by-one calling patients to sit next to him for the checkup.

He also spoke just enough English. Asking me how I felt and took my blood pressure. A few ticks on the form, a signature and a rubber stamp later, I was out the door. All up, I was in and out in under 15 minutes, and it only cost 150 baht.

Six weeks?! No. Three. #

I walked the 2 minutes from the doctor’s office to Chatuchak DLT. They had a large awning set up out the front. It was marked specifically for foreigners, only had a few people in line and, as I quickly found out, staff with fantastic English.

I presented all of my documents and original documents. A few moments later, they nodded, and flipped out a calendar to make my appointment. They asked if I could wait …. SIX WEEKS! Having battled for so long to get the prerequisites all sorted, I explained that the residence certificate and doctor’s certificate were only valid for 4 weeks. The DLT umm’ed and ahh’ed for a bit, then offered an appointment in about 3 weeks.

Not ideal, but better than nothing! I took it, and we organised a time and date to come back. She made two piles of my documents and made it very clear I had to bring them all back, in the order they were.

What the appointment and the test day itself actually involve is written up properly in the guide: the floors, the tests, the 30 minutes of graphic road safety cinema. Short version: colour test, depth perception, reaction time, peripheral vision, a movie, and a pink desk.

Two little cards #

All up, it took about half a day, but I was happy to walk out with the cards in hand!

It has surprised me how often I have used my driver’s license.

1. ‘Random’ police checks have become enjoyable, as the ‘hard cop’ acting drops as soon as they see it, and we have a friendly chat about what I’m doing in Thailand. It is like they become an entirely different person.

2. Not having to take my passport with me everywhere I go is just so much less stressful.

3. I’ve been lucky and been able to show my driver’s license to get discounted entry into National Parks. I don’t think this is a formal arrangement, so please don’t expect it every time.