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Home » Reader Submission » Reader Submission: How to Buy International Driving Permit in Thailand
What many people don't know is that you can buy a kind of international driver's license for the Asian countries. This is issued by the International Automobile Association (IAA) and consists of a plastic card and a kind of driver's license in the form of a passport. The driver must carry both with him at all times, along with the original driver's license.
The International Driving Permit is a translation of your official government-issued national driver's license into 29 languages, simple to use and easy to understand for both English and non-English speakers.
There are 4 licenses available:
- 1 year IDL: 2.500 THB
- 3 year IDL: 3.500 THB
- 10 year IDL: 4.500 THB
- 20 year IDL: 5.500 THB
As you can see, it is cheaper if you opt for 10 or 20 years.
More information: phuketdir.com/intlicense/
Submitted by Ronny (BE).
Fake….you are not insured with it!!!!
But can you drive around on a scooter with this without getting a fine? Then I think it's worth the investment. I like to rent a scooter and drive it around on holiday in Thailand. Even considering getting my motorcycle license in the Netherlands to avoid getting fines in Thailand in the future.
we have been coming to thailand for 14 years and i just use our driving license no problem
You must be able to show an international driver's license together with your driver's license.
After some time (3 or six months) you have to get a Thai driver's license and your international driver's license is no longer valid.
Well William,
Then you're lucky. If you get arrested, you're screwed.
I got my car and motorcycle license in Ubon. Cost per piece approx Th Bth 300,=
Valid for 2 years, just renewed my motorcycle license for 5 years.
And you are insured
Through a study allowance and with a good motivation, I obtained my motorcycle license A at the expense of my employer in corona time at the age of 60, so that I can rent a scooter with a safe feeling and insurance as soon as we can go to Thailand again. Enough time to plan beautiful tours.
you are also not insured with your European driver's license,
it only shows what you are allowed to control.
the international driver's license is only there so that there are translations in it.
that are internationally understood, but you are not insured with that either.
you will really "just" have to insure yourself for that, although I don't know how and where you can already insure Dutch, Belgian or whatever.
I myself lived there for more than 5 years (chonburi and kabinburi) and learned to drive very defensively and fortunately never experienced an accident myself
Every motorcycle (well, almost every) that hits the road in Thailand is insured. Every year you have to present your motorcycle for inspection, and then your insurance will also be extended - at least that's how we did it through our motorcycle shop, for a small extra payment. Incidentally, the insurance is not much. But it's bad picking from bald chickens, isn't it!
Pretty logical. Driver's license is different from insurance. You must ensure that the car you are driving is insured. It is simply an international driving license as issued by ANWB. Only with the ANWB it is only valid for 1 year and can no longer.
Why fake Marcel?
In the Netherlands you are not automatically insured if you have a driver's license.
Everyone must take out separate insurance for this, or do different rules apply to you?
A little thinking doesn't hurt!
Best 7 comments like and ton
Ever thought that if your vehicle is insured, it is not automatic that insurance pays for the damage
For example if you don't have a driver's license, or that it is not valid for the insurance.
Gr Peter
With this fake driver's license you are NEVER insured.
Not even if you buy insurance.
The dolls only start dancing after an accident.
This is not a fake driver's license. It is an international driver's license that is only valid with your real driver's license. ANWB does exactly the same. They issue international driver's licenses. And they are only valid with your own driver's license. And if you possibly cause an accident, the insurance will simply pay out. Provided, of course, that the car is insured and driven by someone with a driver's license.
ton,
Without a driver's license you are illegal on the road.
That is precisely why the insurance company wants to get rid of the payment in the event of damage.
This is not an official driver's license but a plastic card from a scam club with no validity. Of course you are insured for damage with a valid Thai driving license provided you have a valid Thai insurance. I have a neighbor who also knew it so well, until he caused damage with his motorbike (PCX) and a lot of damage (his fault)! The (Thai) insurance paid nothing!
Passport was blocked and could therefore only leave Thailand for payment of the damage.
If you stay in Thailand for more than 2 or 3 months, you STILL need to have a Thai driver's license.
Is that right? Does a tourist who wants to stay for 4 months and regularly drives a car have to get a Thai driver's license? Never heard of it.
With an international driver's license you can only drive abroad for 3 consecutive months. From the fourth month onwards , your driving license is legally no longer valid . If you leave the country and you come back, you can use it again for 3 months.
During a normal check, many comments will never be made about this, but in the event of an accident, it will be looked at and you are screwed.
More specifically, the (international) driver's license is no longer valid after 90 days of uninterrupted residence in Thailand.
And each country has its own rules regarding the validity period of, and additional conditions for, foreign driving licences.
3 consecutive months allowed. If you have to extend your visa every 3 months outside Thailand (many people!) that 3 month period starts again and again. THIS is how I did it, was the easiest in those 11 years. Otherwise just get a Thai driver's license, piece of cake.
Obtaining a driver's license in Thailand is a piece of cake if you can provide the right documents. In particular, an official proof of residence: the yellow house book or a statement from the immigration service.
The Immigration Service only issues that statement after the first 90-day notification.
However, I managed to get the first extension of my 2-year driver's license at the head office of the Department of Land Transport near Chatuchak, Bangkok - without tea money - by submitting the original income statement from the Dutch embassy stating the (hotel ) address where I temporarily stayed.
Done this way, because my driver's license would have expired within 90 days of arrival in Thailand with a single entry Non-O visa (so not with a re-entry based on an annual extension).
If it is not an officially recognized document, I don't know, then you have not met all the requirements and insurance will be difficult.
Osen1977 plays with fire he only wants to avoid fines at checks, but he is certainly screwed in the event of a collision.
So I think no good papers is still NOT insured and as we all know in Thailand the question is not if we get into a collision but when.
Loe, would like to drive around on a scooter in Thailand, but unfortunately a motorcycle license is officially required for this. If it had been possible I would have rented a scooter, which does not fall under that category, but have not encountered this until now. And you are right, I want to avoid the fines and actually I don't think much about whether you are covered by the insurance. Now that I write this down I think to myself that this is pretty stupid and that I should start getting a motorcycle license to prevent misery in the future.
Can you drive all year round or max 3 months after entry?
With a national motorcycle driving license and IDL, you can do so for 3 consecutive months. If you pop out of the country for a visa, it starts all over again.
interesting but also raises questions.
A (European) international driving license is in principle a legalized translation of the real driving licence.
That should also be the Asian driver's license. The question then arises how you can have an Asian driver's license with a validity of 10 years. Isn't the original driver's license valid for that long? I think an additional explanation is appropriate.
Original Dutch driving license is valid for 10 years.
But not in Thailand, without IDL, and no longer than 3 months.
Only interesting if you live in Thailand. If you are a tourist, you are much cheaper with the international driving license purchased through the ANWB.
If I am correct, this is an international driving license that you can apply for in addition to your Thai (NL/BEL ??) driving license and is intended for other Asian countries, if you are on holiday there to rent a car or motorcycle. So you would have less problems if the police do a check.
Of course this is not an insurance that you rent / buy separately !!!
as far as I know it is a recognized document.
And a few years ago drove into a laughable trap for a check. The controller came smiling towards us with a wooden notepad with a faded copy of an international driver's license. When I showed my driver's license he wanted to pull it out of my hands. I was a little sharper than him and held it well. When the discussion started, a Thai man stopped next to me and shouted in English ..fake fake. Because we also suspect something like that, but accelerated and drove away. After we went to take a hidden pulse 5 minutes later, there were 6 tourists on scooters who (what we heard afterwards) had to pay 500 Bach and were allowed to continue. So what should you believe about such an international driver's license.
For Australia I always use a Certificate of authenticity of my driver's license from the RDW complete in the English language, costs euro 4,65
Always valid as long as the driver's license is valid and the ANWB can go crazy with its lazy translation for euro 18,95, which is only valid for one year.
What you mention is not an international driver's license, but proof that you are registered in the driving license register of the RDW. Just because they accept this in Australia does not mean that they are doing the right thing and that they will accept it in other countries as well.
In fact ! You actually don't even need it in Australia because your driver's license itself has an English, French and German translation, then the Certificate of authenticity gives a complete baptism certificate and explanation of your driver's license better than the International driver's license!.
And where is that cheap certificate of authenticity for your driver's license available? Only in Australia?
DMV ! search on google!
It is handy. I have a Thai motorcycle license and if I go to another country in Asia, that will come in handy.
I've run into a police trap several times. Show my IAA driver's license and never had any problems with it. I did have my Ned driver's license with me, but never had to show it. I have one that is valid for 10 years. Also often experienced that if you end up in such a police trap that the officer often lets you drive on with the assumption that the farang will be fine .. But this is in the isaan, which I think not every officer has the English language is strong.
I am stopped every time in Trat, often by the same officer. When asked why? is the answer: One day you forget driving license, is 500 bath to me!!
Driving without insurance is tragic.
So you just need the right documents.
A Dutch driving license with an international document from the ANWB or a Thai driving license is the solution.
Car insurance if own is necessary. However, when paying the tax, which has to be done once a year, you are also expected to take out insurance. Is a kind of WA.
Costs about 900 baht.
You do this in the transport department.
They seem to know the ins and outs about driver's licenses and insurance here. But what insurance is it really about?
The compulsory insurance that you take out annually with the payment of the motor vehicle tax, it always pays out. Not much, but also if you drive around drunk and without a driver's license. Even if your eight year old son high from the yaabaa causes an accident.
However, an extra insurance (advisable!) will not be happy to pay out. They will use any excuse to avoid it. EVEN if the scooter you are riding is rented. So no payment for commercial use. That fact, and because tenants prefer to go for cheap, prevents landlords from opting for the expensive extra insurance.
So driving license or not, rest assured that you will receive nothing or minimal compensation in the event of an accident with a rental scooter.
And, to come back to the subject: a valid Thai driver's license is sufficient to drive a motor vehicle in the other ASEAN countries. Every Baht spent on this 'international driving licence' is therefore wasted money.
The first Thai driving license is valid for 2 years.
You can only drive with this in Thailand.
It also clearly states a phrohibited license.
After renewal, you get 5 years and then it is valid in the other ASEAN countries.
I have a question.
Can you also apply for an international driving license for the Netherlands in Thailand with your Thai driving license?
That is possible, but not with the first Thai driving license valid for 2 years.
Last year my girlfriend was stopped on motorcycle without license in Pattaya. Pay a ticket at the police station. I was watching the check and saw Englishmen and Australians who were allowed to continue with their normal driver's license. I showed my Dutch driver's license and asked if that was also valid. Answer was no. Only English and Australian driver's licenses were accepted as valid. It was true that Thai people who did not have a driver's license with them could show this within a day. Then the fine was canceled.
John Flash
Strange story Jan Flach. I don't know the UK driver's license. But I myself have an Australian driver's license and I can tell you that there is no way for a layman to see what it is valid for.
The categories are listed on the front. But they are not really logical. My driving license is valid for the categories 'R' (heavy motorcycle) and 'MC' (multiple combination)
I know the meaning. But a Thai agent, guaranteed not. Unintentionally also found out that at least the police in Hua Hin don't want to know about it when I accidentally handed over my Australian driver's license instead of the Thai one.