Applying for a Thai driving license

Applying for a Thai driving license in Pattaya

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Applying for a Thai driving license

My 5 year Thai driving license expired 2 years and 2 months ago, basically because I forgot to renew it. Under intense pressure from my wife I decided to bit the bullet and apply for a new license. I applied in person at the land transportation office in Pattaya and supplied the necessary documents.

A copy of the photo page of my passport.

A copy of the current visa extension from my passport.

A proof of residency letter from immigration. The yellow house book can also be used for this purpose.

2 application forms one for the car license and the other for the motorcycle license

A health certificate. This can be got for around 100 baht at local clinics.

Upon submission and acceptance of my documents i was given and appointment card and told to return on the 4th of february which was 3 weeks away.

I duly reported on the aforementioned date and handed in my copy of the documents and was ushered to the information room along with around 15 other people. Farangs are separated from the Thais for some strange reason. Our documents were again checked and we had a form to sign as confirmation.

We were moved next door to complete the reaction and eyesight tests, which consist of the supervisor point out colours on a board and the applicants naming that colour. ie. red yellow and green. This was easy to pass.

The next test was for reaction and this is basically do complete an emergency stop. Press the accelerator pedal until the green light comes on and then hit the brake when it changes to red. Again this was easy to complete.

We were then moved to the Video room and told to watch the driving information movies for the next 4 hours. We were told that if we left the room our applications would be cancelled, so you can imagine the joy. The information was not that informative because the TV screen was too small at 20 inches wide and the video player kept jamming. We finally were saved my the lunch bell and only had to endure 3 hours of ‘information’

We went back to the main desk to pick up our passports and were told to come back at 1 pm the next day. I arrived at 12.30 just to make sure that there was a parking spot available, be warned its a very busy office. I checked in at the main desk and was sent back to the Information room to site the driving knowledge exam which consists of 50 questions and is completed at a workstation.

I was given a card to insert into the machine, hit the start button and i was away. The questions are quite easy, but beware of the English or should I say Thaienglish lol. I got the question online before i went for the exam and i recommend that you do the same. This will give you a chance to work out just what they are looking for in the answers. The questions are in the form of multiple choice and there are 4 choices per question. I will post a link for the application form and the questions at the end of the blog.

So Ok i completed and passed the first 50 questions for the car license with flying colours only to be told that I had to do them again for the motorcycle license. They are the same questions lol.

I was then given a card and told to go to desk 3 to pay for the licenses which amounted to 1060 baht for the 2 of them. I was then given a number and told to wait in the photograph queue until my number was called. 10 mins later i was called and had the photograph taken and then within the next 10 minutes my licenses were issued.

It was all fairly painless other than having to visit the centre over 3 days to get the licenses.

Applying for a Thai driving license.

Follow the link for more information and the necessary paperwork