Can a foreigner get a Thai driving licence?
Yes. If you live in Thailand, you can apply for a Thai driving licence at a Department of Land Transport (DLT) office. Bring a passport with a visa, proof of your Thai address from Immigration and a medical certificate. A valid licence from home makes the process shorter.
You have moved to Bangkok, the car is ready and your home licence is in your wallet. Here is what the Land Transport office asks for.
Start at Immigration, not at the Land Transport office. The residence certificate is the paper that holds most people up.
The licence is for residents: retirees, long-stay visa holders and people working here. The DLT does not issue one to people on a tourist, sport or transit permission. On a short holiday you drive on an international permit, as the next section explains.
Can you drive in Thailand on a US or other foreign licence?
Not on its own. Thai law lets foreigners drive with an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention, or a licence from another ASEAN country (Thailand.go.th). The US Embassy in Bangkok states that a foreign licence alone is not accepted; a valid international permit is.
Get the 1949 permit at home before you fly, and carry it with your national licence. It is valid for one year. Do not rely on a 1968 Vienna permit. Read our international driving permit guide for how to get one.
Documents you need
The US Embassy in Bangkok lists five things. Your passport with copies of the main page and visa page. A residence certificate. A medical certificate. Your valid home or international licence. And a photo, which the DLT takes on the day.
- Passport: the original, plus copies of the photo page and your Thai visa page.
- Residence certificate: issued by your nearest Thai Immigration office, to prove your address. The DLT also accepts a work permit, and the document must be less than 1 year old.
- Medical certificate: from any hospital or clinic, issued for a driving licence within the last month, the DLT says.
- Valid licence: your home licence or international permit, if you want the shorter process.
- Photo: taken at the Department of Land Transport office.
Some offices ask for a certified translation of a licence that is not in English, so bring one if yours is in another language. Sign every copy you hand in. Thai offices expect it.
The steps at the Land Transport office
The visit takes most of a morning. You hand in your papers, take short tests for colour vision, reaction and depth perception, and watch a road-rules video. With a valid licence, that is all in most cases. Without one, the US Embassy notes, you may need a driving course and a test.
- Arrive early: offices are busy, so go at opening time or book ahead where the office offers it.
- Hand in papers: an officer checks your documents and gives you a queue number.
- Physical tests: colour vision, reaction time and depth perception, done on simple machines.
- Road-rules video: a short session on Thai traffic rules.
- Pay and collect: pay the fee, have your photo taken and collect the card, in most cases the same day.
Book the DLT visit only once the residence certificate is in your hand. Take a Thai speaker with you too: staff are helpful, but forms and signs are mainly in Thai.
How much does a Thai driving licence cost?
The fee is small. The US Embassy in Bangkok lists ฿205 for a car licence and ฿105 for a motorcycle licence. The medical certificate and the residence certificate cost extra, so ask each office on the day. Visitors who need a 30-day temporary licence pay ฿200, per the DLT.
Validity and renewal
Your first Thai driving licence is a temporary licence valid for two years, says the Department of Land Transport. Before it expires, renew it at a DLT office for a longer licence. Bring your passport, visa, a fresh residence certificate and a new medical certificate.
Keep your visa in step with your licence. If the visa runs out, renew it first: you show the visa page again at the renewal.
What changed
We found no new DLT rule for foreign drivers when we checked in November 2026. The drink-drive limit is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood. It is 20 mg for drivers under 20 and those without a valid licence (Government Public Relations Department, 2024).
Plan it with Tanner
Tanner, your planner, books a chauffeur for you until your Thai licence is ready. Waiting for your licence, or prefer not to drive? We arrange a luxury chauffeur by the day, week or month, from ฿6,500 for 10 hours in a luxury van, VAT included. A relocation helper can come with you to the DLT. Read our moving to Thailand guide for the rest of the move, then tell us what you need. We get back to you right away.
