Getting a Thai driving license in Bangsaphan

[buksida]

Did this yesterday so will post details if anyone is interested. The test center is on Petchkasem Road, leave BS town and turn south when you hit Petchkasem, drive for about 2km, past the technical college and it is there on the left.

Documents required:
Passport photocopy, details and visa page - cost: 2 baht
Letter from the police confirming your address - cost: 0 baht. Note: to get this you need the signature and copy of ID card of the owner of the house and a copy of the tabien bahn (blue book). The police may say you need to go to the Amphur office but they will do it for you with a bit of persuasion if they're not busy.
Medical certificate - cost: 80 baht (clinic in town, on right before the railway crossing)

The test:
This is to get a first motorcycle license from scratch, you will need to do the test for the car (apart from the practical) also as it is all the same thing now, the car license involves a couple of parking and reversing maneuvers.

08.30 - submit documents (duplicates if you want both licenses) and perform a colorblindness test.
09.00 - perform reaction test, accelerate on one pedal and hit the brake when the red light shows (you get a few tries at this if you cant do it first time).
09.30 - briefing on road signs.
10.00 - watch road awareness videos.
12.00 - break for lunch.
13.00 - sit the exam, 30 multiple choice questions on a computer, 1 hour to complete, pass mark is 23.
14.00 - practical test, ride around a small circuit paying attention to road signs, signaling and stopping where appropriate, short balance test.
14.30 - take photographs for smartcard, payment and collect your 1 year motorcycle license.

Cost:
License - 55 baht
Smartcard - 100 baht
You can opt for the old style laminated one with a stuck on picture if you want to save 100 baht.

Notes:
The road sign briefing is all in Thai but there is a book with English explanations of them. The videos are also all in Thai so if you need them translated take a Thai with you - most of it is common sense and road safety (sadly very little of it is actually applied on the roads in Thailand).

The computer multi-choice exam can be done in English, they have a test machine outside to practice on - I would advise doing this as some of the questions are very ambiguous with illogical answers, I get the feeling some of it was lost in translation. If you fail the first time you get one more chance, if you fail again you'll need to come back another day (within 90 days) to sit the exam.

The practical is simple, just ride steady, pay attention to the signs (there are only four or five of them), use your signals liberally and make a point of obviously looking around you. If you don't have a helmet you'll fail before you even get on the bike.

[SeaShell]

The test:
This is to get a first motorcycle license from scratch, you will need to do the test for the car (apart from the practical) also as it is all the same thing now,the car license involves a couple of parking and reversing maneuvers.

I think you've contradicted yourself here!

Have the laws actually changed then? When I went for a license (was 5 yrs ago now), I didn't need to take any sort of manual driving test, just the reaction test, as I had a Full British Driving License.

[buksida]

The govt have tightened up a lot over the past 5 years which is why the 'test' is a little more involved now.

[Diving Lore]

Renewal test being less bs I guess?

My 5 year license is running out next year and it's a Chiang Mai license.

Will that require a NEW letter from the cops or will the old notary / Consulate letter be ok???

[buksida]

If you want to do the renewal here in BS you'll need to get a new letter from the cops confirming your address.

It doesn't cost anything but a smile and a bit of their time!

[SeaShell]

Does anyone know how much it is to renew a Car License (5 yrs)?

[buksida]

550 (approx) baht if you want the fancy smart card.

[Big Boy]

Have the laws actually changed then? When I went for a license (was 5 yrs ago now), I didn't need to take any sort of manual driving test, just the reaction test, as I had a Full British Driving License.

The govt have tightened up a lot over the past 5 years which is why the 'test' is a little more involved now.

I obtained my licence at Pranburi in September this year. The only test I had to take was the reaction test as SeaShell says.

[yoursTruly]

Thanks for the info. Bicycles are looking better every day.

[buksida]

As you know things differ from town to town in Thailand, in BS you need to do the test, it is very simple though and doesn't even involve going near a public road.

[buksida]

Just renewed the 5 year car license for another 5 years, process very easy:

1) Arrive at 08.45 and submit the following documents:
Passport copy (details page and visa page).
Proof of address (yellow book or letter from immigration).
Current driving license.

2) Go upstairs at 09.00 and complete the following tests:
Reaction test, brake on red light
Spacial awareness test, align the posts
Peripheral vision test
Colour identification test

3) Watch about 45 minutes of a video on Thai Highway law.

4) Go down stairs at 10.00 to pay for the license (615 baht).

5) Get your photo taken and collect the new license.

Total time taken around two hours.

[Groodman]

Renewed my 2 year Driving Licence for a 5 year today, it gets easier, took:

Passport & Copy Details, Visa & Extension pages
Proof of address.
Current Driving Licence.
Doctors letter, as it was my first 5 year licence (80 Baht from doctors in Bangsaphan) (all they checked was Blood Pressure & Pulse).

No Reaction test, Spacial awareness test, Peripheral vision test or Colour identification test.

No forms to fill in.

Did not have to watch the Video.

Photo done.

Given new 5 year + 2 months to next birthday.

Cost 505 Baht, car only

Arrived 8.45 & done by 9.30

[osandpo]

Not sure if this is the right thread. Anyway…
An update on getting address confirmation certificates acceptable to the Land Transport Dept, based on experience with friends re-registering a car yesterday:
These address confirmations used to be available from the local Ban Krut police station, then it moved to the Immigration police, so foreigners had to go to Dan Singkhon.
Yesterday we went to Dan Singkhon Immigration and we were told that that office is no longer able to issue address confirmations. We checked there, at Land Transport and also on the Immigration hotline and were told this task has now been centralised in the main Hua Hin immigration office (out by the by-pass). Once there, it’s a simple 15 minute procedure but there’s a lot of driving there and back!
Docs needed were:
Application form (available there)
Passport and TM6 departure card
Copy of passport info page
Copy of latest visa/extension
2 passport photos
Address proof - in this case copy of lease agreement, landlord’s house registration copy (we took the original too), plus a copy of the owner’s Thai ID card
All copies signed as normal
500 baht (!)

[Big Boy]

For you guys down South, is it not easier to obtain a Yellow Book? Buksida detailed the procedures a couple of years ago, and they were very simple compared to somewhere like Hua Hin. Once you have it, you have it for life. No more address confirmation certificates.

[buksida]

Yes, the yellow book is actually much easier to get in Bangsaphan amphur office.

It provides permanent proof of address so no need to ever go to immigration for the letter.

Here are the details, though I think the process is a little easier now - https://bangsaphanguide.com/forum/viewt ... f=1&t=1347