To drive a car or motorbike in Thailand you will need to obtain a Thai Driving License. There are separate licenses for Cars and Motorbikes, so you will need to obtain one or both before you can drive.
If you have an International License from your home country, you can drive in Thailand using this for a maximum of one year.
There are many companies that can make the process easier (But more expensive), you can search the Internet for these companies.
Below is an overview of how to get your Thai Driving License:
Well, this question should be easy to answer because the international rules are clear, but the interpretation of a Thai officer of police may not always be.
According to the official rules (the UN Traffic Act of 1949 and the Thai traffic act of 1979), you do not need a local driving license when you are a tourist or visitor to Thailand and you have your national driving license with you in English with a photo. You can also have an international driving license that is normally obtainable from the local Automotive Association in your home country.
If you are a resident of Thailand, however, you do need a Thai driving license.
Mind you: the fact that nearly all motorcycle or car rental shops will be willing to rent a vehicle to you doesn't mean at all that you have the right papers, these businesses simply don't care whether you're driving legally or not, they just want to rent out their stuff to you.
If you're on a tourist visa and you've got yourself covered with an English version of your national driving license or an international driving license, you should be okay. But if you're on a non-immigrant visa, chances are that the officer who just pulled you over won't be satisfied and fines you 400 baht. You can either accept that as an inconvenience of living in Thailand, or you can choose to avoid the hassle for a next time and simply do things the way Thai authorities want: Get a License!
It's a worthwhile investment to get your Thai driving license because nowadays there are many roadblocks everywhere so the chances of running into one are actually quite high if you stay here for more than a few months. Doing things right is just the smartest way to deal with Thai paper requirements and there are some side benefits to it too.
Another benefit is that at some less official places like shops but even at banks which are familiar with you, sometimes you can use your Thai driving license as a proof of identity instead of your passport, but that's not a guarantee, it simply depends on the staff.
(Note that officially as a foreigner in Thailand nowadays you are obliged to show a passport to police officers on request, so it's a good idea to make a copy of it and keep it with you always.)
Well, regulations in Thailand are always changing and things also depend on your personal situation, what kind of visa you've got, but in general this is the procedure:
Simply follow the steps as listed here: how to get your residence certificate.
NOTE: you need a proof of long term rent (not a guesthouse) and Immigration usually needs about 3-4 weeks to issue it (but you can pay an agent to do it faster)
The residence certificate can only be used within 1 month.
Every hospital in town provides this quick and easy service, just walk in and tell them you need a health declaration for your driving license. Prices vary between perhaps THB 50 and 150, and most of the time you'll walk out within half an hour.
The doctor (or common hospital staff) officially has to check for 5 relevant diseases, but most of the time they will just measure your blood pressure and weight and not even ask you any further questions. Overall, it's probably a 2 minutes check up and you're out again.
The health declaration can only be used within 1 month.
Officially, it's called the Provincial Land Transport office and it's on the way to Hang Dong coming from Airport Plaza. You have to go to the 2nd Floor.
Bring the original document and 1 copy of everything with you: passport (make copies of photo page, visa page and departure card); residence certificate; health certificate; and if applicable: driving license from your home country and or international driving license.
If you need two licenses (one for a motorcycle and one for a car), you need to bring double copies of all that.
If you want to be sure that all documents are in order, the best thing is to go to the 2/F counter 27 on one day and have them checked, then come back the next day to apply. Open Monday - Friday from 8:30 - 15:30.
Whether you need to do this or not will depend on your papers (your current foreign or expiring Thai driving license). The process will take 2 days if you apply for 1 license and 3 days if you apply for 2 licenses. Check at counter 27 on the 2nd Floor for what they need
Programme Day 1:
Submit application and documents at 8:00 - 9:00hr.
Physical check up at 9:00 - 10:00hr.
Education process from 10:00 - 16:00hr: (watch video about traffic rules, English subtitles) The Videos can now be watched online if you choose
Programme Day 2:
Paper test at 10:00 - 12:00hr
Driving test at 13:00hr. This test is not so difficult if you've already been driving a motorcycle for some time, most important is that you can drive in a circle and can stop in time.
Get the license after passing the test
Programme Day 3:
Driving test at 13:00hr for another license
Get the license after passing the test.
Re-do the tests:
If you don't pass the paper test, you can re-do it the next day or within 90 days
If you don't pass the driving test, you can re-do it on the same day or within 90 days after passed the paper test
NOTE:
for the driving tests, you need to bring your own vehicle
ABOUT THE VIDEO AND THE TEST (This can be taken online now here)
Nowadays, everybody has to watch the traffic video that explains some of the basics of Thai traffic rules. It lasts 1 hour and it's a bit boring because it is designed from a legal rather than a customer perspective (for example, it's not interesting for us to know whether we can drive a tractor or a tank over a public road).
About the test, most of the time I hear foreigners complaining about it and how it doesn't make sense, which is true, but that's not the right mindset to get most out of it. The right mindset is to just see it as yet another cultural experience, to just do it in the way that you can pass smoothly, give them what they want and at the same time understand more about Thailand so that you can keep yourself safe on the road.
Yes, the test features incorrect English sentences and small, unclear pictures with low resolution, which makes it hard to understand what actually is the question, but the way to deal with this is just to prepare yourself well and memorize the kind of answers they want to hear. The best way to prepare for the test is by practicing on this site www.thaidriving.info. Although this online test was set up a few years ago, the questions you're likely to get nowadays are the same or very similar (I redid my tests in July 2019 and the questions were still similar).
You could also study a translation of the official Thai traffic laws, but this is more theoretic and legal language, not as practical as the earlier mentioned source.
TIP: finish all 90 questions in one row, as the questionnaire system doesn't keep track if where you were if you close your computer for a break.
In the driving license office, you have to do 50 questions and your minimum score to pass is 45 good answers.
TIP: As the test is a multiple choice (4 choices), you can often guess just based on the sentence. When the answer is to suggest you to speed, that's never right (there is only 1 question with a minimum speed of 30km/hr). When the answer is to stop and watch carefully and only proceed when it's safe, this is almost always the right answer.