How to Extend Your Motorcycle License in Thailand

Your two-year license is nearly finished, or you need to renew your five-year one.

Here is our experience renewing our car and motorcycle licenses in Thailand.

Note that this will vary slightly depending on the province. We renewed ours at Area 3 (Sukhumvit) in Bangkok.

Here’s why this matters: An expired license is harder to renew and effectively useless for insurance purposes.

I was recently involved in a motorcycle accident where the other party (who was clearly at fault) tried to claim that I should pay for their vehicle’s damages. They went to the police, who informed me that they were unlicensed and inexperienced and upon showing the other party my valid license, the frivolous claim disappeared, and the police kindly apologized and we all went on with our day.

The Process

The biggest tip: Book ahead and go before your license expires.

The online portal is often down, so call or drive to your local Department of Land Transport (DLT) office.

Once you have your appointment time, collect all of your remaining documents.

A note on timing: You need to allow time for your Certificate of Residence (COR) to be sent to you from Immigration. It will be wise to book an appointment to get your COR in advance, then book your DLT appointment about a week or two after that.

Your COR is only valid for 30 days and takes a few business days to be sent by mail, so consider this.

On the day, go at your allotted time (ideally earlier, as it is still more or less first-in-best-dressed) then go to the front counter in the “foreign” queue.

From here, you will be sent to:

1. Document check.
   • You’ll get a ticket number. Hold on to this and wait to be called.

1. Health check
   • This tests your reaction time and color detection, just like in the original license test.

1. Payments, license photo, and printing.
   • You’ll then be directed to have your new photo taken, you’ll then pay, and have your new 5-year license printed and given to you on the spot.

Documents Required

You’re going to need a few things in particular:

• Your current original driving and/or motorbike license
• Your original passport
• A Certificate of Residence
• A Doctor’s Certificate
• Signed copies of your passports:
  • Biodata page
  • Visa page
  • Visa extension page
• Cash
  • Motorbike license fee is about ฿250
  • Car license fee is about ฿500
  • There is an application fee of ฿5 per license

If you are renewing both your driver’s and motorcycle licenses, you will need two copies of the above documents.

Importantly, note that the Certificates of Residence must both be originals.

Current license(s)

Make sure that you bring the originals to be sighted and collected by the DLT; you won’t get your old licenses back.

Certificate of Residence

This is arguably the most difficult part of the whole renewal.

You will need to go to Immigration (book if possible) and provide them with a list of documents to get your Certificate of Residence approved.

Check with your provincial Immigration office’s website for their specific requirements. Most require a TM30 form from your landlord and copies of your passport and visa, sometimes more.

If you’re renewing two licenses, ensure that you get two original Certificates of Residence.

Doctor’s Certificate

Don’t stress, this is pretty simple.

Use Google Maps or whatever else to find a doctor’s clinic near you that can do medical certificates for renewing a license.

They typically take your weight, height, and blood pressure, and that’s it.

Bring your ID to the clinic for them to note down. The whole process should cost no more than ฿200.

This should be done within a month before your license renewal.

Copies of your passport

Photocopy your passport’s biodata page, visa stamp, and current extension (where applicable).

If you have an electronically issued visa, such as a DTV, printing the single-page visa they issue you would be prudent.

Make sure to sign these photocopies with a signature matching that on your passport.

Pitfalls & Considerations

Timing is important to make sure it all goes smoothly.

You need to get your TM30 before your Certificate of Residence, and your Certificate of Residence before your license renewal.

Most importantly, don’t let your license expire. Renewing the license gets a lot more challenging if you let it get to this.

You will have to do refresher courses or redo your original course, depending on how long your license has expired.

We’re happy to guide you if you need help planning and navigating this.