pitsch wrote:1. Passport with valid Visa (Individuals with a Tourist Visa don't qualify)
2. Present residence address certified by Immigration Bureau (or police?)
3. Medical certificate stating good health
You need no photo, because this is made directly onto the new license.
Fee: 730 Baht
WRONG, I just got my DL renewed no problem with a tourist visa!
Had to take eye test, brake reaction test and alignment test, then do an hour listening to a driving seminar (in Thai no less).
Got my 5 year license done and dusted that same day.
Cops do the residence address, medical is easy, as long as you are capable of walking through the door you're good.
I got mine done up past Cha-Am in Petchaburi province.
pitsch wrote:1. Passport with valid Visa (Individuals with a Tourist Visa don't qualify)
2. Present residence address certified by Immigration Bureau (or police?)
3. Medical certificate stating good health
You need no photo, because this is made directly onto the new license.
Fee: 730 Baht
WRONG, I just got my DL renewed no problem with a tourist visa!
Had to take eye test, brake reaction test and alignment test, then do an hour listening to a driving seminar (in Thai no less).
Got my 5 year license done and dusted that same day.
Cops do the residence address, medical is easy, as long as you are capable of walking through the door you're good.
I got mine done up past Cha-Am in Petchaburi province.
So how did you get your original licence, with a resident visa or tourist visa?
The original one was with a non-immigrant visa (6 years ago), but a renewal can be done with a tourist visa so you can be 'grandfathered-in'. Also my DL was expired by about 6 months as well so technically it wasn't really a renewal per-sa but from scratch again.
Rider wrote:The original one was with a non-immigrant visa (6 years ago), but a renewal can be done with a tourist visa so you can be 'grandfathered-in'. Also my DL was expired by about 6 months as well so technically it wasn't really a renewal per-sa but from scratch again.
So it is possible from scratch also.
I believe they allow one year from expiry of the old licence to renew it again, otherwise I think you would have to start again which would be a one year only licence - interesting to see if they would do that on a tourist visa?
Like you, I use the Cha Am licence office and have posted on the subject before - they do seem to be a lot more relaxed than the Hua Hin driving centre!!
sateeb wrote:Without trawling through all the pages, does the Cha Am office,Petchaburi Province issue to people living in Hua Hin which is PKK province?...cheers
Yes - my original one year licence was issued at the Cha Am office when I was living off Soi 114 in HH, although my 5 year licence was issued after I had moved to near Cha Am and under Petchaburi province.
sateeb wrote:Without trawling through all the pages, does the Cha Am office,Petchaburi Province issue to people living in Hua Hin which is PKK province?...cheers
Yes it does we live in the middle of HH and there was not a problem but from what I have heard that is because we are both Farang; Thais in HH have to go to Pranburi.
I must say that this obsession with Cha-Am seems very strange to me. Pranburi office were no problem whatsoever, and on contrary were very helpful. The way I read it is that people want to try Cha-Am because they have an obsession with trying to circumvent a regulation or 2.
Maybe some people feel obliged to try to cheat the system a little because they are Farang in Thailand, and don't believe that they need to jump through the necessary hoops. To me it's simple - follow the rules, and you don't seem to have a problem anywhere. Most people who quote tea money was required were too lazy in the first place to find out what the full requirement was and comply.
I don't think its about cheating the system BB, it is common knowledge that different offices in different regions/provinces play by different rules and requirements. Hua Hin it seems is a stickler and over the years I have often found more obstacles and unnecessary extra requirements/paperwork doing things in Hua Hin than in other parts of the country, given the choice I'd take the easier office even if it means more travelling.
That said, the Pranburi transport office was a pleasure to deal with when I had to get a replacement green book for my bike.
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
I've had to deal with the Pranburi Office 3 times in my short stay here. They could not have been more helpful - even when I didn't have the exact requirements. Certainly no hint of tea money, or go away and get this, get that etc.
To me, if it isn't broken, why fix it? I can't understand this sudden obsession with Cha-Am. I'm sure they are as good (I don't think they could be better because I've never seen anything wrong with Pranburi), but eventually, somebody is going to have a bad experience.
Maybe it's my past life as a Civil Servant, and I'm more tolerant of the rules they have to follow.
We most certainly did not go to the Cha’am driving centre to cut any corners; we were actually taken there by our solicitor’s secretary! When we arrived here our Thai was not very good so we wanted to take a Thai person with us to help with the forms etc.
He took us to Cha’am as he said it was quieter than Pranburi and so would take less time. We still had to do all the tests and there were certainly no corners cut. Everyone was very friendly and there was no question of tea money.
For some people it is just quicker and easier to go to Cha’am rather than Pranburi. We have the choice of using both places so surely it is up to us which we use; this is Thailand not the UK; we have freedom of choice here.
I have not been to the Pranburi centre so I cannot comment; I am sure they are very good but there is NOTHING wrong or devious in using the alternative.
The first time I used Cha Am was because at the time (18 months ago) I had read on this forum reports about long waiting times at Panburi and my wife who originates from Cha Am suggested we go there. I never paid a single baht in tea money, although I admit that I never had to do the full tests, just a colour blind test. Now that I live close to Cha Am it makes sense for me to continue using their centre.
If you're living on the north side of town then surely it makes sense to go to Cha-Am, as you avoid all the Hua Hin traffic. If you live on the south side, then I guess Pranburi is the better bet.
