Adding Motorbike or Car to Your Thai License
In Thailand, car and motorbike are two separate licenses with two separate cards. Plenty of people have one and ride or drive the other. Here is how to get the missing one, and why your license from home makes all the difference.
Why One Card Does Not Cover Both
A Thai car license covers cars, a Thai motorbike license covers motorbikes and scooters. If you ride a scooter with only the car card in your wallet, the police treat it as riding without a license, and travel or health insurers can refuse to pay after an accident. Our scooter rental guide explains what that means at Phuket checkpoints.
Two Routes to the Missing Class
| Your home license has the class | Your home license does not | |
|---|---|---|
| Route | Convert it like any foreign license | Apply as a new applicant for that class |
| At the DLT | The same steps as any conversion (see the conversion guide) | Road safety training, the 4 physical tests, theory test and practical test |
| Result | A 2-year license for the new class | A 2-year license for the new class |
So the first thing to check is your license from home. Many European cards show motorbikes as category A, A1 or A2. If it is there, the conversion is the short route; see the conversion guide. A new class always starts with a 2-year license, even if your other Thai card is already a 5-year one.
If You Need the Full Test
Training and theory
The DLT shows a road safety training before the theory test. The test itself has 50 multiple-choice questions, and you need 45 correct answers to pass.
Practical motorbike test
On the test track at the DLT you ride a slalom between cones, cross a narrow raised plank without putting a foot down, and stop exactly at a marked line. It takes a few minutes, but the plank catches out many experienced riders. An hour of practice on a small automatic scooter beforehand helps a lot.
Practical car test
For cars, the practical test is a short drive on the DLT test track.
Questions About Adding a Class
No. Car and motorbike are separate licenses in Thailand, each with its own card. Riding a scooter on a car license counts as riding without a license.
Only if your license from home already includes motorbikes. Then you convert it like any foreign license. Without that category, the DLT treats you as a new motorbike applicant, with training, theory test and practical test.
No. A new class starts with a 2-year license, even if your other card is already a 5-year one.
On the DLT test track you ride a slalom between cones, cross a narrow raised plank without putting a foot down, and stop exactly at a line. Ask the DLT office beforehand whether you bring your own bike.
Then You Can Convert Instead of Testing
Send a photo of the back of your home license on WhatsApp. We check which classes it covers and whether a conversion at DLT Krabi gets you the missing one.