Where to Get an International Driving Permit for Phuket
An International Driving Permit for Phuket is issued in the country that issued your licence, before you travel: a shop with PayPoint in the UK, AAA in the US, your state motoring club in Australia, the RTO in India. It cannot be obtained in Thailand, so a forgotten permit is not something you can fix after landing. Drivers with a licence from an ASEAN country, such as Malaysia or Singapore, are the exception and can drive on their own card.
Updated 4 October
- Delivery to your hotel and the airport
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- We go through the insurance before you sign
Can I get an IDP after I arrive in Phuket?
No. That is the single most useful thing to know on this page.
The permit is a translation of your own licence, and only the authority behind your licence can issue it. Thailand does not hand them out to visitors, and nobody at the airport can print one. If it is still at home in a drawer, the car stays with us until a driver who has one arrives.
So check the date on it the week before you fly, not the night before. An expired permit counts as no permit.
Where do people get one, country by country?
British drivers get it in person at a shop with PayPoint. Americans go to AAA. Australians apply through their state motoring club. Indian drivers get it from the RTO. In every case it is done at home. Thailand is a party to both the 1949 Geneva and the 1968 Vienna conventions, according to the UN Treaty Collection, so it recognises either permit; which one you get depends on where your licence was issued. If your country is not on this list, the rule is the same: ask the office that issued your licence. If you hold a licence from the Emirates while living there on another passport, the UAE licence in Thailand page covers whose permit to carry.
What that means for the car
At the handover we check three documents together: your passport, your national licence and the permit. The licence has to be the physical card. A digital licence in a phone app does not count here, and without the card the permit is worthless, because it only translates what the card says.
The permit does not replace anything, it only sits next to the card. Keep all three together in the car rather than in the hotel safe, because a police check asks for them at the roadside and the answer cannot be that they are back in the room.
The same set applies to every person who will drive. A second driver is added in advance, by name, with the same three documents, and an unlisted driver at the wheel voids the first-class commercial insurance on the spot.
If your documents are ready, send the dates and the names of the drivers in the chat: we will bring an automatic with first-class commercial insurance to the airport or your hotel, with a refundable deposit and the total for your dates fixed in advance.
Step by step: getting the permit before the trip
Start with the licence itself. It has to be valid for the whole trip, and the permit is only as good as the card behind it.
Then apply through the issuing body in your country and bring both documents in your hand luggage, not in the suitcase that might arrive a day late.
- Check your licence dates — the permit is void without a valid card
- Apply at home — PayPoint shop, AAA, state club, RTO or your own authority
- Ask which convention type your issuer gives for Thailand — the UK issues the 1968 permit, AAA in the US the 1949 one
- Pack the card and the permit together — in hand luggage
- Add every driver in advance — same documents for each
ImportantDriving without the permit, or with a driver who is not named on the agreement, voids the insurance completely. After any damage the cost is then yours in full, and a police check at the roadside becomes a fine as well.
Do drivers from Malaysia or Singapore need one?
Usually not. Thailand recognises licences from ASEAN member states under the ASEAN agreement, so a Malaysian or Singapore driver rents and drives on the card and a passport.
Two small conditions apply. If the licence has no English on it, bring an IDP or a certified translation as well. And even where it is optional, a permit is handy to have at a police check. The detail for each country is in Malaysian licence in Thailand and Singapore licence in Thailand.
Indian drivers are in a different position. India is not an ASEAN member, so the licence alone does not cover driving here, and a card printed only in a regional language makes the RTO permit even more important. The same logic holds for any country outside the agreement: licence, permit and passport, all three. That includes the German licence in Thailand and the French licence in Thailand, and the Dutch licence in Thailand as well.
What if my permit is from an online site?
Look at who issued it. A real permit names the authority in your country that stands behind your licence, and it matches the card in your wallet.
When a paper looks like neither, we will ask in the chat before the handover rather than at the car. That saves you the airport surprise, and it saves us a car standing idle while the question is sorted out. For the general rules, see do I need an IDP to rent a car in Phuket.
Ireland: the NDLS, by appointment
In Ireland the permit comes from the National Driving Licence Service. You book an appointment at an NDLS centre, bring the licence, the completed form and one passport-sized photograph, and the permit is handed over at that appointment. A full Irish licence gets the 1949 Convention permit, the type Thailand recognises; a learner permit does not qualify.
Cars for this question
Easy automatic cars for a first drive in Phuket:
Common questions
Can I get an International Driving Permit in Thailand?
No. It is issued only in the country that issued your licence, before you travel. Nobody in Phuket can issue one on arrival.
Where do I get an IDP in the UK?
In person at a shop with PayPoint, before you fly. Ask for the 1968 convention type, which GOV.UK lists for Thailand, and carry it alongside your photocard licence.
Where do Americans get an IDP for Thailand?
From AAA, at home. Carry it with your state driver's license and passport; all three are checked at the handover.
Is a digital driving licence accepted in Phuket?
No. Bring the physical card. The permit only translates the card, so without it the permit is worthless.
Do Malaysian drivers need an IDP in Phuket?
Not normally, because Thailand recognises ASEAN licences. If the card has no English on it, add an IDP or a certified translation.
Does the second driver need an IDP too?
Yes. Every driver shows the same three documents and is named on the agreement in advance, otherwise the insurance does not apply.
Is a 1949 or 1968 International Driving Permit valid in Thailand?
Yes, both: Thailand is a party to the 1949 Geneva and the 1968 Vienna conventions, according to the UN Treaty Collection. The type you get depends on the country that issued your licence.
Where should I obtain an International Driving Permit before traveling to Phuket?
In the country that issued your licence, before you fly: a shop with PayPoint in the UK, AAA in the US, your state motoring club in Australia, the RTO in India. It cannot be obtained in Thailand.
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