Koh Chang has no Land Transport Office of its own, so a Thai driving licence means a car-ferry crossing to the Trat mainland — the same trip many residents already make for Trat Airport, banking or a hospital visit. Here is the expat guide: converting an English-language licence versus testing from scratch, choosing between the Trat and Khao Saming DLT offices, the Certificate of Residence, the documents and tests, fees and validity, and why the motorbike licence matters so much on Koh Chang's steep hill roads.
A Thai driving licence is one of the few pieces of Koh Chang admin you cannot finish on the island itself. There is no Department of Land Transport (DLT) branch here — the process runs through offices on the Trat mainland, a car-ferry crossing away from White Sand Beach, Klong Prao or Lonely Beach. The government fees are modest and, if your current licence is printed in English, the conversion can be surprisingly quick. This guide covers the routes into a Thai licence, how to plan the Trat-mainland trip and choose between the two DLT offices, exactly which documents to bring, how the trickier Certificate of Residence has played out in practice, what the tests involve, fees and validity, and why the motorbike licence matters so much given Koh Chang's steep, sometimes poorly lit roads. Pair it with the Koh Chang getting-around guide and Koh Chang immigration office guide for the rest of your transport and admin setup.
Koh Chang sits within Trat province, and while the island now has its own immigration sub-office at Klong Prao for 90-day reports and visa extensions, a Thai driving licence is different: there is no branch of the Department of Land Transport (DLT) anywhere on the island. Every application, test and renewal happens on the mainland, reached via the Ao Thammachat-Ao Sapparot car ferry — a roughly 30-40 minute crossing residents already make for Trat Airport, banking, hospital runs and bigger shopping trips.
If you already hold a valid national driving licence and it is printed in English, long-running local accounts describe a quick process at the Trat office: hand over your documents, sit the eyesight, colour, depth-perception and reaction screening, and walk out with a licence in well under an hour — no practical driving test and no passport photos needed, since the office takes your photo on the spot. This is the route most Koh Chang residents with a US, UK, Canadian, Australian or New Zealand licence use.
If your home licence isn't in English, or you've never held one, expect the fuller process: a classroom-style traffic-rules session, the same vision and reaction screening, a computerised theory test and a practical driving test on the office's course. Budget most of a day once you add the ferry crossing, and consider timing it so you're not rushing for the last boat back to Koh Chang.
An International Driving Permit from your home country lets you legally drive in Thailand for up to a year alongside your national licence — useful while you settle into life on Koh Chang before committing to the ferry trip for a Thai licence. It is not a substitute for one long-term, and anyone on a DTV, LTR, retirement, marriage or Non-B visa planning to stay should still go through the Trat-mainland process eventually.
Cross on the Ao Thammachat-Ao Sapparot car ferry from Koh Chang to the Trat mainland, then head to a Land Transport office. The main Trat Provincial Land Transport Office sits on the road heading from Laem Ngop into Trat town (a right turn after the Shell station, roughly a kilometre along). Longer-term residents increasingly favour the quieter Khao Saming Land Transport Office further along the mainland for renewals, since it draws smaller crowds than the busier Trat-town branch — worth checking current opening days and hours for whichever office you pick before you cross.
Bring your passport with a valid non-immigrant visa (a tourist visa isn't accepted), photocopies of your passport's main page and visa page, your current driving licence plus photocopies of its front and back, and a health certificate. If you've renewed your passport since your existing Thai licence was issued, bring the old passport too, since the passport number on file needs to match.
Any Thai clinic or hospital can issue the medical certificate confirming you're fit to drive, typically for somewhere in the 100-300 baht range and often in a matter of minutes. Koh Chang's own clinics can usually handle this before you take the ferry across, so it's one less stop to make on the mainland.
Both a new application and a renewal need a Certificate (or Confirmation) of Residence. This has been the most changeable part of the process: Laem Ngop Immigration issued them for years, then briefly stopped and referred applicants to the local amphur (district) office in Dan Mai, Koh Chang — which in turn required a yellow house-registration book that renters typically don't have. By the following year Laem Ngop was reportedly issuing the certificate again, taking a few days to process. With Koh Chang's own immigration sub-office at Klong Prao now handling more services since its 2024 expansion, it's worth asking there first; Laem Ngop and the main Trat Immigration Office remain the fallback. See the <Link href="/thailand/koh-chang/immigration-office" className="gold">Koh Chang immigration office guide</Link> for how each option works, and confirm the current process directly before you plan a Trat-mainland trip around it.
Government fees for the licence itself have historically been modest — well under 300 baht in total according to long-running resident accounts, plus the small clinic fee for the health certificate and whatever Laem Ngop or Trat Immigration charge for the Certificate of Residence. Treat any specific figure as indicative only, since fees and the residence-certificate process have both changed more than once in recent years. Your first licence is a temporary one-year licence; you return the following year for an automatic five-year renewal.
A rented scooter or motorbike is how most residents get around Koh Chang, and the island's steep, winding, sometimes poorly lit mountain roads carry a well-known accident risk — see the getting-around and motorbike rental guides for the roads and rental details. Thailand requires the correct motorbike-class licence for insurance to pay out on a claim; a car licence alone doesn't cover a scooter. Rental shops on the island rarely check for a licence at pickup, but a police checkpoint, a crash, or a rejected insurance claim will.
Sort your health certificate and photocopies on Koh Chang before you cross, dress smartly (government offices commonly turn away shorts, tank tops or miniskirts), and go on a weekday morning when queues are shorter. Many residents pair the crossing with a Trat Airport pickup, a banking errand or a bigger shopping trip on the mainland so the ferry fare and the day off the island do double duty.
No. There is no Department of Land Transport branch on Koh Chang, so every application, test and renewal happens on the Trat mainland after crossing on the Ao Thammachat-Ao Sapparot car ferry — either at the main Trat Provincial Land Transport Office or the quieter Khao Saming office further along the mainland.
Yes, for both a new licence and a renewal. This has been the least stable part of the process in recent years — Laem Ngop Immigration has issued it historically, with the local Dan Mai amphur office as a fallback that required a house-registration book many renters don't have. Koh Chang's own Klong Prao immigration sub-office, expanded in 2024, may now be able to help too, so it's worth asking there first and confirming current requirements before you plan the mainland trip.
Often, yes. Long-running local accounts describe foreign licences printed in English being converted at the Trat office with just document checks and vision/reaction screening, no practical test, in under an hour. A licence in another language typically means the fuller classroom-briefing, theory-test and practical-test process.
Yes, and it matters more than on flatter islands. Koh Chang's mountain roads are steep and sometimes poorly lit, with a known scooter-accident risk, and Thai insurers require the correct motorbike-class licence to pay out on a claim. See the Koh Chang getting-around guide for more on the island's roads.
Your first licence is a temporary one-year licence. You return to the same Trat-mainland office the following year and, assuming your paperwork is in order, are issued a full five-year licence through a simpler renewal process.
Primary and official sources are cited above. Government rules, fees and procedures in Thailand change over time and vary by office; always confirm current requirements with the relevant authority before relying on them. BAANLYY never takes paid placement in editorial content.
General information only, not legal or motoring advice. DLT requirements, fees, office locations, the Certificate of Residence process and opening days change and are not always applied consistently between offices — confirm current details directly with the Trat or Khao Saming Land Transport office, Koh Chang's Klong Prao immigration office, and official sources before you rely on them.
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Browse Koh Chang areas and homes, then sort your licence once you have a lease and address.
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