On an island with no rail and thin public transport, a family's week turns on two questions: who drives, and how the children get to school. Both are settled by paperwork and by the address you choose, and both are easier to settle before you sign a lease than after.
This guide is built from the Department of Land Transport's own service manual and its draft rule now open for comment, the Motor Vehicle Act, the compulsory insurance law, and the bus pages and fee schedules of seven Phuket international schools, all read on 7 November 2026. Rents come from our own catalogue on the same day. It is written for families renting for a year or more. It is not legal advice; confirm the document list with the licence office before you go.
The short version
- Driving in Thailand needs a Thai licence, an International Driving Permit or an ASEAN licence, according to Ministry of Transport guidance. A foreign licence on its own is not on that list.
- A car licence does not cover a motorbike. A foreign licence is valid only for the vehicle classes printed on it, and the Thai licences are issued separately for each.
- Converting is cheap and quick on paper: ฿205 for a two-year car licence and ฿105 for a motorbike. The documents take the time.
- The rules may change. A Department of Land Transport draft, open for comment from 4 November to 4 December 2026, would make foreigners take the training and tests even if they hold a foreign licence or a permit. It is not in force.
- The school bus costs ฿64,000 to ฿99,900 a year both ways where a school publishes an annual figure, on named routes. Where you live decides whether one reaches you.
1. Who may drive on what
Ministry of Transport guidance, published by the Government Public Relations Department on 19 November 2024, lists three documents a foreigner may drive on: a valid Thai licence, a valid International Driving Permit, or a licence issued by an ASEAN member country. The Motor Vehicle Act adds the limit that matters most in Phuket. Under Section 42 bis, a licence recognised by agreement may be used only for the types of vehicle stated on it. If your home licence does not carry a motorcycle class, neither does your right to ride one here.
The Act sets the penalty for driving without a licence at up to one month in prison, a fine of up to ฿1,000, or both (Section 64, in the consolidated text that runs to the 2014 amendment). Before relying on any voluntary insurance policy, read what it says about a driver or rider without a valid licence.
2. Converting a foreign licence: the documents
The Department of Land Transport's service manual for a temporary licence, as published by its provincial offices, lists what a foreign applicant brings:
- a passport that has not expired, original and copy;
- a work permit, or a document certifying your address in Thailand issued by a Thai authority, a foreign government or an international organisation, issued no more than one year before you apply;
- a medical certificate issued no more than one month before you apply;
- your foreign licence, valid, with an embassy translation or certification if it is not in English; or an International Driving Permit under an agreement Thailand is party to.
The address document is the one that takes planning. The Department's pages accept a certificate from an embassy or from the Immigration Bureau, or a work permit showing your current address. The Board of Investment, for Long-Term Resident visa holders, describes obtaining a residence certificate from Immigration with the application form, the TM30 receipt, passport pages and arrival card, taking about 15 days. Some embassies issue one: Singapore's, for example, publishes the service and a ฿110 fee. Others do not say. Ask yours before you book anything. The TM30 your landlord files is covered in our guide to the first 30 days in Phuket, and it is one more reason to keep the receipt.
The Department's own English pages do not agree on the visa. One asks for a passport "with visa"; the renewal and permit pages ask for a non-immigrant visa. Expect the second, and confirm at the counter.
3. What it costs and how long it lasts
| Item | Fee | Validity |
|---|---|---|
| Application | ฿5 | — |
| Temporary private car licence | ฿200 | 2 years |
| Temporary private motorcycle licence | ฿100 | 2 years |
| Private licence, renewed from the temporary one | Set by the Department; see its renewal page | 5 years, renewable for 5 at a time |
Fees are from the Department's service manual; the two-year and five-year terms are in Section 44 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Queues are booked through the Department's DLT Smart Queue app or its website, which has a registration page for foreigners.
4. With no foreign licence
Without a licence to convert, the full route applies: a physical fitness test, five hours of training, a written test, and a practical driving test for a car. The manual sets the written pass mark at 90 per cent.
5. The draft that would change it
On 4 November 2026 the Department of Land Transport opened a public hearing, running to 4 December 2026, on a draft amendment to its 2022 announcement on training and testing licence applicants. Its stated purpose is orderly and safe licensing of foreigners. It proposes three things:
- Ending the use of a foreign licence or an international permit as grounds to skip training and testing, for both the two-year and the five-year licence.
- A minimum of two years remaining on the visa for anyone applying for the two-year licence, or conditions the Department sets.
- Tests at the transport office only. Driving schools could train foreigners but no longer test them.
A draft at hearing is not law. An earlier draft went to hearing in June 2025 and was not enacted, and nobody can say whether or when this one will be. What it does tell you is that the shortcut many arrivals rely on is under review. If you hold a foreign licence and intend to stay, start the documents now rather than in your second month.
6. Insurance is compulsory for every vehicle
The Protection for Motor Vehicle Accident Victims Act requires every owner who uses or keeps a vehicle to insure it for accident victims (Section 7), and the Office of Insurance Commission says this covers every type of vehicle, motorcycles included. An owner without cover faces a fine of up to ฿10,000. A long-term rental car or bike should come with it; ask to see the certificate before you drive away.
7. The school bus question
Seven Phuket international schools publish something about a bus on their own sites, and six put a price on it. They do not price it the same way, which is why the table below is longer than the chart above it.
| School | Campus | 2026/27 bus fee | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BISP | Ko Kaeo | ฿99,900 a year, optional, listed for Years 3 to 13 and billed by term; no one-way rate | No routes published |
| QSI | Kathu | One trip ฿61,750 a year, two trips ฿95,000; the same on every route | Four buses: Chaofa, Chalong, Rawai, Nai Harn; Ko Kaeo, Thalang, Cherngtalay, Laguna, Bang Tao, Pa Sak; Kamala, Surin, Kata, Karon; Patong and Kathu. Five to eleven pupils a bus |
| KIS | Kathu | One way ฿37,950 a year, round trip ฿72,600; a single ride ฿520 | No route list; 20% more to Cherngtalay, Surin, Kamala, Patong, Kata and Rawai |
| UWC Thailand | Thalang | One way ฿32,000 a year, return ฿64,000, paid by semester | One route: Boat Avenue, Pa Sak and Botanica stops. Designated stops only; space limited |
| HeadStart | Chaofah City and Cherngtalay | ฿400 a single trip, ฿600 a round trip or ฿2,500 a week; ฿1,700 a week when paid by the term. Years 1 to 9 only | Ten routes across the two campuses, including Rawai and Chalong, Patong and Kamala, Laguna, Pa Sak and Layan. Morning pick-up at meeting points, afternoon drop-off at the house |
| Lighthouse | Rawai and Chalong | Per term: Rawai ฿15,000, Chalong ฿18,000, Kathu and Phuket Town ฿20,000, Thalang ฿22,000 | Door-to-door minivan |
| Glenalmond | Thalang | Fees for one-way and return travel "will be advised, dependent on the route" | None published |
Three things stand out. Buses run named routes, and some stop only at set points: UWC's runs to designated stops and never door to door, and HeadStart's morning pick-up is at meeting points. A house off the route means a parent drives to the stop. Some schools price by area: KIS charges 20% more to six named areas and Lighthouse prices each area separately, so the same child costs more from Rawai than from Kathu. And capacity is limited: QSI runs a bus only with at least five pupils, and UWC asks for ten working days' notice and confirms space. Ask the school which stop serves the address you are considering, before you sign the lease rather than after. Our map of Phuket's international schools sets out the campuses and tuition side by side.
8. Choosing the address with the school run in mind
The cheapest way to shorten the school run is to live near the campus or on a route. This is what three-bedroom villas on a twelve-month lease asked on our book on 7 November 2026, by the districts the campuses sit in:
| District | Schools there | Median 3-bed villa rent a month | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kathu | KIS, QSI | ฿95,000 | 22 |
| Ko Kaeo | BISP | ฿120,000 | 23 |
| Rawai | Lighthouse | ฿120,000 | 178 |
| Thalang | UWC Thailand, Glenalmond | ฿130,000 | 47 |
| Bang Tao | HeadStart Cherngtalay | ฿150,000 | 312 |
Asking rents, villas only, available, with a published price, and districts with at least 15 listings. Chalong, where Lighthouse has its kindergarten, asked ฿110,000 across 88 listings. Our listings are located by district rather than by house, so we cannot rank streets by distance to a gate; the district is as fine as the data goes. For a fuller cut by school, see villa rents near Phuket's international schools, and for the island area by area, our district guides.
The trade is plain. In Kathu, the KIS and QSI campuses sit in the cheapest district on that list. In Bang Tao, rent is higher but it is the largest district on our rental book, and HeadStart, QSI and UWC each run a bus through the area.
Pitfalls
- Riding a motorbike on a car-only licence. A licence covers only the classes printed on it.
- Letting the address document go stale. It must be no more than a year old, and the Department's own pages give different validity periods for different issuers. Get it close to the appointment.
- A medical certificate older than a month. It is the cheapest document to redo and the easiest to let lapse.
- Signing a lease before asking the school which stop serves it. The route map, not the distance, decides your mornings.
- Assuming the bus runs door to door. Ask; at UWC and on HeadStart's morning run it does not.
Checklist
- Passport, with the right visa, and copies.
- Work permit or certificate of residence, under a year old.
- Medical certificate, under a month old.
- Foreign licence with a translation if needed, or an International Driving Permit.
- A DLT Smart Queue booking.
- The school's bus route, the stop nearest the house, and confirmation of a seat.
- Proof of compulsory insurance on any car or bike you rent.
Find the house on the route
Tell us the school and the year group, and we will shortlist villas for long-term rent on its bus route or within a short drive of the gate, with the stop named. Browse villas for long-term rent, or contact our desk with your dates and the number of bedrooms. If you own a house near one of these campuses and want a long-term tenant, list it with us.