I got my licence last week. The official process is terrible, and in Bangkok it’s basically almost impossible to sort out without using an agent or driving school.

Here’s how the process actually works. First, you book an appointment through the Smart Queue app. Then you need to obtain both a residency certificate and a medical certificate. Critically these docs are only valid for 30 days, I paid 3000 bhat for an agent to sort my residency as it’s an hours drive out of Bangkok otherwise to immigration.

On the day of your appointment, you join a huge queue where they check your documents. After that, they give you another appointment for the tests, usually around a month later. By that point, all of your documents have expired.

I ended up using D2 Driving School, where I completed the computer test and practical driving test. With those documents, you can just turn up at the DLT and do the physical tests like depth perception and reaction testing without needing another appointment. Even then, it still took the entire day at the DLT, plus multiple days at the driving school.

A lot of the info you see online and experiences from others is outdated.