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Renewing your car or motorbike registration in Thailand is a quick annual process. This guide covers the steps, documents, and costs involved.
If you own a car or motorbike in Thailand, you have to renew the registration and pay for car tax every year.
Fortunately, the process is quick and fairly inexpensive.
By the end of the guide, you’ll know exactly what steps to take and which documents you need to register and pay for your car’s tax.
Note that we use the word car throughout this guide, but this process applies to trucks, vans, and other private vehicles.
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Contents
- Key Takeaways
- Steps to Renewing Your Car Registration
- Buy Compulsory Insurance
- Pass Inspection
- Pass CNG and LPG System Inspection
- Pay Annual Taxes
- Required Documents
- How Much Does it Cost to Register Your Car Every Year?
- Where Should You Get it Done?
- When Do I Need to Register My Car and Pay Tax?
- What Happens If I Don’t Register My Car or Pay the Tax?
- Paying Motorcycle Tax in Thailand
- Now, on to You
Key Takeaways
- Car and motorbike registrations must be renewed annually in Thailand to stay legal on the road.
- You need to buy Por Ror Bor (compulsory insurance) before you can renew; it costs around THB650 for cars and THB430 for motorbikes.
- Cars older than seven years and motorbikes older than five years must pass a Tor Ror Or inspection before renewal.
- The easiest option is a certified inspection station with the Tor Ror Or sign, which handles everything in about 15 minutes.
- Annual tax is calculated by engine size (CC), with discounts for vehicles over five years old.
- Thai ID card holders can renew and pay online through the DLT website and receive the sticker by post.
- Driving with an expired registration sticker can result in a fine of up to THB2,000 per offense.
- Motorbike owners pay much less overall: the annual tax is only THB100 and Por Ror Bor is around THB430.
Steps to Renewing Your Car Registration
To renew your vehicle registration in Thailand, you must:
- Buy compulsory insurance
- Pass car inspection (if your car is older than 7 years old)
- Pass gas system inspection (CNG- or LPG-equipped cars only)
Once these requirements are satisfied, you can then pay the car tax and receive your new annual registration sticker.
That said, let’s look at each step more closely.
Buy Compulsory Insurance
The first step is to buy compulsory insurance, commonly known as Por Ror Bor.
Here are the places where you can buy it:
- You can buy Por Ror Bor at the same time you buy your car insurance.
- You can contact any car insurance company or insurance broker directly to purchase it. They all offer the same plan for Por Ror Bor.
- You can buy it at inspection stations (more details on these inspection stations will be provided later).
Compulsory insurance typically costs around THB650 per year, but it only offers minimal coverage.
Generally, we do not recommend relying solely on Por Ror Bor. If you drive in Thailand, it is always a good idea to buy private car insurance.
Read more: Car Insurance in Thailand: A Complete Buying Guide
Pass Inspection
Your vehicle must pass inspection, or what’s called Tor Ror Or in Thailand if:
- your car is more than seven years old or
- your motorbike is more than five years old
The inspector will check the weight of your car, the lights, and emissions, along with other things to make sure the vehicle is road worthy.
This part of the process usually takes around 10 minutes and costs THB200 to THB300. You can do it at any inspection stations with Tor Ror Or sign in front of their offices.
Pass CNG and LPG System Inspection
If a CNG or LPG system has been installed in the car, it needs to be inspected every five years by a certified engineer who installs these systems. You can do it at any garage that can install a CNG or LPG system. It’s going to cost you around THB1,000 to THB1,500.
If you don’t have it inspected every five years, you won’t be able to re-register your car.
Also, CNG and LPG tanks need to be replaced every 10 years.
Pay Annual Taxes
If your car passes inspection, the last step is to pay the annual tax for your car.
There are two ways to do this.
Offline
You can pay annual taxes at the Department of Land Transport or at any certified inspection center that has the Tor Ror Or sign.
When you get your car inspected and pay for taxes at a certified inspection center, you have to wait usually a few days to pick up your registration sticker, or Por Ror Bor.
Then you have to apply that sticker to the upper left area of the inside of your front window.
If you go to the Department of Land Transport, you’ll get the registration sticker on that day.
Online
Alternatively, you can pay your annual car tax online by uploading all your paperwork to the Department of Land Transport (DLT) website. You’ll be asked to make a mobile payment. Then, the registration sticker will be mailed to you within a week.
However, this option is only available to those who have a Thai ID card. You need the card to create an account on the DLT’s website.
Required Documents
Here’s a list of documents you need to renew your car registration in Thailand.
- car blue book
- compulsory insurance (Por Ror Bor)
- inspection certificate (Tor Ror Or) if your car is older than seven years
- LPG or CNG gas system certificate
Tip: You can buy Por Ror Bor for around THB650 per year. To make it easy to remember, just buy it together when you buy your private car insurance.
How Much Does it Cost to Register Your Car Every Year?
Tax is calculated by car cylinder capacity or CC and car age using the formula below:
- first 600 cc: THB0.5 per CC
- 601-1800 cc: THB1.5 per CC
- 1801+: THB4 per CC
If the car is more than five years old you can take a tax deduction:
- year 6: 10 percent
- year 7: 20 percent
- year 8: 30 percent
- year 9: 40 percent
- year 10+: 50 percent
Here’s how to calculate your estimated car tax amount.
For example, if you have an 11-year-old, 2,000 CC car, you should calculate ((600 x 0.5) + (1,200 x 1.5) + (200 x 4)). Then reduce that amount by 50 percent because the car is older than 10 years.
The total would be (300+1800+800) – 50 percent = THB1,450.
A 3-year-old, 1,500 CC car would be (600 x 0.5) + (900 x 1.5) = THB1,650.
Then, there’s the other fees as follows:
- Por Ror Bor: THB650
- mail delivery (online process): THB40
- Tor Ror Or fee (if you use a Tor Ror Or inspection station): THB100 to THB200
- inspection (if necessary): THB200 to THB300
These calculated fees are for a private car with less than seven seats.
If your car has more than seven seats (a van) or it’s a public car, rates will be calculated differently.
Important: If your car has more than 7 seats, car tax is calculated based on weight instead.
Where Should You Get it Done?
You can get your Tor Ror Or certificate at the DLT or a certified inspection station with a Tor Ror Or sign.
In our experience, if you can’t register your car and pay the taxes online, you should get it done at a certified inspection station with a Tor Ror Or sign.
These are located in almost every neighborhood.
All you need to do is bring your car’s blue book and they will handle all the other documents for you. The whole process should take less than 15 minutes if there’s not a long queue of cars.
We don’t recommend going to the DLT unless you live nearby because queues tend to be long. In fact, you might spend half a day there.
When Do I Need to Register My Car and Pay Tax?
You can register your car and pay the tax at least 90 days before your current registration sticker expires. To find out when you have to visit next, check the due date from your current registration sticker.
What Happens If I Don’t Register My Car or Pay the Tax?
If you don’t have an up-to-date registration sticker and you’re stopped by the police, you will be fined up to THB2,000 per offense.
On top of that, if your car tax has expired for more than three years, you have to re-register your car’s license plate with the DLT.
Paying Motorcycle Tax in Thailand
If you have a motorcycle, you need to register it and pay tax on it every year. The process is exactly the same as if you owned a car. However, the cost of the Por Ror Bor and tax is much lower. It is also worth considering private motorbike insurance on top of the compulsory cover.
The Por Ror Bor should be around THB430, while the motorcycle tax is only THB100 per year.
Note that if your motorcycle is older than five years, an inspection is required.
Now, on to You
If you have a car in Thailand, don’t forget to renew the registration and pay the tax on it every year. It’s quick, easy, and affordable.
If you have any questions or want to share your experience, please feel free to do so in the comment section below.
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