Yes, with an international driving permit alongside it — and the Dutch government puts it about as plainly as a government can: "In Thailand is uw Nederlandse rijbewijs alleen geldig als u ook een geldig internationaal rijbewijs heeft." Your Dutch licence is only valid in Thailand if you also hold a valid international one. The model you want is the 1968 booklet, and the ANWB is where you get it — in person, in a shop, before you fly.
How permits work in general, and how Thailand treats foreign licences, are covered in the full IDP guide and which licence Thailand recognises. This page is the Dutch answer: which model to ask for, what it costs, how the categories translate, and the snorfiets problem.
- Convention that appliesThe 1968 Vienna Convention — the Netherlands acceded in 2007, Thailand in 2020
- Model to ask forModel 1968, grey cover — not the 1949 model
- CostCurrently reported as €24.95 for the 1968 model, €18.95 for the 1949
- Validity and whereThree years, or until your Dutch licence expires. In person at an ANWB-winkel
Ask for the right model, because the ANWB sells three
This is the one thing a Dutch reader has to get right at the counter, because the ANWB issues more than one booklet and they are not interchangeable. Model 1968 has a grey cover, costs €24.95 and is valid for three years. Model 1949 also has a grey cover, costs €18.95 and is valid for one year. There is even a Model 1926 with a white cover, still sold, and useful now in essentially one country. Ask for the 1968 model for Thailand.
The reason is the treaty position. Thailand is a party to both conventions — 1949 since 1962 and 1968 with effect from 1 May 2021. The Netherlands is also a party to both, having acceded to the 1968 Convention in November 2007. Where two states are both parties to the 1968 Convention, that convention governs their relationship, and the 1968 booklet is the matching document. It is also the better buy: three years for six euros more.
Waarom het model uitmaakt
Article 48 of the 1968 Convention terminates and replaces the 1949 Convention "in relations between the Contracting Parties" to 1968. Between the Netherlands and Thailand that means the 1968 rules apply. Between Thailand and a country that never joined the 1968 Convention — the United States, Australia, Ireland, Canada, New Zealand — the 1949 Convention still governs, which is why those readers are correctly told to bring a 1949 permit to the same country.
Applying: it has to be in person
You cannot order a Dutch international driving permit online. The ANWB requires you to come into one of its shops, and you walk out with the booklet the same visit rather than waiting for the post. Bring your valid Dutch driving licence, recent proof of address, and one or two recent passport photographs. Membership is not required.
Do it before you leave. There is no route to a Dutch permit from Bangkok, the embassy cannot issue one, and the websites offering an internationaal rijbewijs as an instant download are not producing convention documents — they carry no standing at a Thai roadside, at a rental counter or in a claim.
Categories, and the snorfiets trap
The permit transcribes what is already on your rijbewijs. Category B is cars. Motorcycle entitlement is A1, A2 or A, and that is what produces category A on the permit. No A on the Dutch card means no category A in the booklet, and no motorcycle entitlement in Thailand.
The Dutch-specific problem is AM. In the Netherlands, AM covers the bromfiets and the snorfiets — the 45 km/h and 25 km/h machines that half the country grew up on, and which most people do not think of as motorcycles at all. AM is a national category. It does not exist in the conventions, whose motorcycle class is a single undivided category A. There is nothing for the ANWB to write into your booklet on the strength of it.
And Thailand has closed the obvious escape hatch. On joining the 1968 Convention it declared under Article 54(2) that it treats mopeds as motorcycles. So there is no Thai equivalent of the snorfiets tier: a 110cc automatic in Krabi is a motorcycle, needs category A, and a category B licence does not cover it. It does not matter that the machine is smaller than the scooter you ride to the station at home. See the Thai motorbike licence and engine sizes for the full picture.
De reisverzekering is waar dit echt pijn doet. The Dutch government's own travel advice says it directly: "Heb je geen geldig (internationaal) motorrijbewijs? Dan vergoedt je reisverzekering schade of medische kosten na een ongeluk vaak niet." Without a valid motorcycle entitlement, your travel insurer will often decline both damage and medical costs after a crash. The Thai fine for a licence problem tops out at around ฿1,000 — about €26. A serious head injury treated privately in Phuket is a different order of number entirely. Read your own policy's two-wheeler clause in the polisvoorwaarden rather than the brochure; wordings differ a great deal. What voids your motorbike cover in Thailand lists the usual exclusions.
The rest of what the Dutch advice tells you
Nederland Wereldwijd's Thailand page records that road deaths and serious injuries are far more common than at home, with motorcycles and scooters frequently involved. It also gives two practical instructions worth following exactly. First, on deposits: many scooter hire firms will ask for your passport or licence as security — do not hand either over, and offer a copy or a cash deposit instead. Passport as deposit for motorbike hire in Thailand explains how to have that conversation. Second, lock the scooter whenever you park it; theft is a real category of loss and rental agreements put it on you.
It also notes that Dutch insurers may adjust their travel policy conditions where a travel advice colour changes — worth checking against your own policy if the advice for any part of Thailand is amber or red when you travel.
Beyond a holiday
Article 41(6) of the Convention allows a state to stop recognising a foreign permit held by someone who normally lives there. That, rather than any fixed number of days, is the real reason long-stayers convert. If you are settling in Thailand, how to get a Thai driving licence covers the process, and the residence certificate is usually the slow part.
Frequently asked questions
Which model do I ask the ANWB for?
Model 1968, the grey one valid for three years. It matches Thailand's treaty position and it lasts three times as long as the 1949 model for six euros more.
Can I order it online?
No. Dutch international driving permits are issued in person in an ANWB shop. The upside is that you get it the same day rather than waiting for the post; the downside is that you have to plan the trip to the shop before you fly.
Is my Dutch photocard enough by itself?
The Dutch government says no — your Dutch licence is valid in Thailand only if you also hold a valid international permit. There is a respectable treaty argument that an EU-format photocard should be recognised on its own, and the Thai transport authority said as much in 2021, but no government advises relying on it. Carry both.
I have AM but not A. Can I ride a scooter in Thailand?
No. AM is a Dutch national category with no convention equivalent, so there is nothing to put in the booklet. Thailand treats mopeds as motorcycles, meaning even the smallest machine needs category A. If you want to ride there, get A1 at home first.
How long is the permit valid in Thailand?
Three years for the 1968 model, or until your Dutch licence expires if that comes first. The frequently repeated claim that an IDP only lasts 90 days in Thailand has no statutory or Department of Land Transport basis that we could find, and it is in neither convention.
Do I need it for a hire car too?
Yes, and rental desks tend to be stricter than the roadside. Expect to show the permit, the Dutch licence, your passport and a credit card in the driver's name.