Yes, with an International Driving Permit alongside it — and the Irish permit is the 1949 booklet, not the 1968 one. That is correct, it is not a downgrade, and it is the only permit Ireland issues. You have to arrange it before you leave, because no Irish body will post one to you in Thailand.
The mechanics of the permit, and how Thailand handles foreign licences in general, are in the full IDP guide and which licence Thailand recognises. This page covers the Irish specifics: why the booklet is the 1949 one, where to apply, what your categories translate to, and what the Department of Foreign Affairs actually advises.
- Convention that appliesThe 1949 Geneva Convention — Ireland is a party to it, and not to the 1968 one
- Booklet you needThe 1949 IDP, issued by AA Ireland
- How long it lastsOne year from the date of issue, and never beyond your Irish licence
- CostCurrently reported as €10 standard, €15 for the express service
Why Irish drivers get a 1949 permit for a "1968 country"
If you have read the British advice you will have seen Thailand described as a 1968 country. It is — but only for people whose own country is also a 1968 party. Ireland acceded to the 1949 Geneva Convention in May 1962 and has never joined the 1968 Vienna Convention. Thailand has been a party to the 1949 Convention since 1962 and remains bound by it towards states like Ireland. So the 1949 booklet is the right document, and it is the only one AA Ireland is authorised to issue.
This trips people up because they read GOV.UK, see "Thailand: 1968", then discover that nobody in Ireland will sell them a 1968 permit and assume something has gone wrong. Nothing has. Ireland sits in the same group as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
The reason both answers are right
Article 48 of the 1968 Convention replaces the 1949 Convention only "in relations between the Contracting Parties" to 1968. Between Thailand and a state that never joined 1968, the 1949 Convention keeps operating exactly as before.
One thing that is not the reason: the 1968 Convention's transitional article gave 1949-format permits equal treatment for five years only, which expired in 1982. Anyone telling you a 1949 permit is "still accepted under the transitional provisions" is citing a rule that has been dead for four decades.
Getting the permit in Ireland
AA Ireland issues International Driving Permits under the 1949 Convention. Applications go by post with a copy of the front and back of your full Irish licence, a passport-sized photograph signed on the reverse, and the fee — currently reported as €10 for the standard service, taking roughly eight to ten working days, or €15 for an express turnaround of three to five days. The Royal Irish Automobile Club has historically issued permits as well; check current arrangements before you rely on either.
You must hold a full licence. A learner permit will not do — and that is not an Irish quirk but the convention itself, which excludes learner permits from recognition. Full EU and EEA licence holders resident in Ireland can generally apply through the same route.
Allow more time than you think: ten working days by post, plus the days spent finding a photo booth, is a fortnight. There is no Irish office in Bangkok that can help.
Your licence categories, and the scooter problem
The Irish licence is a standard EU photocard, and the categories on the back are what get transcribed into the permit. Category B is cars. Motorcycle entitlement is separate — AM, A1, A2 or A — and if you hold none of those, your permit comes back without category A and you have no motorcycle entitlement in Thailand.
That matters more here than it sounds, because the machine almost every visitor ends up on is a 110cc or 125cc automatic scooter. When Thailand joined the 1968 Convention it declared that it treats mopeds as motorcycles — so there is no lighter category a car licence quietly covers. A car-only Irish licence does not authorise a scooter, however small the engine, and no matter that the shop in Ao Nang handed over the key without looking. The Thai motorbike licence and engine sizes sets out the categories in full.
Category AM deserves a separate warning. It is a national moped category with no counterpart in the 1949 Convention, whose motorcycle category A is a single undivided class. Holding AM alone gives you nothing to put in the permit.
What the Department of Foreign Affairs says
The Irish travel advice for Thailand is blunter about two wheels than most. It states that an international or Thai driving licence is required, and then recommends plainly that Irish citizens do not rent a scooter or motorcycle in Thailand at all, on the grounds that motorcycle accidents there are numerous and that Irish citizens have been seriously injured and killed. It also notes that a helmet is a legal requirement, and that some insurers will not meet your costs if you were driving unlawfully — without a helmet or without the proper licence.
We are not going to tell you not to ride; readers do it anyway, and the useful thing is to make them safer. But your own government's position is "don't", and it says so because of what has happened to Irish travellers. The biggest risk factors for visiting drivers explains where the risk actually concentrates.
Check your own policy's motorcycle clause before you fly, in writing. Travel insurance wordings differ far more than forum threads suggest, and the clauses that catch people are about the licence you hold rather than the permit you carry. Some policies exclude two-wheelers outright; some cover them only up to an engine size; some require a home-country motorcycle entitlement regardless of what Thai law would have allowed. Read the wording, not the marketing page. What voids your motorbike cover in Thailand goes through the usual exclusions.
Staying longer than a holiday
The conventions let a country stop recognising a foreign permit once its holder normally lives there, and a 1949 permit expires a year after issue in any event. If you have moved to Thailand rather than visited it, that is the point at which the Irish licence and permit stop being the answer and a Thai licence becomes one — the residence and medical certificates are the parts that take the time.
Frequently asked questions
Is an Irish 1949 permit really accepted in Thailand?
As a matter of treaty law, yes — Thailand has been a party to the 1949 Convention since 1962 and that obligation still runs towards countries, like Ireland, that never joined the 1968 Convention. What we could not find is any statement from the Thai police or the Department of Land Transport describing how officers handle a 1949 booklet now that Thailand is also a 1968 party. Carry the permit and your licence together and the question rarely arises.
Can I get an IDP in Thailand if I forgot mine?
No. Irish permits are issued in Ireland, on the strength of an Irish licence, and posted to an Irish address. Sites offering to email you an "international driving licence" are not issuing a convention permit.
How long does an Irish IDP last?
One year from the date of issue, and never beyond the expiry of the Irish licence behind it. You will see it claimed online that an IDP only works for 90 days in Thailand — we found no statutory or Department of Land Transport basis for that, and neither convention creates such a rule.
My licence says B only. Can I hire a small scooter?
Plenty of shops will rent you one. That does not make it lawful, and it does not help you with an insurer afterwards. Category B is cars; a scooter needs motorcycle entitlement, and Thailand treats mopeds as motorcycles. Renting a motorbike without a licence in Thailand describes what actually happens, and why it is not the reassurance it looks like.
Do I need the permit for a hire car as well as a bike?
Yes, and hire desks are stricter about it than the roadside is. The permit, the licence, a passport and a credit card in the driver's name is the usual set.