Riding a Scooter in Thailand: Licence, Helmet, Fines and Insurance

Contents of this article7 sections

1. Which licence you need
2. What a police check costs
3. Helmet and alcohol limit
4. Why insurance can become a problem
5. Renting safely
6. How dangerous it really is
7. If you do not have a suitable licence

A scooter is the most convenient way to get around in Thailand. On Koh Samui, Koh Phangan or in Pai it takes you anywhere, and a day costs less than lunch in Germany. Even so, for holidaymakers the scooter is the biggest risk of the whole trip. This article shows what you need so that a police check or an accident does not become expensive.

In short

• You need the International Driving Permit under the 1968 Vienna Convention and your German licence, both with a motorcycle category.
• Category B alone is not enough, not even for a small scooter. B196 only applies in Germany.
• The helmet requirement applies to you and to your passenger.
• Without a suitable licence, your travel or accident insurance can refuse to pay.
• Never hand over your passport as a deposit.

Which licence you need

Thailand does not recognise the German licence on its own. You also need the International Driving Permit. Germany only issues the version under the 1968 Vienna Convention. The convention has applied to Thailand since May 2021, so that version is the right one. Older guides that see a grey area here are out of date.

You get the International Driving Permit from your local licensing office. It is valid for three years, but never longer than your German licence.

The category matters. The International Driving Permit only lists what is also in your German licence. If you only have category B, you may not ride a scooter in Thailand. Thailand treats even small scooters of 110 or 125 cubic centimetres as motorcycles, and there is no exception for small machines. The German code B196 for light motorcycles is not carried over into the International Driving Permit.

If you stay longer than three months, Thailand generally requires a Thai driving licence. To get one, you have your German licence converted at the Department of Land Transport. How this works, who can get one and what it costs is covered in the guide Thai driving licence for scooters.

What a police check costs

Since 1 April 2026, the police have been targeting ten common offences. The amounts are maximum penalties:

• No helmet, for rider or passenger: up to 2,000 baht
• Not carrying your licence: up to 1,000 baht
• Speeding, running a red light or using a phone in your hand: up to 4,000 baht each
• Drink driving: 5,000 to 20,000 baht and up to one year in prison

Phuket shows how seriously this is meant. In 2025, more than 20,000 foreigners were caught riding a rental scooter without a suitable licence there. More than 1,700 scooters were seized.

Helmet and alcohol limit

Always wear your helmet, even for three minutes to the 7-Eleven. The requirement expressly applies to the passenger too. Thailand drives on the left, which takes a few days to get used to at junctions and roundabouts.

A stricter limit of 0.2 per mille applies to riders without a valid licence, to novice drivers and to everyone under 20. Anyone who only has category B and rides a scooter anyway counts as one of them. My advice: if you drink, take a taxi or Grab.

Why insurance can become a problem

If you ride without a suitable licence, your travel health or accident insurance can refuse to pay. The UK Foreign Office expressly warns about this. Your policy terms say whether your insurance has such a clause. Read them before the trip or ask.

Motorcycles in particular are sometimes covered by neither third-party liability nor comprehensive insurance. Thai compulsory vehicle insurance only covers injuries, not property damage, and only up to low amounts. For damage to the scooter or theft, you are usually liable yourself.

Renting safely

A scooter with 110 or 125 cubic centimetres costs about 150 to 300 baht a day on the mainland and 200 to 350 baht on the islands. For a month you pay 2,500 to 4,000 baht.

• Do not hand over your passport as a deposit. Offer a cash deposit and a passport copy instead.
• Before you set off, film a video all the way round the scooter, showing every scratch.
• Have the deposit and existing damage written into the rental contract.
• Check the brakes, lights and tyres before you ride off.

There are also gangs who invent alleged damage and work together with corrupt police officers, for example at the police station at Patong Beach on Phuket. If a return gets out of hand, call the tourist police on 1155.

How dangerous it really is

Thailand’s roads are among the most dangerous in the world. In 2021 there were 25.4 road deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. More than eight in ten were on a motorcycle. Among tourists there were 116 road deaths in 2025. Around 80 per cent of the tourists who had accidents were on a scooter.

Typical dangers are sand and loose gravel in bends, sudden downpours in the rainy season and oncoming traffic that drives in your lane in tight bends. Ride slowly in the first few days and not in the dark.

Emergency numbers: ambulance 1669 and tourist police 1155, police 191.

If you do not have a suitable licence

Then give the scooter a miss. In cities, Grab gets you to your destination cheaply, with a fixed price in advance in the app. On the islands there are songthaews, the shared taxis built on pickups. If you only have category B, you can also rent a car. The International Driving Permit together with your German licence is enough for that.

What else you need for the trip is covered in Entering Thailand 2026. To see which island is particularly practical for a scooter, read Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. For cover after an accident, read the guide Travel health insurance for Thailand, and for rules and penalties the guide What is prohibited in Thailand.