Paperwork:To register a car in your own name you'll need the following:Passport: Copies of the photograph page and current visa page of your passport, a car can registered with any visa, tourist, non-immigrant "O" "B" or retirement visa. (all copies must be signed)
Work Permit: Copies of every page of your work permit (all copies must be signed).
For those without a work permit read below.
Embassy Letter: For people without a work permit you'll need to visit your embassy and get a notary document confirming your name and address in Thailand. Typically these documents cost around 1,500 Baht and are easy to obtain, just explain to your embassy that you are purchasing a car and need the notary document for registration purposes. The immigration department can also issue a similar document.
To register a car in your Thai Husband's/Wife's name: Need copies of his/her ID card and a copy of his/her house registration document "Tabian Baan".
To Register a car in a company name:A copy of the company registration papers, copies of the identification card, and house registration papers of the owner/owners of the company if the owner/s is Thai, or copies of the work permit/s and passport/s if the owner/s of the company is foreign.
Title Document (Lem Tabian):Every used car comes with a blue registration book (left) this book contains information on the amount of owners a vehicle has had, and also shows if all taxes have been paid on the vehicle. Click here for an inside view.
If a car is under any form of financing then the finance company will keep the "blue book" until all monies have been paid, if a seller of a car can't produce the blue book, buyer beware.
If you finance a car the finance company will in turn hold the title document until you have paid back in full all monies borrowed to purchase the car, it is then usually the finace companies responsibility to transfer the title of the car into your name.
Windscreen Stickers (Tax and Government Insurance):All cars must display two stickers on the windscreen, the first is the annual compulsory government insurance sticker (top), this is the minimum requirement insurance and covers basic medical expenses for injured parties, the government insurance sticker is approximately 900 Baht per year.
The other sticker is your annual tax sticker (bottom). The price of your annual tax is based on engine size, but is usually no more than 2,000 Baht for an average 1.6L-2.2L car, 3.0L-4.0L engines can be higher at around 5-6,000 Baht per year. All cars we sell come with valid tax and government insurance stickers usually for at least 6 months.
The local police will be looking out for these stickers at expressway toll booths and stops on the highways of Thailand so keep them up to date to avoid possible fines.
Cars with red plates:Brand new vehicles come with red registration plates issued by the main dealer where the car came from.
A red plate is temporary until the car has been registered into your name.
This process can take from 2 weeks to 3 months (or more), depending on the source of the car.
Once the car has been registered you will receive white permanent plates, your annual tax sticker, and the blue title document in your name.
Good luck
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