What a Thai document needs

Three things a Thai document brings with it

Thai is written in its own script and dated by its own calendar, and some Thai cards already carry a little English. Each needs care.

Buddhist Era years

Thai documents count years in the Buddhist Era: subtract 543, so BE 2569 is 2026. Every date is converted to the Western calendar, with the original kept beside it in square brackets. Dates and calendars on a translation shows the sums.

Part English, part Thai

Some Thai cards print your name in English as well as in Thai, while much of the rest is in Thai only. If everything your reader needs is already in English, see documents already in English before you order. If not, we translate the whole card, and the English already on it is checked against your passport.

Mr, Mrs, Miss and the house book

Thai records put a title before the name: Nai (Mr), Nang (Mrs) or Nangsao (Miss). It is translated, not dropped, so a reader sees how you were recorded on the day. Burmese names often carry a title in front too: see Burmese translation services. The tabien baan (house registration book) lists each resident of an address; each page with an entry is translated.

Driving here on a Thai licence

What to carry with a Thai licence

What New South Wales says

“If your licence is not written in English, you must also carry an English translation, or an International Driving Permit.” Either way, the Thai card itself stays with you when you drive.

Source: NSW Government, driving with an overseas licence in NSW (checked 19 September 2026)

At the Hertz desk

Hertz’s terms accept a licence that “is in English or, if not in English, is accompanied by a certified English translation”. A card with only your name in English is unlikely to count as English, so plan on the translation, and choose the NAATI option, the closest match to “certified”.

Source: Hertz Australia, rental terms (driver licence) (checked 19 September 2026)

How long a visitor may drive on a Thai licence differs by state: how long you can drive on an overseas licence. Hiring? Renting a car on an overseas licence.

What a careful job includes

Every date, every title, both sides

The whole licence

Both sides of the card: name, date of birth, licence type and number, issue and expiry dates, the issuing office, and every stamp or code.

Names that match your passport

Thai names can be romanised several ways. We use the spelling in your passport, and where a card already prints an English spelling that differs, the translation notes it rather than choosing silently.

Civil records in full

Birth, marriage, divorce and death certificates, name-change certificates, the house registration book, police certificates, degrees and transcripts. Seals and signatures are marked where they appear; unreadable text is marked in square brackets.

Choose the NAATI certification option for a translation prepared by a NAATI-certified translator, carrying their certification statement, NAATI stamp and credential number. See the birth certificate and marriage certificate pages for those documents.

Pricing

The full price on screen before you order

Translation is $39.99 per page into English, delivered digitally. Add NAATI certification for $59.99 per page, prepared by a NAATI-certified translator and carrying their certification statement, NAATI stamp and credential number. Where the translator uses NAATI’s digital stamp, it carries a QR code you can scan to check the credential.

Delivery is by email and the order page shows the delivery options. Translating a licence only? Start at driver licence translation. Need a NAATI-certified translator? See NAATI translation in Australia. Other languages: Vietnamese, Indonesian, Chinese, Filipino (Tagalog) and Lao, or see every language we translate.

Driving on a licence in Thai? Check your overseas licence in 1 second.

Thai to English translation