Commercial vehicles, yellow plates and land transport licences

Vehicles registered under the motor vehicle legislation carry white plates when private and yellow plates when used for hire or as public vehicles under the same Act. Large trucks and buses are registered under the land transport legislation instead, which uses a separate numbering system and imposes its own transport operator licence and driving licence classes.

The Land Transport Act divides the driver category of the crew licence into four classes: class one for vehicles whose combined vehicle and load weight does not exceed 3,500 kilograms, class two for heavier vehicles and buses, class three for tractor units and trailers, and class four for vehicles carrying dangerous goods. A commercial truck driver therefore cannot rely on a private car licence.

The Land Transport Act prescribes the qualifications of a transport operator licence holder, including the Thai shareholding and director proportions it requires. Land transport is also listed in the schedules to the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542. Foreign investment must therefore be structured to satisfy both statutes, and the structure should be checked with the Department of Land Transport and the Department of Business Development before incorporation.

A public licence is issued under the Motor Vehicle Act for hire vehicles registered under that Act, while a driver licence under the Land Transport Act covers trucks and buses registered under transport law, graded by vehicle weight and type. Both impose extra requirements such as criminal-record checks, and some categories carry nationality restrictions.