How do you read an ID card when you want to be sure that the person you are with is of legal age i.e. >18 years old.

Thanks

This is the old style card. They may still be issued in some provinces. The birth date is calculated according to the Buddhist calendar.

 

As of today (30 Nov 07) the lad is certainly eighteen if the year is 2531 or earlier. If the year is 2532 he is eighteen if he has already had his birthday this year. Good luck reading the month abbreviation in Thai. The year will increase by 1 January 1st.

 

The newer style cards have the birthday printed according to both the Buddhist and Christian calendar, so you should have no problem if it’s the boy’s own card, it’s not counterfeit, and hasn’t been altered. If it hasn’t been altered it should be in good condition. The number of cards which are in good condition except for a smudge, or stain obscuring the photo or birth date is amazing.

Geezer taught me something that he did not mention in his post above. Once he has the boy's ID car in hand, he asks the boy when his birthday is. I have actually been with him twice when the boy said, "I don't know." Right. He doesn't know his own birthday. What he really didn't know was the birth date on the card he borrowed from someone else, in hopes the "farang" would not catch on that it isn't his own card and he's probably under-age.

 

If you are ever confused about the Thai year, remember the "543 Rule." This year the Thai year is 2550. Subtract 543 from 2550 and you have 2007. Subtract 543 from 2531 and you have 1988, making the boy at least 18 years old if he's using his own ID card.

This is an old trick.

 

In Australia, when I was a lad, I remember the cops asking me, "What is your birthday", after they appropriated my paper driving license. Of course, I answered correctly but years later as a barman/cellarman, I soon realised that most "underage" people simply remembered the date on their license & thus escaped problems.

 

One cannot rely on memory alone to prove legal age.

All of the newly issued Thai national identity cards have the birthdate in roman numerals. I understand that maybe all the Thai's don't have the newest version but, since the cards (I think) have to be renewed every 6 years and it's been at least 3 years since I've seen the new cards around, a lot of them should have them. Here's a copy of one:

 

All of the newly issued Thai national identity cards have the birthdate in roman numerals.

 

 

So 31st July 1979 (or 31.07.1979) would be XXXI.VII.MCMLXXIX right?

 

Sorry...Couldn't resist it

 

Thanks for the ID card examples.

No problem, Dick....and,now that I think of it, my description was one of those "duh" answers. Guess that'd be arabic numerals.

Oh well, you get the point (i.e., if the kid has one of the new national identity cards, one would have to be pretty dense to misunderstand the birthday). But one would still have to make sure that the card looked legitmate and carried the holder's photograph.