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marriage law

  • Alimony in Thailand | Thai Divorce & Spousal Support Law

    Alimony in Thailand: Spousal Maintenance After Divorce

    Alimony in Thailand refers to financial support that one spouse may be ordered to pay the other after divorce. Thai law calls this spousal maintenance and allows the court to grant it if the receiving spouse lacks adequate means of self-support. The court decides based on income, lifestyle, and the circumstances of the marriage and separation.

  • Child Support

    Child support is the financial maintenance a parent must provide for a child’s needs; food, education, healthcare, and housing. Under Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code (Sections 1522 and 1564), both parents must support their child until age 20, regardless of marital status; for fathers, the duty applies once paternity is legally established.

  • Child Support in Thailand | Thai Family Law Explained

    Child Support in Thailand, Legal Rights, Obligations

    Child support in Thailand is a legal obligation that applies to both Thai and foreign parents. Whether you are divorcing, separated, or were never married, Thai law requires both parents to contribute financially to the child’s upbringing. This guide explains the rules, how the courts calculate payments, and what you can do if support isn’t being paid.

  • Civil law Divorce and Termination of Marriage

    Family law in Thailand is the area of the law that deals with family-related issues and encompasses marriage, adoption, divorce, custody, death, and inheritance. Below the section of Thai family law governing divorce and termination of marriage.

    This is an unofficial English translation of the Thai Civil and Commercial Code sections dealing with divorce and termination of marriage. It is provided for informational purposes only. If you are seeking legal advice or assistance with a divorce in Thailand, please contact a legal professional.

    Translation note: Since January 2025, Thai marriage law uses gender-neutral terms (e.g., “spouse/persons”). Some pages on this website still show older translations with “husband/wife.” We’re updating the wording progressively (legal content remains accurate).

    CHAPTER VI

    TERMINATION OF MARRIAGE (DIVORCE)

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    Section 1501. Marriage (Thai marriage) in Thailand is terminated by death, divorce or being cancelled by the Court.

  • Civil law Relationship of Husband and Wife

    Relationship of husband and wife pursuant to family law in Thailand. Marriage is a specific legal relationship that gives the man and woman who are legally married specific rights and duties to one another resulting from that marriage.

    Legal Update (2025): Following the Marriage Equality Act B.E. 2567, Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code applies equally to same-sex and opposite-sex spouses. The marriage law provisions beginning at Section 1448 and following are unchanged in substance; the statutory wording has been updated to gender-neutral terms only.
    อัปเดตกฎหมาย (พ.ศ. 2567): ภายใต้ พระราชบัญญัติสมรสเท่าเทียม (ฉบับที่ 24 พ.ศ. 2567) ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์ของไทยใช้บังคับกับคู่สมรสเพศเดียวกันและต่างเพศอย่างเท่าเทียมกัน บทบัญญัติมาตรา 1448 เป็นต้นไป ไม่ได้เปลี่ยนแปลงเนื้อหา มีเพียงการปรับถ้อยคำให้เป็นกลางทางเพศเท่านั้น

    CHAPTER III

    RELATIONSHIP OF HUSBAND AND WIFE

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    Section 1461. Husband and wife A married couple shall cohabit as husband and wife a married couple.

    Husband and wife Spouses shall maintain and support each other according to his or her their ability and condition in life.

  • Civil law sections Conditions of Marriage

    Marriage legal requirements and conditions for registration of marriage and the validity of a marriage in Thailand under Thai Family Laws.

    Marriage law in Thailand – logo Legal Update (2025): Following the Marriage Equality Act B.E. 2567, Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code applies equally to same-sex and opposite-sex spouses. Section 1448 now requires that a person has completed the eighteenth year of age (18) to marry (court may still allow below that age). Apart from this age update and gender-neutral wording, the provisions remain unchanged in substance.
    อัปเดตกฎหมาย (พ.ศ. 2567):ภายใต้ พระราชบัญญัติสมรสเท่าเทียม (ฉบับที่ 24 พ.ศ. 2567) ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์ใช้บังคับกับคู่สมรสทุกเพศอย่างเท่าเทียมกัน มาตรา 1448 ปรับเกณฑ์อายุขั้นต่ำในการสมรสจาก “ครบ 17 ปีบริบูรณ์” เป็น “ครบ 18 ปีบริบูรณ์” (ศาลยังอาจอนุญาตให้สมรสก่อนอายุดังกล่าวได้เมื่อมีเหตุอันสมควร) นอกจากการปรับอายุและถ้อยคำให้เป็นกลางทางเพศแล้ว เนื้อหาโดยสาระสำคัญยังคงเดิม

    CHAPTER II

    CONDITIONS OF MARRIAGE

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    Note: Strikethrough text shows wording changed by the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 24) B.E. 2567 (2024) (“Marriage Equality Act”).

    Section 1448. A marriage (in Thailand under Thai Marriage and Family Laws) can take place only when the man and woman two persons, both have completed their seventeenth eighteenth year of age. But the Court may, in case of having appropriate reason, allow them to marry before attaining such age.

  • Civil law sections Marriage and Engagement

    Family Law
    marriage and family in the civil code

    Gender-neutral interpretation: References in this article to “husband and wife” or “man and woman” should be read as “spouses” or “persons”. This reflects the Marriage Equality Act (effective January 2025), which applies equally to all married couples.

    Family law in Thailand is the area of the law that deals with family-related issues and encompasses marriage laws, divorce, property of husband and wife, adoption, parentage. Below the section of laws governing engagement and marriage in Thailand.

    TITLE I

    THAI MARRIAGE LAWS

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    CHAPTER I

    BETROTHAL

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    Section 1435. A betrothal can be effected only when the man and the women have completed there seventeenth year of age.

  • Civil law sections Void of Marriage

    When a marriage is unlawful or invalid under the laws of Thailand it means that the marriage was void and invalid from its beginning. Sections void of marriage under Thai family and marriage laws.

    CHAPTER V

    VOID OF MARRIAGE

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    Section 1494. The marriage in Thailand will be void only as provided in this Chapter.

    Section 1495. The marriage which is made against Section 1449, Section 1450, Section 1452 and Section 1458 shall be void.

  • Family and Marriage Law in Thailand for Foreigners

    Thai family law
    laws in Thailand for foreigners

    Family law covers areas like marriage, divorce, property of husband and wife, adoption, parentage, succession. The core collection of family laws in Thailand can be found in Book 5 of the Thailand civil code. Book 5 of the civil code is intended to systematically and comprehensively deal with all areas of Family Law in Thailand. Book 6 of the civil code deals with succession and inheritance.

  • Matrimonial Property of Husband and Wife

    Family and matrimonial laws in Thailand governing assets of husband and wife, marital property, and the making of an pre-marriage contract (or prenup prenuptial agreement between a man and a woman in contemplation of marriage). Marriage and contracts concerning property of husband and wife is governed by the sections 1465 to 1469 of the Thailand Civil and Commercial Code.

    Legal Update (2025): Following the Marriage Equality Act B.E. 2567, Thailand’s Civil and Commercial Code applies equally to same-sex and opposite-sex spouses. The marriage law provisions beginning at Section 1448 and following are unchanged in substance; the statutory wording has been updated to gender-neutral terms only.
    อัปเดตกฎหมาย (พ.ศ. 2567): ภายใต้ พระราชบัญญัติสมรสเท่าเทียม (ฉบับที่ 24 พ.ศ. 2567) ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์ของไทยใช้บังคับกับคู่สมรสเพศเดียวกันและต่างเพศอย่างเท่าเทียมกัน บทบัญญัติมาตรา 1448 เป็นต้นไป ไม่ได้เปลี่ยนแปลงเนื้อหา มีเพียงการปรับถ้อยคำให้เป็นกลางทางเพศเท่านั้น

    CHAPTER IV

    PROPERTY OF HUSBAND AND WIFE

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    Section 1465. Where the husband and wife a married couple have not, previous to their marriage, concluded a special agreement (prenuptial) concerning their properties, the relations between them as regards to their properties shall be governed by the provisions of this Chapter.

  • Registration of a Thai Marriage

    Thai marriage certificate issued by a district office in Thailand
    Marriage Certificate

    Thai Family Law
    civil marriage in Thailand

    Updated , minor revisions reflecting the Marriage Equality Act changes.

    Gender-neutral interpretation: References in this article to “husband and wife” or “man and woman” should be read as “spouses” or “persons”. This reflects the Marriage Equality Act (effective January 2025), which applies equally to all married couples.

    Marriage in Thailand is governed by the Civil and Commercial Code book 5, sections 1435 to 1535. A marriage (section 1457) can take place only if the man and woman two persons (who are at least 17 18 years old (with parental consent required if under 20)) agree to take each other as husband and wife spouse, and such agreement must be declared publicly before the Registrar in order to have it recorded by the Registrar. Marriage in Thailand is created and completed on formal registration and inclusion in the government's marriage register.