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What changed on 24 March 2026
Thailand’s Department of Provincial Administration replaced the district-office will regulations that had been in force since 1960. The 2026 Ministerial Regulation on wills and testamentary declarations took effect on 24 March 2026, according to the Government Public Relations Department’s 18 March 2026 notice. The new rules govern wills made through a district official; they do not turn this page into a substitute for advice about a private will, succession, tax or cross-border assets.
The official routes covered here are a will made as a public document and a secret will deposited through the district office. The regulation also covers oral wills in the limited circumstances recognised by the Civil and Commercial Code. It repealed the 1960 regulations and applies the new procedure to pending requests, although an official may ask for corrected or additional documents.
Where a foreigner can use the official procedure
As of 25 July 2026, the regulation says a request for a public-document will, secret will or covered declaration can be made at any district office; in Bangkok, “district office” includes the relevant khet office. A public-document will can also be requested outside the office within that district official’s territorial responsibility. The district office decides whether the documents and circumstances meet the procedure.
For a foreign testator who cannot produce a Thai national identity card, the official may check a passport or other official identity evidence. If the testator or a witness cannot communicate in Thai, the regulation provides for an interpreter. The interpreter signs the record, and the official records the interpreter’s details.
Witnesses and the signing record
For the district-office public and secret routes, the 2026 regulation requires at least two adult witnesses. As of 25 July 2026, the regulation excludes a person who is mentally incapacitated or quasi-incompetent, and a person who is deaf, mute or blind in both eyes, from acting as a witness for this procedure. If the applicant does not have enough witnesses, the district office may assist in providing them.
A secret will must be sealed before it is delivered under the official procedure. The official records the request, signatures and custody. For a public-document will, the office retains the official instrument and can issue a certified copy. The testator can request return under the regulation; where a public-document will is returned, the office retains a copy and records the return.
Official district-office fees
These are administrative fees in the 2026 regulation, not private lawyer fees. As of 25 July 2026, per the Department of Provincial Administration regulation:
| Official service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Public-document will at a district office | THB 250 |
| Public-document will outside the district office | THB 500 |
| Secret will | THB 250 |
| Declaration excluding or reinstating a statutory heir, or renouncing an inheritance | THB 100 |
| Duplicate copy of a public-document will | THB 50 |
The regulation does not set a standard private-lawyer price. We found no official nationwide tariff for drafting, translation, tax review or cross-border coordination, so this page does not publish an “average” commercial price.
Assets, probate and land records are separate questions
A will records testamentary wishes; it does not by itself transfer every registered asset. The Office of the Attorney General’s estate-administrator guidance explains that registered assets may require a court-appointed estate administrator and a court order. The Department of Lands inheritance-transfer guide lists documents that may be requested for a land or condominium registration, including the death certificate, original will, administrator evidence, certified translations for foreign documents and any relevant court order.
The correct treatment of a condominium, lease, company shares, a Thai bank account, foreign assets or land inherited by a non-Thai person depends on the asset and the heir. The Department of Lands publishes a separate process for foreign statutory heirs under Land Code section 93. Where an official source does not resolve a particular ownership structure, the court, land office, bank or other registry makes the operational decision.
What to confirm before relying on a document
- Which form of will was used and whether its execution requirements were met.
- Whether the named assets and ownership details are current.
- Whether foreign documents need Thai translation, certification or legalisation.
- Whether a court appointment or registry process will still be required after death.
- Whether a home-country will conflicts with or revokes the Thai document.
Those are document-specific legal questions. A district office can explain its public or secret will procedure; an independent Thai lawyer can review drafting and cross-border interaction; the relevant land office, bank or registry decides its transfer requirements.
Official sources checked
- Department of Provincial Administration: current civil-registration manuals and will materials
- Ministerial Regulation on wills and testamentary declarations, B.E. 2569 (2026)
- Government PRD announcement, 18 March 2026
- Office of the Attorney General: estate administrator information
- Department of Lands: inheritance registration documents