Notary Public in Thailand

In many countries, a notary public is an official who is licensed by the government to authenticate signatures or documents, and witness affidavits or statements of persons under oath. In general, a Thailand notary public has no authority to act when not in the jurisdiction of the government where the notary is licensed. Notarization of documents is often required when it is important to show the authenticity of the document or to be sure that the person signing the document is who they say there are.

Thailand is not a party to the Hague Convention on Legalization of Foreign Public Documents and the government does not license notaries public. However, if you need notary services in Thailand, a “notarial service attorney” may be able to meet your needs. In other cases you may need the help of an embassy or the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Or you may need certification from some combination of the above authorities.

The Embassy of the country to which the document is to be presented.

Notarial Services Attorneys

Although Thailand does not license notaries public, some Thai lawyers are authorized to function as notarial services attorneys. The Lawyers Council of Thailand regulates the practice of notarial services in Thailand. A Thai lawyer is required to undergo and pass a professional training course on notarial services before he or she can be registered as a notarial services attorney.

Once authorized to perform, a notarial services attorney may:

1. Verify the authenticity of signatures in a document;
2. Certify the identity of parties to an agreement;
3. Administer oaths and affirmations;
4. Attest to and certify certain classes of documents; and
5. Witness the signing of a document.

If you need some other kind of authentication, certification or legalization you will likely need to go to your embassy, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or the embassy of the country to which the document is to be presented. In some cases you will need to take a document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for legalization after it has been certified by a notarial services attorney.

Legalization at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Thailand is also not a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (or Apostille Convention), so if you need to authenticate or certify a document that originated outside of Thailand or a document from Thailand that will be used in another country you may also need to have it legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Legalization is the process by which a document is authenticated for international use.

The Legalization Division of Consular Affairs Department of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located at 123 Chaengwattana Road in Bangkok and is open from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, Monday through Friday except for public holidays. Legalization generally takes 2-3 business days.

Notary Services at Embassies

If you have a document generated in Thailand that needs to be used in another country you may need to use the notary services available from that embassy. In addition, you may need to use the services of your own embassy if you need a notary while you are in Thailand. Example information about notary services at the US Embassy in Bangkok is available at US Embassy Notarial Services.

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Tags: business in thailand, company registration, doing business in thailand, Last Will and Testament, Notary Public in Thailand, Notary Services in Thailand, Prenuptial Agreement, Thai Will

Category: Business in Thailand, Company Law, Company Registration, Litigation, Property, Thai Will and Testament