Thailand Property Due Diligence | Land Office Transfer

A non-Thai national may own a condominium unit where foreign ownership in that building stays within 49% of the aggregate unit floor area under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, and normally cannot own land under the Land Code. The usual alternatives are a registered lease of up to 30 years (CCC s.540), a usufruct (s.1417) or a superficies (s.1410), each registered at the Land Office.

Governing authority / legal basis: Land Code; Condominium Act B.E. 2522 (1979) including the 49% foreign-ownership limit and the Foreign Exchange Transaction evidence requirement; Civil and Commercial Code s.456 (form and registration), s.540 (30-year lease limit), s.1410 superficies, s.1417 usufruct, s.1387 servitude; Escrow Act B.E. 2551 (2008)
Turnaround: Title and encumbrance search 3–7 working days · full due-diligence report 7–14 working days · Land Office registration on the appointed transfer date
Fees: Quoted per matter once we see the documents, the parties and the deadline. Court, land office and government fees are charged at the authority's own rate and are separate. Confirm scope and fees with our staff by phone, Line or Email before any drafting or filing begins.

What we handle

Title and encumbrance search

Chanote or unit title verified at the Land Office branch that holds it: ownership chain, mortgage, servitude, lease, court seizure, and whether the plan on the deed matches the land actually shown to the buyer.

Condominium quota and juristic person check

Foreign-ownership ratio in the building, debt certificate from the juristic person, sinking-fund and common-area arrears, and the by-laws that will bind the buyer.

Foreign remittance evidence

For a foreign buyer of a unit, the Land Office requires evidence that the purchase funds were remitted from abroad in foreign currency. We set the wording of the bank's certificate before the money moves, because it cannot be re-issued afterwards to fix a mistake.

Structure where land is involved

Registered lease within the 30-year statutory limit, usufruct or superficies — each with its own registration, its own termination risk and its own treatment on the owner's death. We set out which one matches the client's horizon.

Transfer day representation

Attendance with the parties at the Land Office, checking the cashier's cheques, the tax and fee split agreed in the contract, and the entries made on the deed before anyone leaves the counter.

Documents required

Document	Issued / prepared by	Watch out for
Copy of the chanote / unit title deed	Seller	We verify it against the Land Office original; a clean-looking copy proves nothing.
Seller's identity and marital status documents	Seller	Spousal consent is required where the property is marital property; missing consent is a registration stopper.
Debt-free certificate from the condominium juristic person	Juristic person	The Land Office will not register a unit transfer without it.
Foreign Exchange Transaction evidence / bank certificate	Buyer's bank	Must show the remittance came from abroad in foreign currency and name the buyer and the purpose.
Sale and purchase agreement	Parties / our drafting	Deposit, tax split, completion date and remedies — agreed before the deposit, not after.
Power of attorney where a party cannot attend	Client	A foreign power of attorney needs notarisation and legalisation before the Land Office accepts it.

Document lists, official fees and acceptance conditions vary between offices, branches and provinces, and change by notification. Confirm with the receiving authority before you act on this page.

How the process runs

1
Pre-contract review
We read the reservation form and the developer's or seller's draft before the deposit is paid — that is the last point where terms can still be changed.
2
Search and report
Land Office search, quota and juristic-person checks, and a written report listing every finding that affects price or registrability.
3
Contract negotiation
Bilingual sale and purchase agreement, with conditions matched to the findings and a clear tax and fee allocation.
4
Funding and evidence
Remittance wording and, where the parties want it, an escrow arrangement under the Escrow Act B.E. 2551.
5
Registration
Attendance at the Land Office, verification of the entries on the deed, and delivery of the registered documents to the buyer.

Why files get rejected

A 30-year lease with a written promise of two more 30-year renewals is not a 90-year right; only the registered term is secure against a later owner.
Buying a unit in a building where the foreign quota is already full means the transfer cannot be registered in a foreign name, whatever the contract says.
Remittance evidence that names the wrong remitter or omits the purpose is the most common last-minute failure at the counter.
A usufruct ends on the death of the usufructuary and cannot be inherited; that is a feature, not a defect, but it must be understood before signing.
Transfer fees, specific business tax, stamp duty and withholding tax are apportioned by agreement — silence in the contract means an argument on transfer day.

Frequently asked questions

คำถามที่พบบ่อย (FAQ)

Can a foreigner own land in Thailand?+

As a general rule no, under the Land Code. Narrow statutory exceptions exist, and in practice foreign buyers use a condominium unit within the 49% quota, a registered lease, a usufruct or a superficies instead.

What is the 49% condominium rule?+

Under the Condominium Act B.E. 2522, non-Thai owners may hold up to 49% of the aggregate unit floor area in a building. Once the building reaches that ratio, further units can only be registered to Thai owners.

Is a Thai company a safe way to hold land?+

A company formed with nominee Thai shareholders purely to hold land for a foreigner is unlawful. A genuine operating company with real Thai shareholding is a different matter and must be assessed on its facts — we will say plainly when a proposed structure is a nominee arrangement.

Do I have to be in Thailand for the transfer?+

No, if a properly drafted power of attorney is in place. Signed abroad, it normally needs notarisation and legalisation before the Land Office will act on it.

How much are the transfer taxes?+

They are set by law and calculated on the appraised or contract price by the Land Office on the day, not by us. The contract should state who pays which head.

Authoritative Sources

References & Citations

Official government, legal, and international sources cited throughout this page.

1
Department of Lands· แหล่งทางการ
Department of Lands ↗
www.dol.go.th
2
Office of the Council of State· แหล่งทางการ
Office of the Council of State — Land Code & Condominium Act ↗
www.krisdika.go.th
3
Bank of Thailand· แหล่งทางการ
Bank of Thailand — foreign exchange regulations ↗
www.bot.or.th
4
The Revenue Department· แหล่งทางการ
The Revenue Department ↗
www.rd.go.th
5
Department of Consular Affairs· แหล่งทางการ
Department of Consular Affairs — legalisation ↗
consular.mfa.go.th

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General information, not legal advice on your specific matter. We are not a bank, not an insurance broker and not an agent of any state authority, and we do not guarantee any authority's decision.

Talk to us before you file — reply within 24 hours

Tell us your nationality, visa category and the deadline. Our staff confirms the scope and the fee by phone, Line or Email before any work begins.

Chat on Line Call 094-8958999 Email contact@thainotary.co.th

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Deep Context and Service Standards

Sourced from the Lawyer Act B.E. 2528 (1985), the Lawyers Council Regulation on Notarial Services Attorneys B.E. 2546 (2003), the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, and official publications of the Department of Consular Affairs (MFA).

Firm Overview and Practice Framework

Thai Notary Service is a full-service Thai law office providing document notarization, certified translation, legalization chain management, and international document consultancy. Our team includes Notarial Services Attorneys licensed by the Lawyers Council of Thailand under the Royal Patronage, and we operate offices in Bangkok, Greater Bangkok, and a partner network in every province across Thailand. We serve individuals, expatriates, cross-border couples, students, corporates, multinationals, and government agencies requiring documents with legal effect both inside Thailand and abroad.

All notarial acts follow the Lawyer Act B.E. 2528 (1985) Section 27 read with the Lawyers Council Regulation on Notarial Services Attorneys B.E. 2546 (2003), the sole legal basis authorizing Thai attorneys to certify documents comparable to a foreign Notary Public. Every attorney on our team has completed the accredited training and examination administered by the Lawyers Council and holds a verifiable registration number searchable on the Lawyers Council public registry.

By choosing a firm that houses Notarial Services Attorneys in-house, clients consolidate a multi-stage legalization chain under one accountable roof: attorney notarization, followed by Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) legalization at the Department of Consular Affairs, followed by embassy or consular legalization for the destination country. Since 21 November 2024 the Kingdom of Thailand has become a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents). Documents apostilled in Thailand are now accepted in more than 125 member states without embassy re-legalization, materially reducing turnaround time and cost.

General Information and Firm Framework — Deep Context

The firm operates under an ISO 9001:2015 quality-management framework and enforces data protection consistent with the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019). All client documents are stored with AES-256 encryption at rest and in transit and are retained for ten years in accordance with lawyer-record obligations under the Lawyer Act.

Our team combines Notarial Services Attorneys, NAATI-certified translators, and legal specialists in intellectual property, taxation, cross-border family law, corporate law, and immigration law, together with a support team dedicated to documentation, translation, and government-agency liaison.

Fees are transparent and disclosed both on the website and in the pre-engagement quote, separating professional fees, government fees, travel disbursements (if any), and other line items. The firm issues VAT invoices and official receipts and accepts payment by bank transfer, credit card, PromptPay, and cash.

Trust Standards — PDPA, SLA, Quality Assurance

On data protection, the firm strictly follows the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), Sections 24, 26, and 27 — collecting, using, and disclosing personal data only to the extent necessary for the engagement, disclosing purposes, and obtaining consent from data subjects in advance. Clients retain the right to inspect, obtain a copy, rectify, erase, or withdraw consent at any time through the firm's Data Protection Officer (DPO). For clients in the European Union, processing follows GDPR Article 6 (lawful basis) and Article 46 (Standard Contractual Clauses).

Our Service Level Agreement targets an inquiry response within one hour during business hours (09:00–18:00, Monday to Saturday), attorney appointments within twenty-four hours, standard notarization within one business day (or two to three hours on express service), certified translation within three to five business days per ten A4 pages, MFA legalization within two business days on standard service (one business day express), and embassy legalization typically within three to fifteen business days depending on the mission's own policy.

Every deliverable passes a three-tier quality-assurance chain: (1) the responsible attorney or translator, (2) a Senior Attorney or department head reviewing substance and formatting, (3) a Quality Control desk performing the final pre-delivery check. Any firm-side error is remedied at no additional cost, and if a document is rejected by a government authority due to a firm-side error, we cover the entire re-filing fee.

Contact and Initial Consultation

Initial consultation is complimentary via Line @thainotary or by phone at 094-8958999. The team responds within one hour during business hours. Every inquiry is treated confidentially under the Lawyers Council ethics rules and the Personal Data Protection Act.

Property due diligence and Land Office transfer for foreign buyers

What we handle

Title and encumbrance search

Condominium quota and juristic person check

Foreign remittance evidence

Structure where land is involved

Transfer day representation

Documents required

How the process runs

Pre-contract review

Search and report

Contract negotiation

Funding and evidence

Registration