Thai Civil and Commercial Code, Annotated Bilingual Reference
A per-section bilingual (Thai / English) reference to every section of the Thai Civil & Commercial Code (CCC), with firm annotations and Supreme Court (Dika) decisions that interpret each section.
- 6Books
- 1,872Sections
- 275+Verified Supreme Court decisions
- 150Annotated highlights
- 88Bilingual FAQs
What we count
- 1,755 numbered sections, 1 to 1,755.
- 117 inserted sections added by later amendments, numbered like 193/30 (and one, 1096 bis, in the older style).
- Total 1,872, of which 38 have been repealed and 1,834 are in force.
- This reference has a page for 1,846 of them: every section from 4 to 1,755 and every inserted section, except section 1096 bis and the repealed run 1275 to 1296 (covered on the page for section 1274). Sections 1 to 3, the Code's preliminary provisions, do not have pages yet.
Counted from the current consolidated text published by the Office of the Council of State (in force from 25 March 2025).
Last reviewed: 12 October 2026
Start here
Buying and holding property
Owning, renting or holding rights over land in Thailand depends on writing and registration. These sections set the rules for sales, long leases, ownership and the real rights foreigners most often use, such as usufruct, superficies and habitation.
Key sections
- §456 Sale of immovable, registered writing required
- §538 Lease over 3 years requires registration
- §1299 Registration of real rights in immovables
- §1336 Right of owner to recover property and to prevent unlawful interference
- §1382 Adverse possession, ten years (immovable) / five years (movable)
- §1387 Servitude, definition
- §1402 Right of habitation, definition
- §1410 Superficies, definition
- §1417 Usufruct, definition
- §1418 Usufruct: duration, and termination on death
Practice guides
- Property guide for foreigners in Thailand
- Usufruct agreements in Thailand
- Usufruct, lease or superficies: which one?
- Title deeds in Thailand
Need advice on your own situation? Book a consultation
Marriage, divorce and children
Book 5 governs who may marry, how marital property is held and divided, and the rights of parents and children. Since the Marriage Equality Act (No. 24) B.E. 2567 came into force on 23 January 2025, these rules apply to spouses of any gender.
Key sections
- §1448 Minimum age to marry
- §1457 Marriage by registration only
- §1466 Prenup, limits on what can be agreed
- §1471 Sin Suan Tua, separate property
- §1474 Sin Somros, marital property
- §1514 Divorce by mutual consent
- §1516 Grounds for divorce
- §1533 Marital property divided equally
- §1547 Legitimation by father, three routes
- §1564 Parents' duty to maintain and educate their children
Practice guides
- Thai family law
- Divorce in Thailand
- Prenuptial agreements in Thailand
- Same-sex marriage registration in Thailand
Need advice on your own situation? Book a consultation
Contracts, loans and guarantees
Most disputes turn on whether a contract is valid, what happens when it is broken and how long you have to sue. These sections cover void acts, the general time limit, wrongful acts, loans, interest, suretyship and mortgage.
Key sections
- §150 Acts contrary to public order or good morals are void
- §193/30 General prescription period, ten years
- §369 Right to withhold performance in reciprocal contracts
- §420 General principle of tort liability
- §448 Prescription period for tort claims
- §653 Loan over 2,000 baht, writing required
- §654 Interest cap, 15% per annum
- §680 Suretyship, definition
- §702 Mortgage, definition
- §728 Notice before enforcing a mortgage, and the 60 day period
Practice guides
- Loan agreements in Thailand
- Personal guarantees and guarantor liability
- Promissory notes in Thailand
Need advice on your own situation? Book a consultation
Business entities and partnerships
Partnerships and limited companies are created and run under Book 3 of the Code. These sections define each form, who is liable for its debts, how a limited company is formed and who manages it.
Key sections
- §1012 Partnership / company contract, definition
- §1025 Ordinary partnership defined Draft heading, not yet reviewed by the firm
- §1077 Limited partnership defined Draft heading, not yet reviewed by the firm
- §1096 Limited company, definition
- §1097 Forming a limited company Draft heading, not yet reviewed by the firm
- §1144 Director's duties
Practice guides
- Business setup in Thailand
- Registering a company in Thailand
- Thai nominee shareholders
- Closing a company in Thailand
Need advice on your own situation? Book a consultation
Wills and inheritance
When someone dies, their estate passes either under a valid will or to the statutory heirs in a fixed order. These sections cover what the estate includes, who inherits, how a will must be made and the short time limits for claims.
Key sections
- §1599 Inheritance, opening on death
- §1600 What an estate consists of
- §1629 Six classes of statutory heirs detailed
- §1630 Priority among orders of statutory heirs Draft heading, not yet reviewed by the firm
- §1635 Surviving spouse's share
- §1646 Right to make a will
- §1656 Will, ordinary written form (2 witnesses)
- §1670 Persons who cannot witness a will Draft heading, not yet reviewed by the firm
- §1711 Estate administrator, appointment
- §1754 Prescription on inheritance claims
Practice guides
- Thai inheritance law explained for foreigners
- Making a Will in Thailand: the complete guide
- What happens if you die without a will in Thailand
- Probate and estate administration in Thailand
Need advice on your own situation? Book a consultation
The introductions to these pathways and the short descriptions on the Book cards were written by us and have not yet been reviewed by the firm.
The six Books of the Code
- Book 1 General Principles Foundational concepts: natural and juristic persons, juristic acts, agency, time, and prescription. For anyone who needs the ground rules: persons, juristic acts, void and voidable acts and time limits.
- Book 2 Obligations Contract formation, performance, breach, damages, and torts. For creditors, debtors and anyone dealing with performance, breach, damages or wrongful acts.
- Book 3 Specific Contracts Sale, hire, loan, deposit, suretyship, mortgage, agency, insurance, partnerships. For buyers, sellers, landlords, lenders, guarantors and business owners using everyday contracts.
- Book 4 Property Ownership, possession, usufruct, superficies, servitudes, right of habitation, mortgage. For owners and buyers of land and buildings, and holders of usufructs, servitudes and other real rights.
- Book 5 Family Marriage, divorce, prenuptial agreements, parental rights, custody, adoption: updated for the 2024 Marriage Equality Act. For couples, parents and families dealing with marriage, marital property, divorce or children.
- Book 6 Succession Inheritance, wills, statutory heirs, executors, probate. For heirs, testators and estate administrators dealing with wills and estates.
The Code at a glance
Order of statutory heirs
| Class | Heirs |
|---|---|
| 1 | Descendants |
| 2 | Parents |
| 3 | Brothers and sisters of full blood |
| 4 | Brothers and sisters of half blood |
| 5 | Grandparents |
| 6 | Uncles and aunts |
While any heir in a class survives (or is represented), lower classes take nothing; surviving parents still share with descendants as if they were children. Section 1629, Section 1630, Section 1635
Key prescription periods
| Period | Applies to | Section |
|---|---|---|
| 6 months | Claims by a lessor against the hirer under a hire of property, from the return of the property | 563 |
| 1 year | Damages for a wrongful act, from when the injured person knew of the act and who is liable (ten years at most from the act) | 448 |
| 1 year | A seller's liability for deficiency or excess, from delivery | 467 |
| 1 year | Claims to an estate, from the death or from when the heir knew or ought to have known of it (ten years at most from the death) | 1754 |
| 2 years | Listed trade and service claims, such as those of merchants, carriers and hotels | 193/34 |
| 5 years | Arrears of interest, instalments, rent and other periodical payments | 193/33 |
| 10 years | General period, where no other period is provided | 193/30 |
| 10 years | Claims established by a final judgment or a compromise | 193/32 |
| 10 years | Government claims for taxes and rates | 193/31 |
Size of each Book
| Book | Sections |
|---|---|
| 1. General Principles | 225 |
| 2. Obligations | 260 |
| 3. Specific Contracts | 875 |
| 4. Property | 137 |
| 5. Family | 215 |
| 6. Succession | 157 |
Counts include inserted and repealed sections. The three preliminary sections (1 to 3) sit outside the Books.
Diagrams prepared from the section texts on this site; not yet reviewed by the firm. Always read the section itself.
What is the Thai Civil & Commercial Code?
The Civil & Commercial Code (CCC) is the foundational statute governing private and commercial relationships in Thailand. First enacted in 1925 (B.E. 2468) and built out through the 1930s, it is organised into six Books, from general principles and obligations, through specific contracts and property, to family and succession.
Each section here carries the verbatim Thai text, an English translation, a practical firm annotation, and Supreme Court decisions whose case numbers are verified against the official record, so lawyers, businesses and foreigners can rely on it. Switch any page between English and Thai with the EN / ไทย toggle.
Most-referenced sections
- §420 Tort liability
- §150 Void juristic acts
- §1336 Owner's right to recover
- §1382 Adverse possession
- §1417 Usufruct
- §1387 Servitude
- §1448 Marriage (equal)
- §1469 Prenuptial agreement
- §1474 Sin Somros (marital property)
- §1516 Grounds for divorce
- §1564 Child maintenance
- §1629 Statutory heirs
- §1600 The estate
- §1646 Making a will
- §728 Mortgage foreclosure notice
Most cited by the Supreme Court
- §1382 Adverse possession, ten years (immovable) / five years (movable) 673 decisions
- §224 Interest on damages 569 decisions
- §193/30 General prescription period, ten years 472 decisions
- §448 Prescription period for tort claims 391 decisions
- §1375 348 decisions
- §391 Restitution after rescission of contract 333 decisions
- §1754 Prescription on inheritance claims 321 decisions
- §1299 Registration of real rights in immovables 311 decisions
- §456 Sale of immovable, registered writing required 311 decisions
- §653 Loan over 2,000 baht, writing required 303 decisions
- §150 Acts contrary to public order or good morals are void 301 decisions
- §7 298 decisions
Counted across the firm's corpus of Supreme Court decisions. Procedural and sentencing provisions naturally sit near the top: they are recited in almost every judgment, which is not the same as being the most contested. How we count these
Recent updates
- 5 section pages updated in Book 1
- 16 section pages updated in Book 2
- 30 section pages updated in Book 3
- 5 section pages updated in Book 4
- 18 section pages updated in Book 5
- 3 section pages updated in Book 6
- 47 section pages updated in Book 1
- 32 section pages updated in Book 2
- 89 section pages updated in Book 3
- 17 section pages updated in Book 4
This reference is updated weekly with new laws and Supreme Court decisions.
How to use this resource
- Use the EN / ไทย button to switch language on any page, one canonical URL serves both, with proper hreflang.
- Each section shows the Thai text, English translation, firm annotation, Supreme Court decisions, and links to related practice guides.
- Every Supreme Court case links to its official source (deka.in.th) so you can verify the citation.
Frequently asked questions
How many sections does the Thai Civil & Commercial Code have?
The Code has six Books and 1,872 sections, covering general principles, obligations, specific contracts, property, family and succession.
Are the English translations official?
The Thai text is taken verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State. The English is the firm's reference translation, always rely on the Thai original for legal effect.
Can I trust the Supreme Court citations?
Yes. Every Supreme Court (Dika) decision shown has its case number verified against the Supreme Court database and links to its official source on deka.in.th.
Does this reflect the 2024 Marriage Equality Act?
Yes. Books 5 and 6 use gender-neutral language and reflect equal marriage, property, inheritance and adoption rights under the Marriage Equality Act (No. 24, B.E. 2567), in force 23 Jan 2025.