Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
Last updated on September 7, 2026
An amphoe (อำเภอ, commonly spelled amphur) is a district of Thailand, the second-level administrative division below the province (changwat). Thailand has 878 amphoe; in Bangkok the equivalent unit is the khet (เขต), of which there are 50. Each amphoe is subdivided into sub-districts (tambon). For foreigners the word usually means the district office (thi wa kan amphoe, ที่ว่าการอำเภอ), the place where marriages, divorces and house registration are recorded.
Table of Contents
Who runs the amphoe
The district is headed by the nai amphoe (นายอำเภอ), a Ministry of Interior official appointed under the Provincial Administration Act B.E. 2457 (1914) and answerable to the provincial governor. The nai amphoe supervises the kamnan of each tambon and the phu yai ban of each village, and is the district registrar for civil status. The district containing the provincial capital is always called Amphoe Mueang followed by the province name (Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai, Amphoe Mueang Chon Buri).
What is registered at the district office
The amphoe (khet office in Bangkok) is the most important office in the whole structure for a foreign resident, because its registrar performs the acts that create or change civil status:
Marriage and divorce. A marriage exists only once it is registered: Civil and Commercial Code section 1457 provides that marriage under the Code is effected only on registration being made. The registration itself is carried out by the registrar at an amphoe or khet office under the Act on Registration of Family B.E. 2478 (1935), which issues the marriage certificate (Kor Ror 3). A prenuptial agreement must be recorded at the same time (Civil and Commercial Code, section 1466). A divorce by mutual consent is also registered there (section 1515); a contested divorce goes to court. See our guide to getting legally married in Thailand.
Civil registration. Under the Civil Registration Act B.E. 2534 (1991) the district registrar keeps the tabien baan (house registration book), issues the yellow book (Tor Ror 13) to foreigners, registers births and deaths, records name changes and issues the pink ID card for foreigners listed in a yellow book. In a municipal area these civil registration tasks belong to the tesaban registrar instead, but marriage and divorce always stay with the amphoe or khet.
Family matters. Registration of the legitimation of a child by the father (section 1548), adoption registration, and changes to a child’s surname are also done at the district office.
Practical points for foreigners
Any amphoe in Thailand can register a marriage regardless of where the parties live. A foreign spouse needs an affirmation of freedom to marry from their embassy, legalised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with a Thai translation; the registrar will also want the passport and, for a Thai spouse, the ID card and tabien baan. Bangkok’s khet offices see more foreign marriages than most provincial amphoe; see our Bangkok marriage registration service.
Documents issued by the amphoe (marriage, divorce and house registration certificates) are the ones a foreign government will later ask to see, which is why a divorce registered at an amphoe may not be recognised abroad in the same way as a court divorce. Keep certified copies of everything the registrar gives you.
Frequently asked questions
Is amphur the same as amphoe?
Yes. Amphoe is the official Royal Thai General System spelling of อำเภอ; amphur is the older, phonetic spelling that many expats and even some officials still use. Both mean district or district office.
Can I register my marriage at any amphoe?
Yes. Registration is not tied to your residence, so you can marry at any district office (or khet office in Bangkok). Some offices are more used to foreign documents than others, which affects how smoothly the appointment goes.
What is the difference between an amphoe and a khet?
They are the same level of administration. Khet is the name used for the 50 districts of Bangkok under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration Act; amphoe is used everywhere else in the country.
See also: changwat (province), tambon (sub-district), tesaban (municipality), tabien baan, Civil Registration Act B.E. 2534 and our full guide to marriage in Thailand.
Last reviewed: 7 September 2026 against the Civil and Commercial Code in the statute library, sections 1457, 1466, 1515, 1547 and 1548 read verbatim. One correction was made. Whether a marriage exists is settled by section 1457, which provides that marriage under the Code is effected only on registration being made; the Act on Registration of Family governs how the registrar records it, and the page previously credited the Act with the rule. Three citations were checked and found correct, and are recorded so nobody re-derives them: section 1466 voids an ante-nuptial agreement that is not entered in the Marriage Register at the time of marriage registration, which is why it has to be dealt with on the same visit; section 1515 makes a divorce by mutual consent complete only when the spouses have registered it; and section 1548 is the father’s application to register legitimation, which needs the consent of the child and the mother, with a sixty day period after notification before consent is presumed refused. This review did not cover the counts of districts and Bangkok khet, which could not be checked because the Department of Provincial Administration is behind a bot wall and no official figure could be produced this session, so they are left as they stood rather than replaced with an unsourced number; the division of civil registration duties between a district and a municipal registrar; the documentary requirements described for a foreign spouse; or the observation about how a foreign authority may treat a divorce registered at a district office rather than by a court.
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