Thai Civil Procedure Code (ป.วิ.แพ่ง)
Content current as of: April 4, 2026
Book 1: General Provisions
Title 1: Definitions
Title 2: Courts
Chapter 1: Jurisdiction of the Courts
- Section 2 — Which court may receive a plaint
- Section 3 — Deemed domicile for foreign defendants
- Section 4 — Proper court for filing a claim
- Section 4 bis — Court for immovable property claims
- Section 4 ter — Foreign defendant, cause arising abroad
- Section 4 quater — Court for estate administrator petitions
- Section 4 quinquies — Court for juristic person petitions
- Section 4 sex — Court for property petitions, cause abroad
- Section 5 — Choice of court for connected claims
- Section 6 — Transferring a case to another court
- Section 6/1 — Transfer to the Civil Court in the public interest
- Section 7 — Special venue rules overriding the general ones
- Section 8 — Consolidating related cases in two courts
- Section 9 — Staying an appeal for a related case
- Section 10 — Force majeure: filing at court of domicile
Chapter 2: Challenge of Judges
Chapter 3: Powers and Duties of the Courts
- Section 15 — Acting outside territorial jurisdiction
- Section 16 — Delegating proceedings to another court
- Section 17 — Order of dealing with cases
- Section 18 — Court screening of pleadings
- Section 19 — Ordering parties to appear in person
- Section 20 — Court's power to conciliate at any stage
- Section 20 bis — Confidential conciliation and conciliators
- Section 20 ter — Pre-litigation conciliation by the court
- Section 21 — Applications, motions and the right to be heard
- Section 22 — How procedural time limits are computed
- Section 23 — Extending or shortening procedural time limits
- Section 24 — Preliminary ruling on a question of law
- Section 25 — Ruling on protective and enforcement measures
- Section 26 — Recording objections to court orders
- Section 27 — Setting aside irregular proceedings
- Section 28 — Consolidation and transfer of cases
- Section 29 — Severance of claims for separate trial
- Section 30 — Court's power to maintain order
- Section 31 — Acts constituting contempt of court
- Section 32 — Contempt of court by the press
- Section 33 — Penalties for contempt of court
- Section 34 — Proceedings involving foreign officials
- Section 34/1 — Supreme Court President's rule-making power
Chapter 4: Court Hearings
- Section 35 — Place and time of court hearings
- Section 36 — Public hearings and their exceptions
- Section 37 — Continuous hearing until judgment
- Section 38 — Postponement for court's own business
- Section 39 — Stay to await another decision
- Section 40 — Party's request to postpone a hearing
- Section 41 — Verifying illness used to postpone
- Section 42 — Death of a party during a case
- Section 43 — Applying to replace a deceased party
- Section 44 — Summons to replace a deceased party
- Section 45 — Loss of a representative or capacity
Chapter 5: Reports and Case Files
- Section 46 — Thai language, translations, interpreters
- Section 47 — Proving a power of attorney
- Section 48 — Court's duty to record hearings
- Section 49 — Court report as prima facie evidence
- Section 50 — Signing court reports and documents
- Section 51 — Court's record-keeping duties
- Section 52 — Summons to appear
- Section 53 — Required contents of a summons
- Section 54 — Fixing the appearance date and time
Title 3: Parties
- Section 55 — Right to bring a civil case
- Section 56 — Incompetent parties and capacity
- Section 57 — Third party intervention in a case
- Section 58 — Rights and duties of an intervener
- Section 59 — Joinder of co-plaintiffs and co-defendants
- Section 60 — Conducting a case in person or by attorney
- Section 61 — How an attorney is appointed
- Section 62 — Scope of an attorney's authority
- Section 63 — Appointing an agent to receive court money
- Section 64 — Proxy for limited procedural acts
- Section 65 — Attorney withdrawing from a case
- Section 66 — Inquiry into a representative's authority
Title 4: Filing and Service of Pleadings and Documents
- Section 67 — Required contents of pleadings
- Section 68 — Electronic filing and service
- Section 69 — How to file with the court
- Section 70 — Who serves court documents
- Section 71 — Filing and serving an answer
- Section 72 — Serving motions and statements
- Section 73 — Court officer service on request
- Section 73 bis — Service by registered or express mail
- Section 74 — Ordinary service: time and place
- Section 75 — Service on a party's lawyer
- Section 76 — Substitute recipient at the address
- Section 77 — Service at another place
- Section 78 — Refusal to accept service
- Section 79 — Substituted service by posting
- Section 80 — Proof of service
- Section 81 — Serving a witness summons
- Section 82 — Copies for multiple recipients
- Section 83 — Meeting deadlines through court service
- Section 83 bis — Serving a foreign defendant
- Section 83 ter — Serving later documents on a foreign party
- Section 83 quater — Plaintiff's duties for service abroad
- Section 83 quinquies — When foreign service takes effect
- Section 83 sex — When local service on a foreign party takes effect
- Section 83 septies — How the court serves documents abroad
- Section 83 octies — Substituted service when foreign service fails
Title 5: Evidence
Chapter 1: General Principles
- Section 84 — Basis for finding facts
- Section 84/1 — Burden of proof and presumptions
- Section 85 — Right to adduce evidence
- Section 86 — Court control over evidence
- Section 87 — Conditions for admitting evidence
- Section 88 — Filing the list of witnesses
- Section 89 — Duty to cross-examine opposing witnesses
- Section 90 — Serving copies of documentary evidence
- Section 91 — Evidence relied on in common
- Section 92 — Privilege and refusal to give evidence
- Section 93 — Original document rule and exceptions
- Section 94 — Oral evidence may not vary documents
- Section 95 — Competency of witnesses
- Section 95/1 — Hearsay evidence and its exceptions
- Section 96 — Deaf or mute witnesses
- Section 97 — Calling the opponent or oneself
- Section 98 — Party-called expert witnesses
- Section 99 — Court inspection and appointing experts
- Section 100 — Notice to admit facts or documents
- Section 101 — Taking evidence in advance
- Section 101/1 — Urgent ex parte evidence taking
- Section 101/2 — Safeguards for evidence seizure orders
- Section 102 — Delegating and sending evidence taking
- Section 103 — Full opportunity to attend evidence
- Section 103/1 — Officer taking evidence out of court
- Section 103/2 — Agreed method of taking evidence
- Section 103/3 — Supreme Court President's evidence rules
- Section 104 — Court's power to weigh evidence
- Section 105 — Costs of evidence non-compliance
Chapter 2: Attendance and Examination of Witnesses
- Section 106 — Applying for a witness summons
- Section 106/1 — Witnesses exempt from summons
- Section 107 — Taking evidence at the scene
- Section 108 — Duty of a summoned witness to attend
- Section 109 — Discharge of a witness after testifying
- Section 110 — Witness fails to appear
- Section 111 — Failure of a witness to appear
- Section 112 — Oath or affirmation of witnesses
- Section 113 — Witnesses must testify orally
- Section 114 — Exclusion of witnesses from the courtroom
- Section 115 — Right to decline to testify
- Section 116 — Preliminary questions and mode of examination
- Section 117 — Order of examining witnesses
- Section 118 — Leading and prohibited questions
- Section 119 — Court's power to question witnesses
- Section 120 — Evidence to impeach a witness
- Section 120/1 — Written statement in place of examination
- Section 120/2 — Written statement of a maker abroad
- Section 120/3 — Contents of a written statement
- Section 120/4 — Evidence by video conference
- Section 121 — Reading back and signing testimony
Chapter 3: Documentary Evidence
- Section 122 — Producing the original document
- Section 123 — Ordering the opponent to produce the original
- Section 124 — Deemed admission for withholding a document
- Section 125 — Objecting to documentary evidence
- Section 126 — Deciding disputed authenticity of a document
- Section 127 — Presumption of authenticity of public documents
- Section 127 bis — Returning original evidence to the submitter
Chapter 4: Inspection and Court-Appointed Experts
Title 6: Judgments and Orders
Chapter 1: General Principles of Adjudication
- Section 131 — How the court disposes of a case
- Section 132 — Striking a case from the docket
- Section 133 — Judgment on the day proceedings end
- Section 134 — No refusal to decide for want of law
- Section 135 — Depositing money with the court before judgment
- Section 136 — Effect of a deposit on liability and interest
- Section 137 — Performing a non-money obligation during suit
- Section 138 — Judgment on a compromise, limited appeal
- Section 139 — Separate judgments in consolidated cases
Chapter 2: Content and Effect of Judgments and Orders
- Section 140 — How judgments and orders are made and read
- Section 141 — Required form and content of a judgment
- Section 142 — Deciding within the pleadings, exceptions
- Section 143 — Correcting minor errors in a judgment
- Section 144 — No re-proceeding on a decided matter
- Section 145 — Binding effect of a judgment on parties
- Section 146 — Conflicting final judgments, which prevails
- Section 147 — When a judgment becomes final
- Section 148 — Res judicata, bar on repeat suits
Chapter 3: Costs and Court Fees
Part 1: Assessment, Payment and Waiver of Court Fees
- Section 149 — Litigation costs and court fees defined
- Section 150 — Court fees on money claims
- Section 151 — Refund of court fees
- Section 152 — Who pays other court fees
- Section 153 — Enforcement costs and who pays
- Section 153/1 — Methods and rates for fees
- Section 154 — Deposit for enforcement expenses
- Section 155 — Right to apply for fee waiver
- Section 156 — Filing the fee waiver application
- Section 156/1 — Deciding the fee waiver
- Section 157 — Effect of a fee waiver
- Section 158 — Loser pays waived fees to court
- Section 159 — Waiver revisited if party can pay
- Section 160 — Withdrawal of fee waiver for misconduct
Part 2: Ultimate Liability for Costs
- Section 161 — Losing party bears the costs
- Section 162 — Costs among co-parties
- Section 163 — Costs when a case ends by settlement
- Section 164 — Costs after a deposit into court
- Section 165 — Costs after performance of an obligation
- Section 166 — Costs caused by fault or delay
- Section 167 — Court's duty to order costs in the judgment
- Section 168 — No appeal on court costs alone
- Section 169 — Preparing the account of court costs
- Section 169/1 — Enforcing unpaid court costs
- Section 169/2 — Who bears the costs of execution
- Section 169/3 — Execution costs caused by fault
Book 2: Procedure in Courts of First Instance
Title 1: Ordinary Procedure in Courts of First Instance
- Section 170 — Ordinary procedure in the court of first instance
- Section 171 — Applying complaint rules to petitions
- Section 172 — Requirements of a complaint
- Section 173 — Lis pendens after filing a complaint
- Section 174 — Abandonment of the complaint
- Section 175 — Withdrawal of the complaint
- Section 176 — Effect of withdrawal or abandonment
- Section 177 — The defendant's answer and counterclaim
- Section 178 — Reply to the counterclaim
- Section 179 — Amendment of complaint or answer
- Section 180 — Time to apply for amendment
- Section 181 — Safeguards for amending pleadings
- Section 182 — Holding the settlement of issues
- Section 182 bis — Repealed
- Section 183 — Procedure on the settlement-of-issues day
- Section 183 bis — Absence on the settlement-of-issues day
- Section 183 ter — Repealed
- Section 183 quater — Repealed
- Section 184 — Fixing the date for taking evidence
- Section 185 — Taking evidence on the issues
- Section 186 — Closing statements after evidence
- Section 187 — Close of proceedings
- Section 188 — Non-contentious cases
Title 2: Special Procedures in Courts of First Instance
Chapter 1: Small Claims Procedure
- Section 189 — Definition of small claims
- Section 190 — Calculating the amount in dispute
- Section 190 bis — Small claims procedure applies
- Section 190 ter — Court power over time limits
- Section 190 quater — Court fees in small claims
- Section 191 — Filing a small claims case
- Section 192 — Converting between small claims and ordinary
- Section 193 — Small claims hearing and conciliation
- Section 193 bis — Non-appearance in small claims
- Section 193 ter — Taking evidence in small claims
- Section 193 quater — Court's evidence powers in small claims
- Section 193 quinquies — Continuous trial in small claims
- Section 194 — Oral judgment in small claims
- Section 195 — Other rules apply to small claims
- Section 196 — Uncomplicated cases summary procedure
Chapter 2: Proceedings in Default
Part 1: Default of Answer
- Section 197 — Definition of default of answer
- Section 198 — Plaintiff's application after default
- Section 198 bis — Merit test for default judgment
- Section 198 ter — Default with multiple defendants
- Section 199 — Defaulting defendant who appears in time
- Section 199 bis — Serving execution on defaulting defendant
- Section 199 ter — Right to apply for new trial
- Section 199 quater — Deadline and contents of new trial application
- Section 199 quinquies — Deciding the new trial application
- Section 199 sex — Default on a counterclaim
Part 2: Default of Appearance
- Section 200 — Definition of default of appearance
- Section 201 — Both parties in default
- Section 202 — Plaintiff default strikes the case
- Section 203 — No appeal against strike-out; refiling
- Section 204 — Defendant default: ex parte trial
- Section 205 — Doubtful service before ex parte trial
- Section 206 — No win on default alone; ex parte rules
- Section 207 — Retrial after ex parte judgment
- Section 208 — Repealed
- Section 209 — Repealed
Chapter 3: Arbitration
- Section 210 — Agreeing to in-court arbitration
- Section 211 — Rules for appointing arbitrators
- Section 212 — Arbitrator's consent required
- Section 213 — Withdrawal and challenge of arbitrator
- Section 214 — Arbitrator's fees set by court
- Section 215 — Arbitrator frames the issues
- Section 216 — Arbitrator's conduct of the inquiry
- Section 217 — How arbitrators reach an award
- Section 218 — Court judgment on an arbitration award
- Section 219 — When an arbitration agreement ends
- Section 220 — Court for arbitration-related disputes
- Section 221 — Out-of-court arbitration referral
- Section 222 — Limited appeal against award judgments
Chapter 4: Class Actions
Part 1: General Provisions
- Section 222/1 — Class action definitions
- Section 222/2 — Supreme Court class action rules
- Section 222/3 — Courts with class action jurisdiction
- Section 222/4 — Gap-filling and special-procedure cases
- Section 222/5 — Role of the class action officer
- Section 222/6 — Class action officer qualifications
- Section 222/7 — Class action linked to a criminal case
Part 2: Permission to Proceed as a Class Action
- Section 222/8 — Cases eligible for class action
- Section 222/9 — Filing a class action request
- Section 222/10 — Class complaint contents and court fees
- Section 222/11 — Screening before class certification
- Section 222/12 — Criteria for certifying a class action
- Section 222/13 — Consolidating competing class motions
Part 3: Class Action Trial
- Section 222/14 — Depositing class action expenses
- Section 222/15 — Notice and publication of certification
- Section 222/16 — Opting out of the group
- Section 222/17 — Rights of group members
- Section 222/18 — Bar on separate suits by members
- Section 222/19 — Decertifying a class action
- Section 222/20 — Class action preparation hearing
- Section 222/21 — Filing lists of witnesses
- Section 222/22 — Default by the defendant
- Section 222/23 — Court's power to seek facts
- Section 222/24 — Forming sub-groups
- Section 222/25 — Substitution of the class plaintiff
- Section 222/26 — Order on plaintiff substitution
- Section 222/27 — Rights of the substitute plaintiff
- Section 222/28 — Withdrawal of a class action plaint
- Section 222/29 — Court approval of a class settlement
- Section 222/30 — Referring a class dispute to arbitration
- Section 222/31 — Required contents of member notices
- Section 222/32 — Factors for approving withdrawal or settlement
- Section 222/33 — Interruption of prescription for members
- Section 222/34 — When interruption of prescription is undone
Part 4: Judgment and Execution in Class Actions
- Section 222/35 — Binding effect and execution of judgment
- Section 222/36 — Required contents of a class judgment
- Section 222/37 — Reward of the plaintiff's lawyer
- Section 222/38 — Court powers over class execution
- Section 222/39 — Notice of judgment and debt claims
- Section 222/40 — Inspecting and objecting to members' claims
- Section 222/41 — Execution officer's power to examine claims
- Section 222/42 — Ruling on and contesting members' claims
- Section 222/43 — Rateable share from execution in another case
- Section 222/44 — Order of priority for paying out proceeds
Part 5: Appeal and Dika in Class Actions
Part 6: Class Action Fees
Book 3: Appeal and Dika (Supreme Court)
Title 1: Appeal
- Section 223 — Appeals go to the Court of Appeal
- Section 223 bis — Repealed
- Section 224 — Capital-sum bar on factual appeals
- Section 225 — Grounds must be raised below and material
- Section 226 — Interlocutory orders and delayed appeal
- Section 227 — Case-ending orders are not interim orders
- Section 228 — Interim orders that may be appealed
- Section 229 — How and when to lodge an appeal
- Section 230 — Certification to appeal on the facts
- Section 231 — Stay of execution pending appeal
- Section 232 — Trial court screening of appeals
- Section 233 — Additional deposit for the winner's fees
- Section 234 — Appealing a refusal to accept an appeal
- Section 235 — Serving the appeal and forwarding the file
- Section 236 — Appellate ruling on a refused appeal
- Section 237 — Answer to the appeal, no default
- Section 238 — Law-only appeals bound by trial facts
- Section 239 — Order-appeals decided before judgment-appeals
- Section 240 — How the appellate court decides
- Section 241 — Oral submissions on appeal
- Section 242 — How the Court of Appeal decides an appeal
- Section 243 — Court of Appeal's power to set aside and remand
- Section 244 — Reading the Court of Appeal's judgment
- Section 244/1 — Court of Appeal judgment is final
- Section 245 — Who is bound by an appellate judgment
- Section 246 — Trial rules apply to appeal proceedings
Title 2: Dika (Supreme Court Review)
- Section 247 — Leave required to dika to the Supreme Court
- Section 248 — Panel that decides leave to dika
- Section 249 — When the Supreme Court grants leave to dika
- Section 250 — Supreme Court president's dika regulations
- Section 251 — Supreme Court ruling on law and remand
- Section 252 — Appeal rules apply to dika by analogy
Book 4: Provisional Measures and Execution of Judgments
Title 1: Provisional Measures Before Judgment
Chapter 1: General Principles
- Section 253 — Security for costs against the plaintiff
- Section 253 bis — Security for costs on appeal or dika
- Section 254 — Provisional measures before judgment
- Section 255 — Criteria for granting provisional measures
- Section 256 — Defendant's chance to object first
- Section 257 — Scope, conditions, and security for orders
- Section 258 — When interim orders take effect
- Section 258 bis — Dealings breaching a prohibition order void against plaintiff
- Section 259 — Execution rules apply to interim measures
- Section 260 — Fate of interim measure after judgment
- Section 261 — Applying to withdraw or vary a measure
- Section 262 — Altering a measure when circumstances change
- Section 263 — Compensation for a wrongful measure
- Section 264 — Protecting a party's interests during proceedings
- Section 265 — Applying the chapter to sureties
Chapter 2: Emergency Applications
Title 2: Execution of Judgments and Orders
Chapter 1: General Principles
Part 1: Courts with Power of Execution
Part 3: Application for Execution
Part 4: Consideration of Execution Applications
Part 5: Examination of the Judgment Debtor's Affairs and Assets
Part 6: General Powers of Executing Officers
- Section 278 — General powers of the executing officer
- Section 279 — Safekeeping and recovery of seized property
- Section 280 — Service of execution documents
- Section 281 — Time and manner of execution
- Section 282 — Search of the debtor's premises
- Section 283 — Search warrant for third-party premises
- Section 284 — General powers of the executing officer
- Section 285 — Who bears liability for wrongful execution
- Section 286 — Meaning of Court of Justice in Section 285
Part 7: Interested Persons in Execution
Part 8: Stay of Execution
Part 9: Withdrawal of Execution
Part 10: Setting Aside or Correcting Irregular Execution
Chapter 2: Execution for Money Judgments
Part 1: Powers of Executing Officers
Part 2: Property Not Subject to Execution
Part 3: Seizure of Property
- Section 303 — Seizing tangible movable property
- Section 304 — Seizing registrable movable property
- Section 305 — Seizing securities
- Section 306 — Seizing bills and negotiable instruments
- Section 307 — Seizing shares
- Section 308 — Seizing patent and trademark rights
- Section 309 — Seizing unregistered IP rights
- Section 310 — Seizing lease and service rights
- Section 311 — Seizing licenses and concessions
- Section 312 — Seizing immovable property
- Section 313 — Seizing real rights in immovables
- Section 314 — Seizure extends to fruits of property
- Section 315 — Effect of seizure of property
Part 4: Attachment of Claims
Part 5: Court-Ordered Payment by Third Parties
Part 6: Rights of Third Parties and Interested Persons in Seized Property
Part 7: Sharing in Execution Proceeds and Continuing Execution
Part 8: Sale or Disposal
Part 9: Appointment of a Property Manager in Lieu of Sale
Part 10: Distribution Accounts
- Section 337 — Preparing the distribution account
- Section 338 — Six-month hold in default cases
- Section 339 — Payment to a single creditor
- Section 340 — Distribution among several creditors
- Section 341 — Hearing objections to the account
- Section 342 — Challenging the account in court
- Section 343 — Provisional distribution of proceeds
- Section 344 — Surplus proceeds after execution