Section 149 — Litigation costs and court fees defined
Statutory text (Thai original)
ค่าฤชาธรรมเนียม ได้แก่ ค่าธรรมเนียมศาล ค่าสืบพยานหลักฐานนอกศาล ค่าป่วยการ ค่าพาหนะเดินทาง และค่าเช่าที่พักของพยาน ผู้เชี่ยวชาญ ล่าม และเจ้าพนักงานศาล ค่าทนายความ ค่าใช้จ่ายในการดำเนินคดี ตลอดจนค่าธรรมเนียมหรือค่าใช้จ่ายอื่น ๆ บรรดาที่กฎหมายบังคับให้ชำระ
ภายใต้บังคับบทบัญญัติแห่งประมวลกฎหมายนี้หรือกฎหมายอื่น ว่าด้วยการยกเว้นค่าธรรมเนียมศาล ค่าธรรมเนียมศาลที่เป็นค่าขึ้นศาล ให้คู่ความผู้ยื่นคำฟ้องเป็นผู้ชำระเมื่อยื่นคำฟ้อง
ค่าธรรมเนียมศาลนั้น ให้ชำระหรือนำมาวางศาลเป็นเงินสดหรือเช็คซึ่งธนาคารรับรอง โดยเจ้าพนักงานศาลออกใบรับให้ หรือตามวิธีการที่กำหนดไว้ในข้อกำหนดของประธานศาลฎีกา
คำฟ้อง คำฟ้องอุทธรณ์ คำฟ้องฎีกา คำร้องสอด คำให้การ หรือคำร้องคำขออื่นซึ่งได้ยื่นต่อศาลพร้อมคำร้องขอยกเว้นค่าธรรมเนียมศาลตามมาตรา ๑๕๖ ตลอดจนการดำเนินกระบวนพิจารณาในชั้นไต่สวนคำร้องดังกล่าว ไม่ต้องนำเงินค่าธรรมเนียมศาลและเงินวางศาลมาชำระ เว้นแต่ศาลจะได้ยกคำร้องนั้นเสีย
English translation
Litigation costs comprise: court fees; the cost of taking evidence outside the court; witness attendance allowances, travel expenses, and accommodation costs of witnesses, experts, interpreters, and court officers; lawyers' fees; the costs of conducting the case; and all other fees or expenses that the law requires to be paid.
Subject to the provisions of this Code or of other law on the waiver of court fees, the court fee that is the filing fee shall be paid by the party filing the complaint when the complaint is filed.
Court fees shall be paid or deposited with the court in cash or by a bank-certified cheque, with a court officer issuing a receipt, or by the method fixed in the regulations of the President of the Supreme Court.
A complaint, memorandum of appeal, memorandum of further appeal, complaint in intervention, answer, or other application filed with the court together with an application for waiver of court fees under Section 156, as well as the proceedings in the inquiry into that application, need not be accompanied by payment of court fees or money deposited with the court, unless the court dismisses that application.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 149 opens the Part on court fees by defining litigation costs (ค่าฤชาธรรมเนียม) broadly, covering court fees, out-of-court evidence costs, witness, expert, interpreter, and officer expenses, lawyers' fees, the costs of conducting the case, and other legally required charges. It sets the basic rule that the filing fee (ค่าขึ้นศาล) is paid by the party filing the complaint at the time of filing, and prescribes payment in cash or bank-certified cheque or as the Supreme Court President's regulations provide. It also links to Section 156 on fee waivers: a party who files together with a waiver application need not pay court fees unless the application is dismissed. The costs of conducting the case are treated as one category of litigation costs, which the court must address whether or not a party requests it.
Why this matters in practice
Litigation is not free, and this section defines everything that can count as a cost of the case, from the filing fee to lawyers' fees and the expenses of witnesses and experts. In most money cases the filing fee is a percentage of the amount claimed and must be paid when the complaint is filed, so budgeting for it early matters. If you cannot afford the fees, you can apply for a waiver under Section 156 and need not pay while the application is considered, unless it is refused. For a breakdown of what legal work costs at this firm, see our legal fees page.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 5063/2565 (2022)
The costs of conducting a case are a category of litigation costs that the court must rule on whether or not a party requests it, under Section 167 read with Section 149 paragraph one.
The court held that the costs of conducting a case are a type of litigation cost defined in Section 149 paragraph one, and that under Section 167 the court must order them, in the amount it sees fit under the fee schedule, whether or not a party asks. Ordering the applicant to pay these costs was therefore lawful.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1046/2562 (2019)
The party who applied for execution is liable for the attachment fee where property is seized but not sold, under Section 149 paragraph one read with the related fee provisions and schedule.
After the attachment was cancelled through the applicant's own fault, the court held that the applicant, as the party who sought execution, had to pay the attachment fee for property seized but not sold, at 3.5 percent of the value, under Section 149 paragraph one read with Sections 153 and 153/1 and the fee schedule.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3330/2566 (2023)
The court fee that is the filing fee under Section 149 concerns civil proceedings, and does not apply to a civil claim joined to a criminal case, where court fees may not be charged beyond those allowed in the criminal procedure rules.
The plaintiff argued the defendants had not paid the appeal filing fee for the civil part under Section 149, so their civil appeal should not have been accepted. The court held this was a criminal case in which, under the criminal procedure rules, court fees may not be charged beyond those allowed, so the Section 149 filing fee did not apply to the civil part.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as litigation costs in a Thai civil case?
Under Section 149, litigation costs include court fees, the cost of taking evidence outside court, witness, expert, interpreter, and officer expenses, lawyers' fees, the costs of conducting the case, and other legally required charges.
Who pays the court filing fee and when?
Under Section 149, the filing fee is paid by the party who files the complaint, at the time of filing, in cash or by bank-certified cheque, subject to the rules on fee waivers.
Can a person who cannot afford court fees still file a case?
Yes. Section 149 provides that filing together with an application to waive court fees under Section 156 does not require paying the fees, unless the court dismisses that application.