Section 345 — Unclaimed money escheats after five years
Statutory text (Thai original)
บรรดาเงินต่าง ๆ ที่ค้างจ่ายอยู่ในศาลหรือที่เจ้าพนักงานบังคับคดี ถ้าผู้มีสิทธิมิได้เรียกเอาภายในห้าปี ให้ตกเป็นของแผ่นดิน
English translation
All money remaining unclaimed at the court or with the executing officer, if the person entitled to it does not claim it within five years, shall become the property of the State.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
This short provision forms Part 11 on unclaimed money and imposes a five-year limitation on collecting funds left at the court or with the executing officer. Once the period lapses the money escheats to the State automatically, and the right to claim it is extinguished regardless of the reason for delay. Courts apply it strictly to deposits made to satisfy a debt as well as to refunds of court fees, counting the five years from when the entitled person could first collect. It reflects a public policy against funds sitting idle in the court system indefinitely.
Why this matters in practice
If you are owed a deposit, a fee refund, or execution money held at court, collect it well before five years pass, because after that the money is gone and no appeal restores it. The clock runs from when you first had the right to take the money, not from a later reminder. Keep a diary date on any funds sitting at court in your name, and check the file if a defendant deposited money for you. If you cannot attend in person, arrange collection through a lawyer with a power of attorney.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3626/2565 (2022)
A party's right to a refund of court fees is subject to the five-year period in Section 345; if not claimed within five years of the right arising, the refund escheats to the State.
The plaintiff was entitled to a court fee refund from 27 July 2557 but applied to collect it only later. The lower courts held that, not having exercised the right within five years, the money had become State property under Section 345, and dismissed the request; the appellate and Supreme Court (consumer division) affirmed.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1306/2566 (2023)
Money deposited at court to satisfy a debt that the entitled person does not collect within five years becomes property of the State under Section 345, even where a court clerk had earlier proposed to pay it to the wrong recipient.
The defendant deposited 20,000 baht on 6 October 2557 and the injured person filed to receive it but never collected. After more than five years the money was remitted as State revenue on 27 December 2564. The court held the injured person's failure to collect within five years caused the money to escheat under Section 345.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to claim money held at a Thai court?
Section 345 gives you five years. Money at the court or with the executing officer that is not claimed within five years becomes property of the State and can no longer be recovered.
Does the five-year rule apply to court fee refunds?
Yes. The Supreme Court has applied Section 345 to court fee refunds: if the entitled party does not claim the refund within five years of the right arising, the money escheats to the State.
When does the five-year period start?
It runs from the date the entitled person first had the right to collect the money, not from a later notice. Delay for any reason does not extend it.