Section 189: Free Certified Judgment Copy for Indigent Convicts
Statutory text (Thai original)
เมื่อจำเลยซึ่งต้องคำพิพากษาให้ลงโทษเป็นคนยากจนขอสำเนาคำพิพากษาซึ่งรับรองว่าถูกต้อง ให้ศาลคัดสำเนาให้หนึ่งฉบับโดยไม่คิดค่าธรรมเนียม
English translation
When a defendant who is subject to a judgment imposing punishment is an indigent person and requests a copy of the judgment certified as correct, the court shall make one copy for that person free of charge.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 189 sits within Title 3 on judgments and orders and is a procedural safeguard for convicted defendants of limited means. It obliges the trial court to issue one certified true copy of the judgment at no cost when the convicted defendant is indigent. The certified copy is the document a defendant typically needs to prepare an appeal or to verify the exact terms of the sentence, so the fee waiver directly supports the right of appeal that follows in Title 4. The provision is narrow: it applies to a defendant already found guilty and covers a single certified copy, not unlimited free copies.
Why this matters in practice
If you have been convicted and cannot afford court fees, tell the trial court you are indigent and formally request the certified copy under this section. Keep in mind the free copy is limited to one certified copy of the judgment, and the appeal clock under Section 198 keeps running, so request it promptly rather than waiting. If you are unsure how court paperwork and deadlines work, review our guide on what to know before you go to court in Thailand.
Cited in 1 Supreme Court decisions (1966 to 1966)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 391/2509 (1966)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
Who can get a free copy of a criminal judgment in Thailand?
Under Section 189, a defendant who has been convicted and is genuinely indigent can request one certified true copy of the judgment from the court without paying the fee.
How many free certified copies can an indigent defendant receive?
The section provides for one certified copy free of charge; additional copies are not covered by this fee waiver.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 189 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 189. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-189/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 189 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-189/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-189/"><p>When a defendant who is subject to a judgment imposing punishment is an indigent person and requests a copy of the judgment certified as correct, the court shall make one copy for that person free of charge.</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 189 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-189/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.