Section 146: Unauthorized use of uniform, rank or insignia
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดไม่มีสิทธิที่จะสวมเครื่องแบบหรือประดับเครื่องหมายของเจ้าพนักงาน สมาชิกสภานิติบัญญัติแห่งรัฐ สมาชิกสภาจังหวัดหรือสมาชิกสภาเทศบาล หรือไม่มีสิทธิใช้ยศ ตำแหน่ง เครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์หรือสิ่งที่หมายถึงเครื่องราชอิสริยาภรณ์ กระทำการเช่นนั้นเพื่อให้บุคคลอื่นเชื่อว่าตนมีสิทธิ ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งปี หรือปรับไม่เกินสองหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever, having no right to wear the uniform or display the insignia of an official, a member of a State legislative assembly, a member of a provincial assembly or a member of a municipal assembly, or having no right to use a rank, a title, a decoration or anything signifying a decoration, does so in order to make others believe that he has that right, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one year, or a fine not exceeding twenty thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are (1) wearing a uniform or displaying insignia, or using a rank, title or royal decoration, (2) without any right to do so, and (3) with intent to make another person believe the wearer holds that right. The distinguishing feature from Section 145 is that Section 146 targets the outward display of status, not the performance of an official act; the offence is complete on the display made with the required intent. Because intent is internal, it is inferred from conduct, such as displaying oneself publicly wearing decorations one is not entitled to.
Why this matters in practice
Penalty exposure is limited to one year, and this is a non-compoundable public offence; the limitation period is five years given the one-year maximum. In practice the section is often charged together with document forgery (Sections 264 to 265) when fake certificates or credentials back up the false status, and the forgery counts carry heavier penalties. The key evidentiary battleground is intent: prosecutors must show the display was meant to make others believe the status was genuine.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 8688/2555 (2012)
Assuming a military rank one does not hold, in order to make one's conduct convincing to others, is using a rank without legal right and is an offence under Section 146.
The defendant assumed a false military rank to make his recruitment scheme convincing. The court found this constituted using a rank without legal right under Section 146, charged together with forgery of official documents.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 8621/2553 (2010)
Displaying a large photograph of oneself wearing royal decorations in a reception room, a place not private, shows an intent to have others see it and believe one has the right to those decorations, satisfying Section 146; intent is inferred from the circumstances of display.
The defendant hung a large photograph of himself wearing royal decorations in his reception room. Because the room was not a private place, the court inferred he intended others to see it and believe he was entitled to the decorations, making out the offence under Section 146.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 10 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2012)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 8621/2553 (2010)
- Decision 102/2516 (1973)
- Decision 204/2510 (1967)
- Decision 3/2510 (1967)
- Decision 11/2522 (1979)
- Decision 2752/2519 (1976)
- Decision 8688/2555 (2012)
- Decision 363/2529 (1986)
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.
Most often cited alongside
- Section 91 3
- Section 264 3
- Section 265 3
- Section 56 3
- Section 83 3
- Section 92 3
Sections that appear in the same judgments as this one most often. The figure is the number of decisions.
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
Is wearing a fake military rank a crime in Thailand?
Yes. Under Section 146, using a rank you have no right to, in order to make others believe you hold it, is an offence punishable by up to one year.
What is the difference between Section 145 and Section 146?
Section 145 punishes performing an official act without authority; Section 146 punishes the mere display of a uniform, rank or decoration one is not entitled to, done to deceive.
Does the intent to deceive have to be proven?
Yes. The prosecution must show the display was made in order to make another person believe the offender had the right to the status.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 146 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 146. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-146/ (accessed 21 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 146 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-146/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-146/"><p>Whoever, having no right to wear the uniform or display the insignia of an official, a member of a State legislative assembly, a member of a provincial assembly or a member of a municipal assembly, or having no right to use a rank, a title,…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 146 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-146/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.