Section 250 — Forging the Royal or State Seal
English translation
Whoever forges the Royal Seal (Phra Racha Lanchakon) or the State Seal shall be liable to imprisonment of five to twenty years and a fine of one hundred thousand to four hundred thousand baht.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
This is the most serious offence in the Chapter on offences relating to seals, stamps and tickets, reflecting the special status of the Royal Seal and the State Seal as emblems of sovereign authority. The elements are simply (1) forging (2) the Royal Seal or the State Seal; no use of the forged seal is required for the offence to be complete. Its heavy penalty range of five to twenty years sets the ceiling for the graded scheme that follows: using a forged Royal or State Seal under Section 251 carries the same penalty, while forging the lesser seals of government bodies and officials under Section 252 is punished less severely. Where the forgery is done to cause damage to the State, Section 263 doubles the penalty.
Why this matters in practice
Penalty exposure is high, from five to twenty years, and this is a non-compoundable offence against the State that no private party can settle or withdraw. In practice the forging charge is often paired with using the forged seal and with document forgery, and prosecutors may seek the doubled penalty under Section 263 if the aim was to harm the State. Defences typically dispute whether the object is genuinely the Royal or State Seal and whether the accused made it. Early legal advice is essential given the severity of the punishment.
Frequently asked questions
How serious is forging the Royal Seal or State Seal in Thailand?
Very serious. Section 250 sets imprisonment of five to twenty years plus a heavy fine, the highest in the seals chapter, and no use of the forged seal is needed for the offence to be complete.
Can this charge be dropped if the parties agree?
No. It is a public offence against the State, so it cannot be compounded or settled privately; only the prosecutor and the court decide the outcome.