Section 252 — Forging official or state seals
English translation
Whoever forges the seal of a government body, a State organization or agency, the seal or seal-imprint of an official, or a seal or seal-imprint owned by a foreign government, shall be liable to imprisonment of one to seven years and a fine of twenty thousand to one hundred and forty 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 provision covers forging the lesser official seals, one tier below the Royal and State Seals of Section 250. The protected objects are the seal of a government body, a State organization or agency, the seal or seal-imprint of an official, and seals owned by a foreign government. The elements are (1) forging (2) one of these protected seals or seal-imprints. It pairs with Section 253, which punishes using such a forged seal, and it frequently overlaps with document forgery under Sections 264 to 268 where the forged seal is affixed to a fabricated document. Courts distinguish the act of forging the seal from the separate act of using it.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure is one to seven years, and this is a public offence that cannot be compounded by a private complainant. In practice the seal-forgery count rarely stands alone: it is usually charged with forging and using the document the seal was stamped on, and where those acts form one continuous scheme the court applies the heaviest single provision rather than stacking penalties. Reusing an already-forged seal on a further document is treated as a fresh act of using, not of forging. Defences focus on the identity of the maker and on whether the object is a protected official seal.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 5134/2563 (2020)
Forging an official's seal and using that forged seal are distinct offences; where the offender does not forge the seal anew but affixes the same already-forged seal to a further document, that conduct is punished as using a forged official seal, not as a fresh forgery.
The defendant stamped an already-forged official seal onto a fake hotel business licence. Because he did not forge the seal again but reused the existing forged seal, the court treated that conduct as using a forged official seal as a further count, alongside the seal-forgery and document-forgery charges.
-
Supreme Court Judgment No. 8379/2557 (2014)
Where forging an official's seal-imprint is carried out as part of a single scheme together with forging official documents and a rights document that is an official document, the acts constitute one offence violating several statutes and are punished under the most severe provision.
The defendant forged an official's seal-imprint together with official documents and a rights document that was an official document. The court treated these as a single act violating several provisions and imposed punishment under the heaviest, the forgery of a rights document that is an official document.
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 is the penalty for forging an official's seal in Thailand?
Under Section 252, forging the seal of a government body, agency, official, or foreign government carries imprisonment of one to seven years and a fine of 20,000 to 140,000 baht.
Is forging a seal a separate offence from using it?
Yes. Section 252 punishes the forging; using the forged seal is dealt with under Section 253. Reusing the same forged seal on another document counts as using, not a new forgery.