Section 264: Forgery of a document
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดทำเอกสารปลอมขึ้นทั้งฉบับหรือแต่ส่วนหนึ่งส่วนใด เติมหรือตัดทอนข้อความ หรือแก้ไขด้วยประการใด ๆ ในเอกสารที่แท้จริง หรือประทับตราปลอม หรือลงลายมือชื่อปลอมในเอกสาร โดยประการที่น่าจะเกิดความเสียหายแก่ผู้อื่นหรือประชาชน ถ้าได้กระทำเพื่อให้ผู้หนึ่งผู้ใดหลงเชื่อว่าเป็นเอกสารที่แท้จริง ผู้นั้นกระทำความผิดฐานปลอมเอกสาร ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินสามปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหกหมื่นบาทหรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ผู้ใดกรอกข้อความลงในแผ่นกระดาษหรือวัตถุอื่นใด ซึ่งมีลายมือชื่อของผู้อื่นโดยไม่ได้รับความยินยอม หรือโดยฝ่าฝืนคำสั่งของผู้อื่นนั้น ถ้าได้กระทำเพื่อนำเอาเอกสารนั้นไปใช้ในกิจการที่อาจเกิดเสียหายแก่ผู้หนึ่งผู้ใดหรือประชาชน ให้ถือว่าผู้นั้นปลอมเอกสาร ต้องระวางโทษเช่นเดียวกัน หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever makes a false document in whole or in part, adds to or removes text, or alters by any means a genuine document, or affixes a false seal or signs a false signature on a document, in a manner likely to cause damage to another person or to the public, if the act is done in order to make any person believe that it is a genuine document, commits the offence of forgery of a document and shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding three years, or a fine not exceeding sixty thousand baht, or both.
Whoever fills in text on a sheet of paper or any other object bearing the signature of another person, without that person's consent or in breach of that person's instruction, if the act is done in order to use that document in a matter that may cause damage to any person or to the public, shall be deemed to have forged a document and shall be liable to the same penalty.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Section 264 is the base offence of the Chapter on Offences Relating to Documents. Paragraph one has three elements: (1) a forging act, meaning making a false document wholly or partly, adding to, deleting from, or altering a genuine document, or affixing a false seal or a false signature; (2) a manner likely to cause damage to another person or to the public; and (3) intent to make a person believe the document is genuine. Paragraph two is a separate deeming provision often overlooked: a person who fills in text on paper or any other object already bearing another person's signature, without consent or against instructions, and who does so in order to use the document in a matter that may cause damage, is deemed to have forged it and is liable to the same penalty. That paragraph is what catches the abuse of a signed blank. Sections 265 and 266 raise the penalty according to the class of document forged, and use of a document forged under this section is separately punishable under Section 268.
Why this matters in practice
In practice forgery is very often charged together with fraud under Section 341 and with use of a forged document under Section 268; where the same act violates several provisions with equal penalties, the court punishes under a single heaviest count. Penalty exposure here reaches three years, and a first-time defendant who pleads guilty and makes restitution frequently obtains a suspended sentence. Common defences include lack of intent to deceive, actual authority to sign, or that no damage was likely. Because forgery is often paired with a compoundable fraud claim, timing of the injured party's complaint can be decisive. For an overview of related offences see fraud and scam laws in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 3399/2568 (2025)
Where forgery under Section 264, use of a forged document under Section 268, and fraud under Section 341 arise from one act carrying equal penalties, the court convicts on all counts but imposes a single punishment for the joint fraud.
The defendant was prosecuted under Sections 264, 268, and 341 and ordered to return 1,100,000 baht. The trial court found the act to be a single act violating several provisions of equal penalty and imposed one punishment for joint fraud, with three years imprisonment.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1164/2568 (2025)
Forgery of a document under Section 264 and use of the forged document under Section 268 support conviction alongside connected property offences, with the offender also liable to restitution proportionate to the injured party's ownership share.
The defendant pleaded guilty and was convicted under Section 264 paragraph one and Section 268 together with a property offence. The court limited restitution to half of the vehicle's value, being 650,000 baht, matching the injured party's co-ownership share.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 794 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2025)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 7212/2567 (2024)
- Decision 4354/2567 (2024)
- Decision 2229/2566 (2023)
- Decision 1695/2566 (2023)
- Decision 664/2566 (2023)
- Decision 468/2566 (2023)
- Decision 815/2565 (2022)
- Decision 5984/2564 (2021)
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 268 676
- Section 265 600
- Section 91 545
- Section 83 421
- Section 90 297
- Section 78 286
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
What is the penalty for forging a document in Thailand?
Under Section 264, ordinary document forgery carries imprisonment of up to three years, a fine of up to 60,000 baht, or both. Forging a right document, official document, will, or bill of exchange carries heavier penalties under Sections 265 and 266.
Is signing someone else's name always forgery?
Not always. Section 264 requires an intent to make others believe the document is genuine and conduct likely to cause damage. Signing with genuine authority or consent, without intent to deceive, may fall outside the offence.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Penal Code, s. 264 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 264. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-264/ (accessed 20 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.อ. มาตรา 264 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-264/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-264/"><p>Whoever makes a false document in whole or in part, adds to or removes text, or alters by any means a genuine document, or affixes a false seal or signs a false signature on a document, in a manner likely to cause damage to another…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 264 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-penal-code/section-264/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.