Reviewed by ThaiLawOnline, a licensed Thai law firm practising in Thailand since 2006. Thai lawyer of record: Wichuda Atthamethakon, LL.M., Thai Bar Licence 3149/2556.
Last updated on September 5, 2026
The Thai Civil and Commercial Code (ประมวลกฎหมายแพ่งและพาณิชย์), usually shortened to CCC or simply the Civil Code, is the statute that contains most of Thailand’s private law: who can hold rights, how contracts and debts work, what ownership means, and how marriage, divorce and inheritance are regulated. It was promulgated book by book between 1925 and 1935 after drafting that drew on the French, German, Swiss and Japanese codes, and it has been amended many times since. Almost every question a foreigner brings to a Thai lawyer is answered somewhere in its six books.
Table of Contents
Six books and what each one covers
Book 1 (Persons) sets out legal capacity, domicile, natural and juristic persons, juristic acts, void and voidable acts and prescription. Book 2 (Obligations) governs how debts arise and are performed, including breach, damages, assignment, novation and wrongful acts (tort, Section 420). Book 3 (Specific Contracts) deals with sale, gift, hire of property, loan, suretyship, mortgage, pledge, agency, partnership and company. Book 4 (Property) covers ownership, possession, adverse possession and the registrable rights: servitude, habitation, superficies and usufruct. Book 5 (Family) regulates engagement, marriage, marital property, divorce, parental power and legitimation. Book 6 (Succession) covers statutory heirs, wills and estate administration.
| Book | Subject | Sections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Persons | 15 to 193 |
| 2 | Obligations | 194 to 452 |
| 3 | Specific contracts | 453 to 1297 |
| 4 | Property | 1298 to 1434 |
| 5 | Family | 1435 to 1598 |
| 6 | Succession | 1599 to 1755 |
The Code is a civil law instrument in the continental tradition. Judges apply its text directly, and a Supreme Court (Dika) decision is persuasive rather than binding. Only the Thai text is authoritative: English translations are working aids, not the law itself.
Where a foreigner meets the Code
Most everyday legal matters are governed by the Code rather than by a special statute. A lease of a house or condominium for more than three years must be registered at the Land Office under Sections 538 and 540, with a maximum term of 30 years. A loan of money above 2,000 baht needs written evidence signed by the borrower (Section 653) and interest is capped at 15% a year (Section 654). Marital property is split between sin somros and sin suan tua under Sections 1471 and 1474. On death, six classes of statutory heirs inherit under Section 1629 unless a valid will provides otherwise.
Special statutes sit on top of the Code and override it where they apply: the Land Code for foreign land ownership, the Condominium Act, the Labour Protection Act and the Foreign Business Act. Where a contract or a special Act is silent, the Code’s default rules fill the gap, which is why a Thai contract can look short by Western standards.
Amendments and the 2024 marriage equality reform
The Code has been amended dozens of times since 1935. The most visible recent change is the Civil and Commercial Code Amendment Act (No. 24) B.E. 2567, which replaced “husband and wife” with “spouses” throughout Book 5 so that persons of any gender may marry, set the minimum marriage age at 18, and came into force in January 2025.
Earlier reforms modernised suretyship and mortgage rules to protect individual guarantors and reset the statutory interest and default interest rates in 2021. Section numbers have otherwise been kept stable, which is why older commentary and Supreme Court decisions remain usable provided the current text is checked first.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Thai Civil and Commercial Code available in English?
Yes, several English translations exist, including the annotated version in the ThaiLawOnline law library. None of them is official. The Thai text published in the Royal Gazette is the only authoritative version, and a court will work from that text even if the parties’ contract is in English.
What is the difference between the Civil and Commercial Code and the Criminal Code?
The Civil and Commercial Code governs private relationships: contracts, property, family and inheritance, where one party sues another for performance or compensation. The Criminal Code defines offences prosecuted by the state, such as theft, fraud and defamation, with fines or imprisonment as the penalty. The same facts can give rise to both a civil claim and a criminal charge.
Does the Civil and Commercial Code apply to foreigners in Thailand?
Yes. The Code applies to anyone who contracts, owns property, marries or dies leaving assets in Thailand, regardless of nationality. Restrictions on foreigners, such as the ban on owning land, come from separate statutes like the Land Code, not from the Civil and Commercial Code itself.
See also: juristic person, void and voidable juristic acts, tort (Section 420), marital property (sin somros), and our guides to the Thai legal system and the 2024 amendment to the Code.
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