Volume 79, Special Issue
Royal Gazette
23 November 2505
Names of Persons
Act,
2505 BE
Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 15th day of November 2505 BE
Being the 17th year of the present reign
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Paramin Maha Bhumibol Adulyadej commands that it be announced as follows:
Whereas it is appropriate to improve the law on names of persons;
Therefore, He permits, by and with the advice and consent of the Constitution Drafting Assembly in its capacity as the National Assembly, the enactment of the following Act:
Section1.This Act is called the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE.
Section2.This Act shall come into force from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.
Section3.Repealed shall be—
(1)the Designation of Family Names Act, 2456 Buddhist Era;
(2)the Additional Royal Ordinance on Designation of Family Names, 2465 Buddhist Era;
(3)the Designation of Family Names Act (No 2), 2481 Buddhist Era;
(4)the Names of Persons Act, 2484 Buddhist Era.
All the provisions of other laws, regulations, and rules which have already been incorporated into this Act or which are contrary or repugnant to the provisions of this Act shall be replaced by this Act.
Section4.In this Act—
“given name” means the name which identifies a person;
“secondary name” means a supplementary name next to the given name;
“family name” means the name which identifies a family;
“registrar” means local registrar, provincial registrar, or Central Registrar appointed by the Minister for the execution of this Act;
“Minister” means the Minister in charge of the execution of this Act.
Section5.A Thai national must have a given name and a family name and may have a secondary name.
Section6.No given name or secondary name shall be identical or intended to be similar to the name of the King, the name of the Queen, or a royally conferred name, nor shall it contain an impolite word or meaning.
Section7.The recipient of a noble title, or the recipient of a noble title who has lost such noble title not by cause of recall, may use the royally conferred name according to such noble title as his given name or secondary name.
Section8.No family name—
(1)shall be identical or intended to be similar to the name of the King or the name of the Queen;
(2)shall be identical or intended to be similar to a royally conferred name, save where it is the royally conferred name of one’s own, of one’s ascendant, or of one’s descendant;
(3)shall duplicate a family name granted by a king or family name already registered;
(4)shall contain an impolite word or meaning;
(5)shall contain more than ten consonants, save where a royally conferred name is used as a family name.
Section9.Any Thai national who desires to register a family name newly created shall make an application to the local registrar of the locality the household register of which contains his name according to the law on civil registration.
When the local registrar considers and finds that the family name created according to the application is not contrary to this Act, he shall further submit it to [the relevant officers] according to the order [of precedence] until it reaches the Central Registrar. Once approval has been obtained from the Central Registrar, the local registrar shall accept to register the family name and issue a certificate indicating the registration of the family name to the applicant.
Execution of this section shall be in accordance with the criteria and procedure designated in a ministerial regulation.
Section10.A family name lawfully registered prior to the day of coming into force of this Act shall be deemed as if having been registered under this Act.
Section11.A person who has a family name registered may permit any Thai national to share such family name by making an application to the local registrar of the locality the household register of which contains his name according to the law on civil registration.
The granting of permission according to this section shall be valid only when the local registrar has issued to the person who is to use the family name a certificate indicating that the use of the family name has been permitted.
Section12.A woman who has a husband shall use the family name of the husband.
Section13.A woman whose marriage ends by divorce shall return to her former family name.
Section14.A woman whose marriage ends by death of her husband shall use the family name of the husband.
Section15.A person who fosters children or owns a hospital, asylum, or child maintenance institution, if desiring to register a family name newly created for joint or separate use by the foster children or by the children at the said place who are Thai nationals without family names, shall make an application to the local registrar of the locality the household register of which contains his name according to the law on civil registration or of the locality where the said place is situated, and the provisions of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 of section 9 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section16.If desiring to change the given name or secondary name, a person who already has a given name or secondary name shall make an application to the local registrar of the locality the household register of which contains his name according to the law on civil registration. When the local registrar finds that the new given name or secondary name according to the application is not contrary to this Act, he shall grant the application and issue a certificate indicating the change.
Section17.If desiring to create a new family name, a person who already has a family name shall make an application to the local registrar of the locality the household register of which contains his name according to the law on civil registration, and the provisions of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 of section 9 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section18.In the event that a local registrar gives an order denying the registration of a family name, the applicant for the registration of the family name has the right to appeal the order of the local registrar to the Minister within thirty days from the day he learns of the order. The appeal shall be filed with the local registrar.
The ruling of the Minister shall be final.
Section19.Whoever wishes to use a royally conferred name of his own, of his ascendant, or of his descendant as his family name shall make an application to the local registrar of the locality the household register of which contains his name according to the law on civil registration, and the local registrar shall further submit it to [the relevant officers] according to the order [of precedence] until it reaches the Central Registrar.
When the Central Registrar finds it appropriate, he shall make a proposal to the Minister that the matter be brought before [the King]. Once the royal permission has been obtained, the local registrar shall accept to register the family name and issue a certificate indicating the registration of the family name to the applicant.
Section20.The Minister of Interior shall be in charge of the execution of this Act and shall have the power to appoint registrars and issue ministerial regulations designating fees not exceeding the rate at the end of this Act and designating other matters for the execution of this Act.
Those ministerial regulations shall come into force upon publication in the Royal Gazette.
Field Marshal S Thanarat
Prime Minister
| Rate of fees
| |||
| (1) | Certificates of change of given names or secondary names | 25 baht each | |
| (2) | Certificates of registration of creation or change of family names | 50 baht each | |
| (3) | Substitutes for a certificate under (1) or (2) | 5 baht each | |
Note: The reasons for the promulgation of this Act are as follows: Whereas the registration, the making of applications for change of given names, secondary names, or family names, and the making of applications for joint use of a family name according to the old laws are still inconvenient and unsuitable for the situations at present, they should be improved in order to increase convenience, expeditiousness, and suitability.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
| Original: |
This work is in the public domain worldwide because it originated in Thailand and is a work under section 7(2) of Thailand's Copyright Act, 2537 BE (1994) (WIPO translation), which provides:
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| Translation: |
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
