Volume 122, Issue 7A
Royal Gazette
19 January 2548
Names of Persons
Act (No 3),
2548 BE
Bhumibol Adulyadej R
Given on the 8th day of January 2548 BE
Being the 60th 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 amend the law on names of persons;
This Act contains certain provisions relating to the restriction of rights and freedoms of persons, which section 29, in conjunction with section 31, of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand permits to be done through the powers under the provisions of law;
Therefore, He permits, by and with the advice and consent of the National Assembly, the enactment of the following Act:
Section1.This Act is called the Names of Persons Act (No 3), 2548 BE.
Section2.This Act shall come into force from the day following the day of its publication in the Royal Gazette onwards.
Section3.The provisions of section 6 of the the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following provisions:
“Section6.No given name shall be identical to 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.
No secondary name shall contain any disqualification under paragraph 1, nor shall it be identical to the family name of another person, save where it is the case in which one spouse uses the family name of the other spouse, or a child uses the former family name of the mother or father, as his or her secondary name.
A spouse may use the family name of the other spouse as his or her secondary name only after having obtained the consent of such spouse.”
Section4.The provisions of paragraph 2 of section 9 of the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following provisions:
“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. Upon having obtained the approval of the Central Registrar, the local registrar shall accept to register the said family name and issue a certificate indicating the registration of the family name to the applicant. However, in the event that any registry can link data with the data network of the Central Registry as announced and designated by the Ministry of Interior, its local register shall be able to proceed therewith without having to obtain the approval of the Central Registrar.”
Section5.The following provision shall be inserted in the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE as paragraph 3 of section 11:
“In the event that the person having a family name registered has already died, his or her closest descendant who uses such family name shall have the right to grant the permission under paragraph 1.”
Section6.The provisions of sections 12 and 13 of the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the following provisions:
“Section12.The spouses have the right to use each other’s family name according to their agreement or either of them shall use his or her own former family name.
The agreement under paragraph 1 may be concluded at the marriage or in the course of the marriage.
The agreement under paragraph 1 may be modified by a subsequent agreement of the spouses.
Section13.When the marriage ends by divorce or by a judicial judgment annulling it, the spouse using the family name of the other spouse shall return to his or her own former family name.
When the marriage ends by death, the surviving spouse who uses the family name of the other spouse shall have the right to continue using the family name. But if he is to remarry, he or she shall return to his or her own former family name.”
Section7.Section 14 of the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE, which has been amended by the Names of Persons Act (No 2), 2530 BE, shall be repealed.
Section8.The rate of fees annexed to the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE, shall be repealed and replaced by the rate of fees hereto annexed.
Section9.A woman who has a husband and has been using the family name of the husband since before the day of coming into force of this Act shall have the right to continue using the family name of the husband, but this does not exclude her right to return to her own former family name or to conclude a different agreement between the husband and wife.
Section10.The Minister of Interior shall be in charge of the execution of this Act.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Thaksin Shinawatra
Prime Minister
“Rate of fees
| (1) | Certificates of change of given or secondary name | 100 baht each | ||||||
| (2) | Certificates of registration of creation of family name | 200 baht each | ||||||
| (3) | Certificates of registration of change of family name | |||||||
| (a) | Change of family name on account of marriage | |||||||
| (1) | First change after registration of marriage or change on account of marriage dissolution | None | ||||||
| (2) | Next changes | 100 baht each | ||||||
| (b) | Changes on account of other reasons | 200 baht each | ||||||
| (4) | Substitutes for a certificate under (1), (2), or (3) | 50 baht each” | ||||||
Note: The reasons for the promulgation of this Act are as follows: The Constitutional Court has given the Ruling No 21/2546 declaring section 12 of the Names of Persons Act, 2505 BE, unconstitutional and inapplicable. Moreover, the criteria governing the use of a secondary name under the said Act are loose, making it possible for another person’s family name to be used as one’s secondary name, which would cause people in general to misunderstand that the user is rightful to use such family name. Furthermore, the existing procedure for the making of applications for creation of family names does not support the provision of public services through electronic systems, and the requirement that the person having a family name registered be the only person having the power to permit another person to share the family name brings about practical problems in the event that he has already died. In addition, the old rate of fees which has been in use for a long period of time has become unsuitable for the management and provision of services regarding personal name data which are genuinely correct. It is appropriate to improve the described provisions in order that they be in line with the ruling of the Constitutional Court and be more suitable. Therefore, it is necessary to enact this Act.
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.
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