Changing a First Name, Middle Name or Surname

At the district or local registration office where your name appears in the house register, under the Person Name Act B.E. 2505. The registrar issues a certificate of change of given name (Chor 3) or of surname (Chor 5), which is the document that links your former and current names in every later filing.

Yes. The law lets spouses agree to use either spouse's surname or to keep their own. To take a foreign spouse's surname, present the marriage certificate or marriage register with a certified translation at the registration office for recording, then update the ID card and passport in that order.

Present the divorce certificate or the final judgment at the registration office to revert to your former surname, then update the house register, ID card and passport. If the divorce took place abroad, the foreign judgment or divorce record must first be legalised and recorded as a change of family status in Thailand.

The Person Name Act recognises middle names and they can be recorded in civil registration, but many Thai document templates print only the given name and surname, so a middle name may not appear. If your foreign documents carry a middle name, make sure the spelling in your passport and in the registry records is consistent to avoid visa problems.

No. The 13-digit number stays with the individual for life — changing a given name, a surname or a house register does not change it. That makes it the strongest link when proving that documents in an old name and a new name belong to the same person.

Once the child is a lawful child, the child is a statutory heir of the first class of the father under Book VI of the Civil and Commercial Code, with the same rights as a child born in wedlock. It also affects maintenance duties and the use of the father's surname.

Yes — given name and surname should match the passport letter for letter. If you have changed your name or older documents spell it differently, attach the name-change certificate with a certified translation, because the receiving authority traces identity through that document chain.

No. Thai law lets her keep Nangsao or use Nang, and lets her keep her own surname, take her spouse's, or use both. If she does change, the registrar issues the certificate and updates the house book and ID card first; the passport is amended afterwards, in that order.

The house registration, national ID card and passport, plus record holders such as banks, Social Security and the Revenue Department. For overseas use, keep the name change certificate with a certified translation as the evidentiary link to documents issued in your former name.

Receivers may reject the file because identity cannot be confirmed. Use the passport spelling in every translation and attach linking evidence such as a name change certificate or a civil registration particulars certificate showing the same person.