ThaID and Thai Civil Registration Online
Thailand’s ID card, house registration and digital identity in one place — including which tasks start online and which still need you at the counter.
www.bora.dopa.go.th
What you can do
-
Your ID card in digital form
ThaID shows your national ID card details on your phone, so services that accept it no longer need the physical card every time.
-
One account, many public services
Sign in to the agencies that support it with one ThaID account, instead of a separate login and password for each system.
-
Civil registration under one roof
ID cards, house registration, births, deaths, marriage, divorce and name changes all sit with the same department.
-
Built around life events
A birth, a marriage or a death each carries a registration step the law requires, along with a filing window.
-
Know in advance what needs a visit
Some tasks can be prepared online; others still require you in person at a district office. Knowing which is which saves a wasted trip.
-
Fake apps and fake links
A national digital identity is a prime target. Install only from the official app stores, and never enter credentials on a page you reached from a link in a message.
What ThaID and civil registration are
Civil registration is the system that records a person’s legal status from birth to death: the entry in a house registration record, the national ID card, marriage, divorce and changes of name. It belongs to the Department of Provincial Administration under the Ministry of Interior, with the Bureau of Registration Administration keeping the central database and setting the service standards that registration offices across the country work to.
ThaID is the digital identity app the department built for Thai nationals who hold a national ID card. Once you enrol, you have a digital account tied to your own registration record: it presents your ID card details in digital form and signs you in to the public services that support it, without a separate account for every agency. Anyone without a Thai ID card still needs whatever alternative verification each agency accepts.
What sets ThaID apart from most government apps is that it is not a destination in itself — it is a key that other systems call on. A growing number of public services now offer sign-in with ThaID, and parts of the private sector, including banks, mobile operators and hospitals, have begun accepting the same verification. Adoption is uneven, so ask a particular provider before you plan on carrying nothing else.
What you can do with ThaID
- Present your national ID card details digitally on your phone, wherever the other side accepts it.
- Sign in to supported government services without keeping a separate password for every agency.
- Prove who you are for online transactions that need real assurance, not merely a typed ID number.
- Verify yourself with participating private providers, including some bank and mobile-operator services.
- Cut down on photocopied cards and registration papers at services that already take digital records.
Two ways to enrol
There are two main routes. The first is doing it yourself in the app: photograph your ID card, then scan your face so it can be matched against the registration record. The second is having staff verify you at a district office — สำนักงานเขต in Bangkok, ที่ว่าการอำเภอ in other provinces — which suits anyone whose self-enrolment failed or who would rather not wrestle with the app. Both end in the same account; they differ only in who confirms you are the cardholder.
| Route | Suits | What to bring |
|---|---|---|
| Self-enrolment in the app | A card in good condition and a phone with a decent camera | The physical card, a connection and somewhere well lit |
| Verification by an official | Anyone whose self-enrolment failed, or who wants help | The physical card and a phone with the app installed |
What civil registration covers
| Task | You can prepare | In person? |
|---|---|---|
| ID card — first issue, renewal, loss or damage | Check the expiry date on the card and the document list | Yes — a photograph and fingerprints are taken |
| House registration — moving in or out, new address number | Gather documents and check whether the householder must consent | Filed with the registrar for the relevant locality |
| Birth and death notification | Check who is required to report it and with what evidence | Yes, with the local registrar inside the window the law sets |
| Marriage and divorce registration | Prepare documents and line up witnesses beforehand | Yes — both parties appear before the registrar |
| Changing a given name or surname | Check the naming rules and supporting papers | Generally at the office where your house registration is held |
Before you go to the district office
- Check which office has jurisdiction. Some tasks can be done anywhere; others belong to the locality where your house registration sits.
- Always take the physical ID card, plus originals and copies of whatever the office has told you to bring.
- If someone is going for you, ask first whether that task can be delegated at all and what form of authorisation is needed.
- Fees, processing times and booking arrangements differ by task and by office — check the official site or ask staff before you set out.
Why this page needs to exist
Civil registration is a service every Thai person needs at least once, yet almost nobody searches for it by the name of the agency. People type whatever just happened to them — where to renew an expired ID card, why ThaID enrolment keeps failing — while the most useful parts of the system sit behind a sign-in, so search engines see only the outer shell. And the moment an ID card becomes a digital account, it becomes worth stealing: a page that names one official starting point, plainly, lowers the odds that a search ends at a lookalike app or a counterfeit login screen. ThaiGov.co is an independent directory — not part of the Department of Provincial Administration, collecting no personal data, and asking you for no credentials at any point.
How to use it
-
Have your physical ID card ready
You need the physical, unexpired card: enrolment reads the details from it and matches them against the civil registration database. A photo saved on your phone or a photocopy will not do.
-
Install only from the official app stores
Search for ThaID on the App Store or Google Play and confirm the publisher is the Department of Provincial Administration. Never install from a file or link sent to you by chat, SMS or email, however convincing it looks.
-
Choose how to enrol
You can enrol yourself in the app by photographing your ID card and scanning your face to match the registration record, or have staff verify you at a district office — สำนักงานเขต in Bangkok, ที่ว่าการอำเภอ elsewhere. Either route produces the same account.
-
Set a strong passcode and keep it to yourself
The app asks you to set a passcode that opens it and approves each verification. Make it unique, avoid birthdays and runs of digits, and keep your device lock switched on — this passcode is the key to your official identity.
-
Try signing in to one service
Once enrolled, sign in to one supported government service to confirm the account really works and to get used to the consent screen — better than meeting it for the first time on a day you are in a hurry.
-
Check before you travel to a registration office
For anything still done at the counter — a new card, a marriage registration, a birth notification — check the required documents, which office has jurisdiction, the current fees and the opening hours on the official site or with your local registrar first. It saves a second trip.
Go to the official site
You are leaving ThaiGov.co for the agency’s official website — www.bora.dopa.go.th
Other official channels
Frequently asked questions
Can ThaID replace my physical ID card?
ThaID can display your ID card details digitally, and services that support it accept that in place of handing over the card. Acceptance is not yet universal, and anything requiring fingerprints or a signature in front of an official still needs the real card. In practice, keep carrying it and ask ahead if you are unsure.
Do I have to go to a district office to enrol?
Not necessarily. You can enrol yourself in the app by photographing your ID card and scanning your face to match the civil registration record. If that fails, or you would rather have an official do it, go to a district office — สำนักงานเขต in Bangkok, ที่ว่าการอำเภอ elsewhere — taking the physical card and the phone with the app already installed.
The face scan or card photo keeps failing — what now?
Usually it is the light — too little of it, or a reflection that makes the printing unreadable. Retry in even light with nothing bright behind you, take off glasses and any mask, and centre your face in the frame. If the card is worn, or the attempts keep failing, go and have staff verify you at a registration office instead; that route exists precisely for these cases.
What happens to ThaID if I change or lose my phone?
The account belongs to you, not permanently to one handset. On a new phone you install the app again and repeat the verification it asks for. If the phone is lost, treat it like any lost device — lock or wipe it remotely — and never give your passcode or a verification code to anyone, including someone claiming to be an official. When in doubt, contact your local registration office directly.
Which registration tasks still require me in person?
Anything that proves who you are in front of an official: getting an ID card, which needs a photograph and fingerprints; marriage and divorce registration, where both parties appear; and birth and death notifications, filed with the local registrar. Preparing documents, checking your own records and — in some areas — booking a slot can be done beforehand, which shortens the time at the counter considerably.
How do I know I am using the genuine ThaID?
Install only from the App Store or Google Play, and check that the publisher is the Department of Provincial Administration. Never install a file someone sent you by chat or SMS. Government agencies do not send links asking you to type a password or a verification code, so treat any message warning that your account will be suspended unless you tap now as a scam, and check by opening the app or typing the official address yourself.