Service guide
Divorce in Thailand runs through a district office if both spouses agree, and through a family court if they do not. What each route needs, and what changes.
4 firms on Justenda. Compare firms
Talk to someone who does this every week. Verified firms reply with how they would handle your case and what it costs. Free, no account needed.
Thailand has an administrative divorce and a judicial one, and which you are in is decided by a single question: does the other spouse agree?
If both of you do, the divorce is registered at a district office. The Family Registration Act says the registrar accepts a registration of divorce by consent on the request of the husband and wife, and on registering it issues one copy of the certificate to each party without charging a fee. That is genuinely the whole formal process.
If one of you does not, there is no administrative route at all. The divorce has to be granted by a court, which means establishing a ground rather than simply wanting out. Once a court has given judgment annulling a marriage or granting a divorce, an interested party can ask the registrar to record it, but only on producing a certified correct copy of the final judgment.
That word "final" does a lot of work. A judgment still open to appeal is not yet recordable, which is why contested divorces take considerably longer to show up in the register than people expect.
Divorce by consent versus divorce by court
Registration mechanics under the Family Registration Act B.E. 2478. The grounds for a contested divorce are set by the Civil and Commercial Code and depend on the facts.
| By consent, at a district office | Contested, through a court | |
|---|---|---|
| What is required | Both spouses request the registration together | One spouse brings a case and has to establish a ground |
| Who decides | The registrar, on the parties' own agreement | A juvenile and family court |
| What you receive | One copy of the registration certificate to each party, issued without a fee | A judgment, which is recorded in the register once it is final |
| How the register is updated | At the moment of registration | On submitting a certified correct copy of the final judgment to the registrar |
| Where the argument happens | Before you attend, in the agreement itself | In the proceedings, and often for a long time |
Source: Family Registration Act B.E. 2478 (1935), sections 8, 16 and 18
Checked August 2026
Warning: "We agree" has to mean agreement on everything
A consent divorce registers the end of the marriage. It does not, by itself, resolve who the children live with, what maintenance is paid, or how property is divided. Couples who register a divorce with those questions still open frequently end up in court anyway, only now without the bargaining position they had while the other person still wanted the divorce registered. The agreement is the work; the registration is the easy part.
Your options
A first shortlist from 4 firms on Justenda. Compare them, then message one or several at once.
International boutique law firm in Bangkok and Phuket, providing legal and tax services to investors, businesses, and private clients across Thailand
฿7,000–12,000 / hour
Bangkok-based law firm delivering strategic, business-focused legal advice with deep local expertise and a practical, solutions-oriented approach.
฿3,500–15,000 / hour
International Legal and Cross-Border Business Advisory in Thailand and Asia
On a consent divorce, the value is in the agreement rather than the appointment. A lawyer works out what actually needs deciding, drafts terms that a registrar will accept and that will survive contact with reality, and makes sure nothing important has been left to goodwill. For foreign spouses there is a second job: checking whether the Thai divorce will be recognised where the couple's assets, pensions or immigration status actually sit.
On a contested divorce, the work is a case. That means identifying which ground the facts support, gathering the evidence for it, and running the proceeding, usually with child custody and child support travelling alongside as separate questions rather than automatic consequences.
There is also a documents track that catches foreign couples out. Where an act relating to family status was done abroad, it can be recorded in Thailand, and material produced in another language needs certified translation before a Thai registrar or court will work from it.
And there is the piece nobody wants to discuss at the start: if a prenuptial agreement was made and registered properly with the marriage, it shapes the property conversation from the outset.
Establish what kind of divorce this is
Whether the other spouse agrees, where the marriage was registered, and where each spouse is now. These three facts decide the route, the forum, and whether recognition abroad is a live issue.
Settle the substance, not just the split
Children, maintenance, property, and any business interests. This is where the real negotiation happens, and it is far cheaper before a registration or a filing than after one.
Prepare the documents
Marriage certificate, identification, household registration where relevant, and certified Thai translations of anything issued abroad.
Register, or file
By consent, the spouses attend and the registrar registers the divorce, issuing a certificate to each without a fee. Contested, the case is filed in a juvenile and family court and the ground has to be made out.
Record a judgment once it is final
A court divorce is entered in the register on submitting a certified correct copy of the final judgment. Until then the register still shows the marriage.
Deal with the consequences
Immigration status, property transfers, wills and beneficiary designations do not update themselves. This is the step people most often skip.
In broad terms, property a spouse brought into the marriage or received personally is generally treated differently from property acquired during it, and that distinction tends to drive most divorce financial arguments. How a specific asset is classified depends on how and when it was acquired and on what evidence exists, which is exactly why generic answers are unhelpful here and a lawyer will want the documents rather than a summary.
Children are a separate question from the divorce itself. Where parents agree, arrangements can form part of the consent package. Where they do not, a court decides, and it is looking at the child's interests rather than at either parent's preference.
Cross-border families should also know that moving a child out of Thailand after a separation is not a private decision. Thailand is a member of the Hague Conference on Private International Law, whose conventions cover cross-border child abduction, so this is dealt with through an established international framework rather than by whichever country the child ends up in.
The marriage certificate
With the registration details. If the marriage was registered abroad, bring that record too, because it affects both the route and recognition.
Passports and identification for both spouses
Plus household registration documents where a Thai spouse is involved.
Certified Thai translations of foreign documents
A Thai registrar or court works from Thai. Translation and certification take time, so start them early rather than on the day.
A written record of what has been agreed
Children, maintenance, property, debts. Even a rough version tells a lawyer where the real disagreements are.
Documents for significant assets
Title deeds, company shareholdings, bank and pension records, and evidence of when and how each was acquired.
Any prenuptial agreement
With evidence of when and how it was made and registered, which is what determines whether it bites.
Before you agree anything you cannot easily undo. A consent divorce is fast and cheap precisely because it assumes the hard questions are already settled, so the useful moment for advice is while you are settling them.
Always, if the other spouse disagrees, if children are involved, if assets sit in more than one country, or if the divorce needs to be recognised somewhere other than Thailand.
Firms set their own fees, and the shape follows the route. A consent divorce is bounded work most firms will quote as a fixed fee. A contested case is not, because its length depends on the other side and the court rather than on the firm, and any flat quote for one is a guess. For a wider view of the practice, family lawyers in Thailand handle divorce alongside registration and children's matters.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Grounds, property classification and recognition abroad all turn on individual facts, so speak with a qualified professional about your own situation.
Also listed
Every one of these is verified on Justenda and can take on divorce lawyers work in Thailand.
International boutique law firm in Bangkok and Phuket, providing legal and tax services to investors, businesses, and private clients across Thailand
฿7,000–12,000 / hour
Bangkok-based law firm delivering strategic, business-focused legal advice with deep local expertise and a practical, solutions-oriented approach.
฿3,500–15,000 / hour
International Legal and Cross-Border Business Advisory in Thailand and Asia
Next step
Send one focused inquiry with your situation, timing, and preferred language. Firms reply with how they would handle it and what it costs, so you can compare answers instead of chasing quotes.
Common questions
All firms
International boutique law firm in Bangkok and Phuket, providing legal and tax services to investors, businesses, and private clients across Thailand
฿7,000–12,000 / hour
Bangkok-based law firm delivering strategic, business-focused legal advice with deep local expertise and a practical, solutions-oriented approach.
฿3,500–15,000 / hour
International Legal and Cross-Border Business Advisory in Thailand and Asia
Experts assisting clients in conducting their businesses and protecting their rights and investments in Thailand across a wide range of legal matters.
In this practice area
