Lawyers in Chiang Mai.

Lawyers in Chiang Mai: the local courts and offices

Most legal work for foreign residents in Chiang Mai runs through a small set of courts and government offices, most of them in Mueang district. These are the offices lawyers in Chiang Mai work with, and knowing which one handles your matter makes a first consultation shorter and more useful.

Courts

• Chiang Mai Provincial Court, on Chotana Road, hears civil and criminal cases for 17 of the province's districts, according to the court's own profile. Since October 2023 it has run three electronic courtrooms, and parties can ask to join hearings over Zoom.
• Chiang Mai Juvenile and Family Court hears family cases: civil cases that concern children or the family, including contested divorce. It covers the whole province, although cases from Fang, Mae Ai and Chai Prakan are heard at the Fang Provincial Court (jurisdiction note).
• Labour Court Region 5 sits in Chiang Mai and hears employment disputes for eight upper northern provinces, from Chiang Rai and Phayao to Mae Hong Son (court history).

Registration offices

• Chiang Mai Immigration Office is on Airport Road in Suthep. Its website links the online 90-day report (TM.47), the TM.30 residence notification for landlords, and an online extension service.
• Chiang Mai Provincial Land Office has 12 branches, including Hang Dong, San Sai, Mae Rim and San Kamphaeng, plus sub-offices in Mae Chaem, Hot and Samoeng (Department of Lands office list). A lease can only be registered there if it runs longer than three years (official lease procedure).
• District offices (amphoe) register marriages and divorces by consent. Under the Family Registration Act, registration can take place at any registration office, with the couple signing before the registrar and two witnesses.

What can be handled without a local office

A Chiang Mai matter does not always need a Chiang Mai firm. Several steps now run online or at an office of your choosing:

• The Provincial Court accepts applications to appoint an estate administrator through e-filing, so heirs can file without travelling to the court.
• Hearings can be requested over Zoom, as above.
• Foreign-language documents for a divorce registration must be translated into Thai and legalised through the Department of Consular Affairs (registration guide). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs offers that legalisation at its passport office in Chiang Mai, so that step need not mean a trip to Bangkok.
• A will can be made as a public document at a district registration office.

Whether someone can attend an office for you under a power of attorney depends on the office and the application. A lawyer can check that before you plan a trip.