ILC

Thailand Company Registration — DBD / BOI / IEAT

Complete Guide to Thai Business Entity Registration with MoJ-Certified Translation

Covers Co., Ltd., PCL, partnerships, FBL, US Treaty of Amity, BOI, IEAT, IHQ, branches, rep offices, associations, and foundations — compare capital, foreign ownership rights, and tax obligations.

13+ entity typesAligned with DBD / BOI / IEATSubmission-ready translation

Free consultation — choose the right entity — LINE @NAATI · Tel 080-5578887

Thai Company Registration and Corporate Setup

Thai company formation is governed by the Civil and Commercial Code (Book III), the Public Limited Companies Act, and the Foreign Business Act. ILC forms every operating structure: Thai Limited Company, Public Limited Company (Plc), Partnership (Ordinary, Registered, Limited), Branch Office, Representative Office, Regional Office, Amity Treaty US Corporation, BOI-promoted entity, IEAT industrial-estate entity, and Foreign Business Licence (FBL/FBC). Registration is handled by the Department of Business Development (DBD, Ministry of Commerce) with a target 3-working-day timeline for Limited Companies. Foreign shareholders trigger additional filings: BOI application, FBL for restricted List-2 or List-3 activities, or 51% Thai shareholding for unrestricted operations. We deliver a fully-operational company — corporate seal, tax ID, VAT registration, social security registration, e-Filing enrolment — in as little as 10 working days.

End-to-End Process — company registration thailand

The workflow below reflects current 2025–2026 practice with the relevant Thai authority and factors in queue seasonality, translation dependencies, and cross-agency handoffs.

  1. 1) Name reservation

    Three preferred names submitted to DBD; typical approval within 1 business day.

  2. 2) MoA / Articles drafting

    Custom Memorandum of Association and Articles reflecting founder intent, board rights, and dividend policy.

  3. 3) Statutory meeting

    Founders' meeting and initial share subscription documented per CCC Section 1108.

  4. 4) Registration at DBD

    Filing of registration package with paid-up capital declaration; 3 working days standard.

  5. 5) Tax and VAT setup

    13-digit Tax ID and VAT registration with Revenue Department (mandatory above THB 1.8M turnover).

  6. 6) Banking and operations

    Corporate bank account, social security registration and e-Withholding setup.

Documents and Preconditions

The checklist below covers standard files. Complex or corporate matters can add supplementary certificates, board resolutions, or notarised affidavits; ILC brief these during the intake call.

  • Three preferred company names
  • Registered office lease agreement
  • Passport/ID of all shareholders and directors
  • MoA and Articles of Association drafts
  • Initial paid-up capital plan
  • Business scope description (TSIC codes)

Who Uses This Service

Real-world scenarios where clients rely on this service every month, spanning individual, family, and corporate mandates.

Foreign JV entering Thai market

Structured with 49/51 Thai-foreign shareholding plus preferred shares to secure investor control.

BOI-promoted tech startup

100% foreign-owned under Category 5 (Digital) with corporate income tax exemption.

Regional Operating Headquarters

IHQ / ITC structure for Asia-Pacific management centres.

Family holding company

Private company to consolidate family assets and structure succession planning.

Options and Trade-offs

Three delivery paths are usually available. We select the option that balances cost, deadline pressure, and destination-authority preferences.

OptionProsTrade-offs
Thai Limited (Thai majority)Fast, low regulatory friction, universal business scopeForeign shareholder capped at 49% for restricted activities
BOI-promoted100% foreign ownership, tax privileges, no ratioRequires project meeting BOI criteria
FBLLegal path for restricted List-3 activitiesCabinet approval slow (4–6 months)

In-Depth FAQ

Can foreigners own 100% of a Thai company?

Yes under BOI, IEAT, Amity Treaty (US), or FBL — otherwise capped at 49% for List-2 and List-3 activities.

What is the minimum capital?

THB 2M paid-up per foreign work permit (THB 1M if the foreigner is married to a Thai national).

Do I need a Thai director?

Not mandatory for foreign-owned companies; however, a Thai signatory speeds up banking KYC.

How fast can we start operations?

Realistically 10–15 working days for registration + banking + VAT.

A complete guide to company-registration-thailand in Thailand

company-registration-thailand is one of the pillar services delivered by ILC — a Bangkok-based legal-language firm operating continuously since 2004 and staffed by in-house certified translators, Lawyers Council of Thailand notarial services attorneys, Ministry of Justice court-listed translators, and licensed visa consultants. Every company-registration-thailand matter we accept is scoped by a senior specialist during a free intake conversation on LINE Official (@ilc-notary) or by email at ilc@thainotary.co.th, so the price, timeline, required documents, and destination-authority acceptance criteria are fixed in writing before any file leaves the client's hands. This institutional approach — as opposed to a freelance translator or a generalist law firm — is why corporate clients, embassies, foreign universities, HR departments, and immigration bureaux route their highest-stakes files to ILC rather than reprocessing them after a rejection.

How the workflow runs end-to-end

The company-registration-thailand workflow begins with a document audit: our specialist checks the issuer, the issue date, the naming convention against the client's passport, and any expiry rules of the destination authority. This eliminates the single most common cause of rejection at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, at foreign embassies in Bangkok, or at the Thai Immigration Bureau — namely a small mismatch or an outdated template. Once the audit is clean, translation and certification are executed in parallel by two credentialed translators to compress the timeline, then legalization or notarization is queued at the relevant counter (MFA Chaeng Watthana, the destination embassy in Bangkok, the Department of Business Development, the Department of Intellectual Property, the Board of Investment One Stop Service Center, the Criminal Records Division of the Royal Thai Police, or the Amphur District Office) with a numbered chain-of-custody log so the client can see exactly where the original document is at every step. On completion the pack is returned by EMS, Kerry, DHL, or FedEx to any address worldwide, along with a colour PDF archive for the client's records.

Who this service is for

company-registration-thailand routinely supports six distinct client profiles: (1) individual foreign nationals arriving in Thailand for work, study, retirement, marriage, or long-term investor visas such as LTR and Smart Visa; (2) Thai citizens travelling abroad who need documents recognised in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Schengen area, Japan, South Korea, China, Singapore, UAE, Saudi Arabia, or India; (3) HR departments of multinationals in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, Rayong, and the Eastern Economic Corridor processing Non-B work visas and Section 24/25 BOI work permits for expatriate staff; (4) law firms and in-house counsel handling M&A, IP portfolio work, or cross-border litigation; (5) educational institutions and their students preparing transcripts, diplomas, and credential evaluations for foreign universities; and (6) foreign embassies, consulates, and international organisations that outsource certified translation on a framework contract. Each profile receives a slightly different intake checklist, because acceptance criteria differ meaningfully between destination authorities and use cases.

Coverage, fees, and turnaround

ILC serves all 77 provinces of Thailand via nationwide courier with next-day pickup from Bangkok metro and 1–3 day pickup from regional provinces including Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Khon Kaen, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Rayong, Chonburi, Phuket, Krabi, Songkhla, and Hat Yai. Overseas clients receive the same service remotely: originals are couriered to our Ratchadaphisek headquarters, we execute the company-registration-thailand workflow, and the finished pack is shipped by DHL or FedEx to more than 40 countries with tracking. Standard turnaround for a typical company-registration-thailand matter is 3–7 Thai business days end-to-end when all three consular tiers are engaged (translation, MFA, embassy); simpler matters such as a single notarized copy or a stand-alone certified translation complete in 1–3 business days. Express and same-day options are available for time-critical visa and immigration filings at published surcharge rates.

Quality assurance and confidentiality

Every company-registration-thailand deliverable is executed under ISO 17100-aligned quality principles: mandatory bilingual review by a second credentialed translator, controlled terminology glossaries for legal and technical vocabulary, and a signed statement of accuracy carrying the translator's credentials (ATA, NAATI, MoJ, Chartered Institute of Linguists, or destination-country registry). Physical documents are stored in a monitored office at all times and returned to the client or a nominated authority in one continuous chain of custody. Confidentiality is default: standard engagements are covered by our general NDA, and bespoke NDAs are executed on request within the same business day for enterprise clients, family offices, and law firms. If a receiving authority ever rejects a deliverable for a translation or certification defect, ILC re-issues the corrected file at no additional charge and refunds any government fees that must be repaid.

Start your company-registration-thailand matter today

Reach ILC on LINE Official @ilc-notary, email ilc@thainotary.co.th, or phone 080-5578887. Office hours are Monday to Sunday, 08:30 to 20:00 Bangkok time. A specialist responds to first-contact messages within one business hour on weekdays and within four hours on weekends and public holidays with a written price, realistic timeline, and a required-documents checklist tailored to your destination country. There is no charge for the initial consultation, and no obligation to proceed after receiving the quote — ILCearns repeat business by delivering the first company-registration-thailand matter cleanly and on time, not by locking clients into open-ended retainers.