One office issues them all: the Special Branch Bureau's Police Clearance Service Center — 100 baht, fingerprints required, and a postal route for applicants who have already left Thailand.
Overview
Thai police clearance certificates (หนังสือรับรองความประพฤติ) are issued centrally by the Police Clearance Service Center of the Special Branch Bureau, Royal Thai Police — the public service counter sits at the Special Branch Bureau's Public Service Center at 27/40 Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Bangkok 10210. The standard processing fee is 100 baht; applications made through a representative are paid at 160 baht at the centre, and postal applications from abroad add postage (the centre quotes 600–700 baht where no prepaid return envelope is supplied, paid into its UOB account). In-person applicants give live-scan fingerprints on-site; applicants abroad post two sets of hardcopy fingerprints taken at a Royal Thai Embassy or a local police station, with processing of 15–25 working days if the file is in order. The certificate is used for foreign immigration, employment and study, and in the reverse direction Thai immigration requires foreign criminal-record certificates for several categories — notably the Non-Immigrant O-A retirement visa and Long-Term Resident (LTR) files. Note that Thailand is not yet a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so document legalisation still runs through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular legalisation chain. Verified against pcscenter.sbpolice.go.th as of June 2026.
Getting a Thai Certificate — In Person
- Where: The Police Clearance Service Center, Special Branch Bureau, Royal Thai Police — Public Service Center, 27/40 Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Bangkok 10210. It is the single national issuing point; provincial police stations do not issue the certificate.
- Fee: 100 baht standard processing fee; if a representative submits on your behalf, the fee payable at the centre is 160 baht and the representative needs a power of attorney with a 10-baht revenue stamp plus copies of both parties' ID documents.
- Fingerprints: Taken on-site by digital live scan when you apply in person — no need to bring prints.
- Foreigner documents: Photocopies (certified true by your signature) of your valid passport, Thai work permit and/or visa, your current country-of-residence visa if applying about a past stay, passport pages showing all Thai entry/exit stamps, and two passport-size photographs. Thai citizens instead supply national ID and house registration; Thai men aged 17–45 add military-service documents.
- Purpose evidence: Bring the document showing why you need the certificate (embassy letter, immigration checklist, job offer) — the certificate is issued for a stated purpose.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
Where do I get a Thai police clearance certificate, and how much does it cost?
From a single office: the Police Clearance Service Center of the Special Branch Bureau, Royal Thai Police — the Public Service Center at 27/40 Thung Song Hong, Lak Si, Bangkok 10210. The standard processing fee is 100 baht. Apply in person with your passport, work permit and/or visa copies, passport pages showing your Thai entry/exit stamps, two passport photos and evidence of the purpose; fingerprints are taken on-site by digital live scan. A representative can submit for you with a power of attorney (10-baht revenue stamp), paying 160 baht at the centre.
I've already left Thailand — can I still get the certificate?
Yes, by post. Download the Application Form, Testimony Memorandum Form and Fingerprints Form from pcscenter.sbpolice.go.th; have two sets of hardcopy fingerprints taken and certified at a Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate or local police station in your country; transfer the fee to the centre's UOB Bank account (100 baht if you enclose a prepaid self-addressed return envelope, 700 baht if the centre must cover return postage); and post the packet with certified copies of your passport, old Thai visa/work permit and entry/exit stamp pages to the Lak Si address. Processing is 15–25 working days if complete, plus postal time — or appoint someone in Thailand to hand-deliver it.
How long does a Thai police clearance take, and what slows it down?
If your file is complete and no criminal record surfaces, in-person applications are typically ready in roughly one to two weeks, and the centre quotes 15–25 working days for postal applications from abroad. The two published causes of delay are a criminal record being found (which triggers further review) and missing documents — incomplete passport-stamp copies and uncertified fingerprints are common gaps in overseas applications. Your application is not processed at all until payment is received, so include proof of the bank transfer. Build in international courier time both ways if applying from abroad.
Does Thai immigration need a police certificate from MY country, and for which visas?
It depends on the category. The Non-Immigrant O-A retirement visa requires a criminal-record certificate from your country of nationality (and usually of residence), with recency rules set by the issuing embassy — commonly no older than about three months. LTR visa files via the Board of Investment include background-check elements, and embassies may require certificates for other long-stay categories. Ordinary tourist entries, extensions of stay done inside Thailand and the TDAC involve no police certificate. Always work from the checklist of the specific embassy or agency handling your application, because requirements differ by post.
Can I just get my foreign police certificate apostilled for use in Thailand?
Not yet. Thailand is not currently a party to the Hague Apostille Convention — a frequent point of confusion because Thailand joined the Hague Conference on Private International Law (the organisation) in March 2021, and the Thai Cabinet approved accession to the Apostille Convention in December 2025. Until Thailand's instrument of accession is deposited and the Convention enters into force for it, an apostille alone has no automatic legal effect in Thailand. Use the legalisation chain instead: authentication in the issuing country, certification by the Royal Thai Embassy/Consulate there, and/or legalisation by the MFA Department of Consular Affairs' Legalization Division in Bangkok — as specified by the receiving office.
What does a Thai certificate actually show, and could old offences block it?
The certificate reports the result of a Royal Thai Police criminal-record check for the stated purpose — employment, education or migration. If a record is found, the centre's published guidance is that processing is delayed for further review rather than automatically refused; what then appears, and how a destination country treats it, depends on the offence and on that country's own rules (some Thai records are expungeable or treated as spent under destination-country policy, but Thailand itself publishes no spent-conviction disclosure regime for this certificate). If you have any Thai criminal history, obtain the certificate early in your timeline and take country-specific immigration advice on disclosure.