Any licensed doctor in Thailand, at a private clinic or a hospital, can write a medical certificate, and the treating doctor is the one to ask for a fit-to-fly letter. Ask before you leave, in English, with dates: the UK Foreign Office warns that full medical reports are not always readily available afterwards.
Visitors usually need one of four papers: a sick note for an employer or a cancelled tour, a fit-to-fly certificate for an airline, a medical clearance form for an airline before the flight, or a medical report and itemized bill for an insurer. The doctor writes only the one you ask for. This page explains each, using the airlines' and hospitals' own pages as of October 2026. It is general information, not medical, legal or insurance advice.
Medical papers in Thailand at a glance
- Who writes them
- The treating doctor at a clinic or hospital
- Fit-to-fly letter
- Ask the treating doctor (FCDO); needed by some airlines after surgery or certain illnesses
- Airline medical clearance
- Bangkok Airways: contact the call center at least 24 hours before departure; AirAsia: certificate dated no more than 10 days before travel for listed infectious illnesses
- For the insurer
- Medical report, itemized bill and receipts; arrange it during an admission, not after
- Price
- No official price list found; ask at registration
Clinic or hospital: where to ask for a certificate
For a simple sick note, a private clinic or the outpatient department of a private hospital is usually the quickest route: the FCDO notes that private hospitals usually have short waits at their outpatient departments, where you see a general doctor first. If you were admitted, ask the hospital that treated you; it holds your notes. Our guide to hospitals in Thailand explains how private and government hospitals differ.
The language matters. The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) says medical notes are often handwritten and, in government hospitals, sometimes in Thai, and that full reports are "not always readily available". Ask for an English certificate when you register, and again before discharge. If you want to check that the doctor who signs it is licensed, the Medical Council of Thailand runs a public search at checkmd.tmc.or.th.
What a useful certificate says
Thailand has no single form for visitors, and we did not find a Medical Council rule on what a certificate must contain. A practical model is the list AirAsia gives for a medical letter supporting a cancellation: the hospital's letterhead, the medical condition, supporting reports (for example X-ray, laboratory or surgical reports), the recovery period or the dates you are unfit to fly, the doctor's signature and stamp, and the date of issue. AirAsia says it may verify the letter with the hospital.
A certificate with those points will usually serve an employer, a tour company and an insurer as well.
Fit to fly: when an airline wants a letter
Most people who have been ill do not need any paper to fly. AirAsia's page on flying with a medical condition (updated August 2026) lists many conditions that need no certificate if you are stable and well, including diabetes, high blood pressure, dengue fever, malaria, flu once the symptoms have gone, and minor injuries. Our page on dengue fever covers the illness itself.
Some cases do need one. For AirAsia:
- Infectious illnesses such as chickenpox, measles, mumps, rubella, whooping cough and shingles: a medical certificate dated no more than 10 days before travel, plus a Limited Liability Statement signed at check-in. Each illness has an earliest travel date on the page, for example 7 days after the chickenpox rash, once it has scabbed.
- Heart attack, stroke, blood clots and major surgery: no certificate if the event was more than three months before the flight, you are stable, feel well and need no oxygen on board. Inside that period, ask AirAsia what it needs before you book.
- Special assistance, or carrying medicines and syringes: contact AirAsia through its "AskBo" chat at least 48 hours before departure. Our guide to accessible travel in Thailand covers traveling with a disability more widely.
Bangkok Airways asks for a medical certificate stating "fit to fly" at check-in if you fly within set periods after surgery, counted from the first day after the operation:
| Surgery | Certificate needed if flying within |
|---|---|
| Cardiac, chest or cranial surgery | 14 days |
| Abdominal surgery | 10 days |
| General surgery (for example gender-affirmation surgery) | 7 days |
| Laparoscopic surgery | 5 days |
| Caesarean section | 4 days |
| Plastic or cosmetic surgery (nose, eyelid, breast augmentation); investigative laparoscopy | 24 hours |
Two warnings go with the table. Bangkok Airways says ground staff or the captain may still refuse boarding "regardless of a medical certificate". And an airline's minimum is not medical advice: the NHS suggests waiting 5 to 7 days after breast surgery or liposuction, and 7 to 10 days after facial surgery or a tummy tuck, before flying. Our guide to cosmetic surgery in Thailand covers recovery time.
Medical clearance and the MEDIF form
Medical clearance is a step beyond a certificate: the airline's own medical staff approve you before the flight. Bangkok Airways uses the MEDIF form. It asks passengers with an infectious disease or symptoms that may affect others, people who cannot travel alone (for example after recent surgery or with a heart condition) and anyone who needs oxygen or an infusion on board to contact its call center (1771 or 02 270 6699) at least 24 hours before departure to fill in the form and obtain clearance.
AirAsia's page does not use the term MEDIF; it works with the certificate, the Limited Liability Statement and the AskBo chat described above. Thai Airways' website showed only a maintenance page when we checked on 27 October 2026, so we could not verify its medical clearance rules or deadlines. Check them on the airline's site or by phone, and do not rely on deadlines quoted on other websites. If you travel with oxygen or a breathing machine, our guide to flying with a CPAP or other medical device covers the battery rules, and our page on domestic flights in Thailand shows which airline flies where.
Book the doctor before you book the new flight. Bangkok Airways needs the MEDIF at least 24 hours ahead, and AirAsia's certificate must be no more than 10 days old. Getting the paper first saves paying twice for a flight you may not be allowed to board.
Pregnancy letters
Pregnancy letters follow their own rules. As of October 2026, AirAsia wants a doctor's letter from week 29, issued within 30 days of travel, and a Bangkok Airways certificate is valid for 3 weeks from issue. Our guide to traveling in Thailand while pregnant has both airlines' week limits and what the certificate must say.
Reports and bills for your insurer
Insurers want paper, and the time to collect it is while you are still a patient. Bangkok Hospital Pattaya's insurance page shows how a large private hospital works: its insurance team asks your insurer for a guarantee of payment, keeps the insurer updated on whether you are likely to be fit to fly by your planned return date, and gives you the original invoice and medical reports if the insurer refuses to pay directly, so you can claim yourself. It also says it will not process insurance claims once a patient has been discharged.
Before you leave any clinic or hospital, ask for:
- A medical certificate or report in English with the diagnosis and treatment dates.
- An itemized bill, not just a total, and the receipts for what you paid.
- Copies of test results, X-rays or scans if they are part of the claim.
- A fit-to-fly letter if your return flight is close.
That list is common practice, not an official one; your policy decides what the insurer needs and by when. Our guide to making a travel insurance claim covers the claim itself, and the page on travel insurance for Thailand explains what a policy should cover before you travel.
What a certificate costs
We found no official or hospital price page for a sick note or fit-to-fly letter that we could check, so we print no figure. Expect to pay for the consultation as well as the paper, and note that the one clinic price list we read, at the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic in Bangkok, charges more for a certificate in English than for one in Thai. Ask at registration before the doctor writes it. If you are insured, ask your insurer whether the fee is covered.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I get a fit-to-fly certificate in Thailand?
Ask the doctor who treated you, at the clinic or hospital. The UK Foreign Office says the treating doctor is the one who writes it. If you were not treated, a general doctor at a private clinic or hospital outpatient department can assess you and write one the same day.
Do I need a fit-to-fly letter after dengue fever?
Not for AirAsia, if you are stable and feel well: its medical conditions page lists dengue fever among the conditions that need no certificate. Other airlines set their own rules, so check with yours, and ask your doctor whether you are ready to travel.
Does Thai Airways use the MEDIF form?
We could not check. Thai Airways' website showed only a maintenance page on 27 October 2026. Contact the airline directly for its medical clearance rules and deadlines, and do not rely on figures copied from other websites.
How much is a medical certificate in Thailand?
We found no official price to quote. Fees vary between clinics and hospitals, you usually pay for the consultation too, and an English certificate can cost more than a Thai one. Ask at registration before the certificate is written.
Sources
- Bangkok Airways – Medical clearance / case (checked October 2026)
- AirAsia – Flying with a medical condition or illness (modified 13 August 2026) (checked October 2026)
- Bangkok Hospital Pattaya – Insurance (checked October 2026)
- UK FCDO – Healthcare and medical services in Thailand (updated 26 August 2026) (checked October 2026)
- Medical Council of Thailand – Doctor licence search (checked October 2026)
- Thai Red Cross AIDSID – Anonymous Clinic service costs (in Thai, modified 8 July 2026) (checked October 2026)
- NHS – Cosmetic surgery abroad (checked October 2026)