Thailand's Department of Lands recognizes two kinds of document that show rights in land: the title deed, called a chanote (โฉนดที่ดิน), and the certificates of utilization known as Nor Sor 3, Nor Sor 3 Gor and Nor Sor 3 Khor. A Sor Kor 1 is not a title at all; the department calls it evidence of a notification of possession, which may be used to apply for one.
Anyone looking at land in Thailand, whether for a Thai partner, a company or a lease, meets these names in the first conversation with a seller or agent. This page explains what each document is according to the Department of Lands, why land on islands, hillsides and near national parks needs extra care, and how to check a plot at the Land Office. The legal basis is the Land Code of B.E. 2497 (1954) and the regulations under it. It is not legal advice: a check by a licensed Thai lawyer before you pay anything is the only safe way to buy or lease land.
Thai land documents at a glance (Department of Lands, November 2026)
- Title deed
- Chanote (โฉนดที่ดิน)
- Certificates of utilization
- Nor Sor 3 (น.ส.3), Nor Sor 3 Gor (น.ส.3 ก.), Nor Sor 3 Khor (น.ส.3 ข.)
- Not a title
- Sor Kor 1 (ส.ค.1): evidence of a notification of possession
- Law
- Land Code B.E. 2497 (1954), in force from 1 December 1954
- Transfer fee
- 2 % of the official appraised value
- Specific business tax
- 3.3 % of the appraised value or the price, whichever is higher, where it applies
- Where to check
- The Land Office for the plot's area; Department of Lands e-services and LandsMaps
The chanote: Thailand's title deed
The chanote is what most people mean by a "Thai title deed". The Department of Lands traces it back to 1 October 1901, when the first one was issued at Ban Paeng in Ayutthaya, after the first land survey began earlier that year.
Thai property lawyers commonly describe the chanote as the strongest document, giving full ownership of a surveyed plot, while the Nor Sor 3 types certify the right to possess and use land. We could not confirm those legal effects on the Department of Lands' own pages, and the same goes for the rules on which documents can be mortgaged, subdivided or upgraded. Ask the Land Office and your lawyer what the document in front of you allows before you rely on it.
Nor Sor 3, Nor Sor 3 Gor and Nor Sor 3 Khor
The three Nor Sor 3 documents are certificates of utilization (in Thai, nangsue rap rong kan tham prayot). The Department of Lands lists them with the chanote as the documents that show rights in land. Under Ministerial Regulation No. 43 of 1994, any of these documents can only be issued for land the holder has actually possessed and used, and never for public land such as waterways, highways, lake shores and public grazing land, for reserved state land, or for land reserved by the Cabinet.
You will see claims online that a Nor Sor 3 Gor has no fixed boundaries, and other claims that it does. The Department of Lands pages we read do not describe how each certificate is mapped, so we repeat neither claim. A survey and a check of the plot map at the Land Office settle the question for the plot you are looking at.
Sor Kor 1 and other papers that are not titles
The Department of Lands is clear that a Sor Kor 1 is evidence that someone notified the authorities of their possession of land. It is one of several such papers, along with documents known as Bai Jong (ใบจอง), Bai Yiap Yam (ใบเหยียบย่ำ), Nor Kor 3 (น.ค.3) and Kor Sor Nor 5 (ก.ส.น.5), that a possessor may need when applying for a chanote or a certificate of utilization. None of them is itself a title.
A Sor Kor 1 plot is an application, not a purchase. If a seller offers land on a Sor Kor 1, you would be paying for the chance that a title is issued later, on land whose status may not allow one. Have a lawyer check with the Land Office whether a title can lawfully be issued before any money changes hands.
Islands, hillsides, forests and land-reform areas
The Department of Lands sets extra conditions for some kinds of land, and they apply to places such as the hillsides of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Phuket and plots near national parks:
- Islands: a title can only be issued if there is earlier evidence, such as a Sor Kor 1 or a Bai Jong, or if the National Land Allocation Committee approved the allocation.
- National reserved forests, national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and permanent forest zones: the possessor must hold a Sor Kor 1, Bai Jong or similar document issued before the area was reserved.
- Land-reform areas: the evidence must date from before the land-reform declaration. Land-reform documents such as the Sor Por Kor 4-01 have their own rules on transfer, which we did not check; ask a lawyer before you deal with one.
- Slopes of 35 % or more: possession must date from before the Land Code came into force on 1 December 1954, or be shown by lawful evidence such as a Sor Kor 1.
The point is simple. On this kind of land, the existence of a document is not enough; whether a title can lawfully exist depends on the land's status and on the date of the earlier evidence.
Checking a plot at the Land Office
Rights such as mortgages, registered leases, usufructs and superficies only protect anyone once the Land Office registers them, and that registration record is what a buyer or tenant needs to see. A photocopy of a deed from the seller can be out of date, so the check belongs at the Land Office that holds the plot's file. Your lawyer should confirm the owner's identity and right to deal with the land, look for mortgages and other registered rights, and compare the plot on the ground with the map.
The Department of Lands also offers e-services for checking a title and for copies of the title image and registration record, and its home page links to LandsMaps, a parcel-map search at landsmaps.dol.go.th. We could not reach LandsMaps during our checks in November 2026, so we cannot describe what it shows or who may use it; the department's fees for searches and copies were not published on the pages we read, so ask at the Land Office. Our page on hiring a lawyer in Thailand explains how to find a licensed lawyer and agree a fixed fee for a title check.
Dates on the deed are in the Buddhist Era. Registration entries on Thai documents are dated in the Thai calendar, which runs 543 years ahead of the Western one, and they may be written in Thai digits. Our guides to Buddhist-era dates and reading Thai numbers help you read them.
The deed identifies the plot by its location in the Thai administrative system, from subdistrict to province, rather than by a street address. How those units fit together is explained in our page on how Thai addresses work.
What a foreigner can hold
Under section 86 of the Land Code, foreigners may acquire land only under a treaty, and section 96 bis allows a foreigner who invests more than 40 million baht to acquire up to 1 rai for a residence with the Minister's approval. Section 97 treats a company as foreign when more than 49 % of its capital is in foreign hands or foreigners are more than half of its shareholders, and acting as a nominee for a foreigner is an offence under section 113, punishable by up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to 20,000 baht; the business side of that trap is covered in our guide to setting up a company in Thailand. In practice, foreigners register a lease, a usufruct or a superficies over land with a title; our guide to buying a house in Thailand as a foreigner explains each of them and their Land Office fees.
Condominium units are the exception: a foreigner can own a unit outright, within the building's foreign quota, and the unit has its own title document. Our guide to buying a condo in Thailand covers that route, and the page on the condo juristic person and common fees explains what owning a unit involves after the transfer.
Deeds, inheritance and divorce
A title deed matters again when an owner dies or a marriage ends. A will should name the property by its title deed number, and the original deed should be kept where the executor can find it, as our page on making a will in Thailand explains. In a divorce, property acquired during the marriage is usually split equally; our guide to divorce in Thailand covers marital property and prenuptial agreements.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a chanote and a Nor Sor 3?
Both are documents showing rights in land, according to the Department of Lands. The chanote is the title deed; the Nor Sor 3, Nor Sor 3 Gor and Nor Sor 3 Khor are certificates of utilization. Lawyers describe the chanote as the stronger document, but ask the Land Office what your document allows.
Is a Sor Kor 1 a land title?
No. The Department of Lands describes a Sor Kor 1 as evidence of a notification of possession. It can be used to apply for a chanote or a certificate of utilization, but whether a title can be issued depends on the land's status and history.
Can you get a chanote for land on a Thai island?
Only in some cases. The Department of Lands says a title on an island can be issued only with earlier evidence such as a Sor Kor 1 or a Bai Jong, or with approval of the National Land Allocation Committee. A lawyer should check this at the Land Office before you pay.
How much is the Land Office fee for transferring land?
The transfer registration fee is 2 % of the official appraised value, under Ministerial Regulation No. 47 of 1998. Specific business tax of 3.3 % of the appraised value or the sale price, whichever is higher, applies in some sales. Who pays which cost is for the buyer and seller to agree.
Can a foreigner check a Thai land title?
The Department of Lands offers title checks and copies of title records as e-services, and its pages do not say who may use them. A licensed Thai lawyer can carry out the check at the Land Office for you, together with the survey and the owner's identity.
Sources
- Department of Lands – Land eligible for a title deed or certificate of utilization (Thai) (checked November 2026)
- Department of Lands – History of land title deeds (Thai) (checked November 2026)
- Department of Lands – Registration fees, taxes and duties (Thai) (checked November 2026)
- Department of Lands – Home page and e-services (Thai) (checked November 2026)
- Thailand Law Online – Land Code (English translation) (checked October 2026)