A Thai address runs from the smallest unit to the largest: house number, village number (moo), side street (soi), road (thanon), subdistrict (tambon), district (amphoe), province and a five-digit postcode. In Bangkok the subdistrict is called a khwaeng and the district a khet. Once you know these words, any address can be read, and a map pin or Plus Code will get a driver to the door.
Addresses confuse visitors for two reasons. The words are Thai, often in several spellings, and the system grew from land plots and villages rather than a street grid, so the number on a building tells you less about where it is than you might expect. This page explains each part, shows real addresses taken apart, and gives practical tips for taxis, deliveries and forms.
The parts of a Thai address
- Ban lek thi
- House or building number, sometimes with a slash: 88/28
- Moo (mu)
- Village number within a subdistrict, mainly outside cities
- Soi
- Side street or lane, usually numbered off a main road
- Thanon (Th., Rd)
- Road or street
- Tambon / khwaeng
- Subdistrict (khwaeng in Bangkok)
- Amphoe / khet
- District (khet in Bangkok)
- Changwat
- Province; Bangkok is a special administrative area
- Postcode
- Five digits
Read it from small to large
An English-language Thai address is written in the same order as a Western one: the building first, the country last. Here is the address of the Social Security Office's head office, which the office publishes in Thai, in English letters:
88/28 Moo 4, Tiwanon Road, Talat Khwan, Mueang Nonthaburi, Nonthaburi 11000
Taken apart, that is house number 88/28, in village (moo) 4, on Tiwanon Road, in the subdistrict of Talat Khwan, in Mueang Nonthaburi district, in Nonthaburi province, postcode 11000. "Mueang" in a district name means the capital district of the province, the one containing the provincial town, so Mueang Nonthaburi is the district around Nonthaburi town.
Not every address uses every part. A house on a main road may have no soi; a city address usually has no moo; a hotel might give only its building number, road and district. When something is missing, the remaining parts still read in the same order.
House numbers and the slash
The house number (ban lek thi) is often written with a slash, such as 206/2 or 88/28. The number before the slash usually refers to the original plot of land, and the number after it to a unit created when that plot was divided or built on. A row of shophouses can share one main number with different numbers after the slash.
House numbers do not always run in order along a street. A building numbered 12 may stand between much higher numbers, because the numbers follow how plots were registered rather than their position. Do not try to find a building by counting doors; use the soi, a landmark or a map pin instead.
Condominiums and office towers add the building name, floor and unit, usually at the start: "Room 1203, 12th floor, [building name]". Use the building name prominently, because drivers and couriers know buildings better than numbers. Our guide to renting a condo explains why the address on your lease matters for immigration.
Moo: the village number
Outside the big cities, most addresses include a moo (also written mu or Moo Ban), the number of an administrative village within a subdistrict. The Chiang Mai immigration office, for example, is at 71 Moo 3, Airport Road, Suthep, 50200: house 71 in village 3 of Suthep subdistrict.
Two things trip people up. First, a moo is a unit of administration, not a street, so "Moo 3" does not tell a driver which road to take. Second, house numbers restart in each moo, so 71 Moo 3 and 71 Moo 5 can be far apart in the same subdistrict. Always give the moo together with the subdistrict.
Soi and thanon: side streets and roads
A thanon is a road, and a soi is a lane or side street that branches off it. Most sois are numbered from one end of the main road, with odd numbers usually on one side and even numbers on the other, which is why Sukhumvit Soi 11 and Soi 12 are on opposite sides of Sukhumvit Road. Many sois also have names, and locals may use either. Some sois branch again into smaller sois, written with a slash or a hyphen: Soi 31/1 or Soi 31 Yaek 2.
In addresses, a soi can be written before or after the road name. The Pattaya Dolphinarium's address, 206/2 Moo 5, Soi Naklua 12, Pattaya–Naklua Road, Bang Lamung, Chonburi 20150, combines all three: house number, village number and soi, then the road. Many sois are dead ends, so a soi number also tells a driver which turn to take from the main road. Our sister site Driving in Thailand explains how sois, one-way streets and U-turns shape Thai towns for anyone driving.
Give a driver the soi and a landmark, not the house number. "Sukhumvit Soi 23, near the 7-Eleven" gets you closer than a full postal address. Once inside the soi, you can guide the driver to the door.
Tambon, amphoe and province, and Bangkok's khwaeng and khet
Above the village and the street are three administrative levels:
- Tambon, the subdistrict, made up of several villages;
- Amphoe (also written amphur), the district, which has the district office where Thais register births, marriages and house books;
- Changwat, the province. Thailand has 76 provinces plus Bangkok, which is a special administrative area, giving 77 province-level units.
Bangkok uses its own names. Its 50 districts are called khet and their subdistricts khwaeng. So a Bangkok address reads "Khwaeng Silom, Khet Bang Rak" where a provincial one reads "Tambon Suthep, Amphoe Mueang Chiang Mai". In English, many addresses drop the words "tambon", "amphoe", "khwaeng" and "khet" and just give the names, so you need to recognize them by position.
The district level is the one foreign residents meet most, because the district office handles registrations such as marriage, as our guide to marrying a Thai citizen explains, and the yellow house book for foreigners.
Postcodes
Thai postcodes have five digits and come at the end, after the province: Bangkok 10210 in the address of the Office of the Consumer Protection Board at the Chaeng Watthana Government Complex, Nonthaburi 11000, Chonburi 20150 and Chiang Mai 50200 in the examples on this page. In each example, the first two digits stay the same within a province, while the rest narrows the area down.
Postcodes are set by Thailand Post, and any post office can confirm the right one for a subdistrict; our page on post office opening hours says when to go. A wrong postcode can send a parcel to the wrong sorting office, so check it rather than copying it from an old document. Our guide to receiving parcels in Thailand covers customs holds and collection, and the page on sending mail from Thailand covers the other direction.
Spelling: one place, several names
Thai is written in its own script, and there is no single English spelling that everyone uses. Expect variants such as Sukhumvit and Sukumvit, Ratchadaphisek and Ratchadapisek, Chonburi and Chon Buri, amphoe and amphur, Moo and Mu. A road may be signed one way, written another on your lease and spelled a third way in a map app.
When you fill in forms, copy the spelling from the document that matters for that form, usually your lease, the hotel booking or an official letter, and use it consistently. If you have the Thai-script version of your address, keep a photo of it on your phone. A Thai driver or courier reads Thai far faster than a transliteration.
Getting a taxi or delivery to the door
For navigation, a postal address is the weakest option. In order of reliability:
- A shared map pin from your phone, sent by LINE or the ride-hailing app.
- A Plus Code, the short code (such as "8Q6G+XX") that Google Maps shows for any spot when you drop a pin. It points to a precise location even where there is no house number, and works in apps that accept it.
- The name of the hotel, building or condominium, which drivers and apps usually find better than the street address.
- The soi and a landmark: a temple, a school, a 7-Eleven, a petrol station.
- The address in Thai script, shown on your phone.
Our guide to using Grab in Thailand explains setting pickup points, and the 7-Eleven delivery guide shows the same habit at work: a pin plus a note to the rider.
Addresses on Thai forms
Several official processes ask for your address in Thailand. The Thailand Digital Arrival Card asks for the address where you will stay, usually your first hotel, and our guide covers how to fill it in. Long-stay residents meet the address again in the TM30 notification, which your landlord or hotel files with immigration. In both cases, use the same spelling and the same full address across forms, so that records match when an officer checks them.
Frequently asked questions
What does "Moo" mean in a Thai address?
Moo (or Mu) is the number of an administrative village within a subdistrict. It is not a street. House numbers restart in each moo, so always give the moo together with the tambon (subdistrict) name.
What is the difference between a soi and a thanon?
A thanon is a road. A soi is a lane or side street branching off a road, usually numbered from one end, with odd numbers on one side and even numbers on the other. Sukhumvit Soi 11 is a side street of Sukhumvit Road.
What are khet and khwaeng in Bangkok addresses?
They are Bangkok's names for district and subdistrict. Bangkok has 50 khet, each divided into khwaeng. Elsewhere in Thailand the same levels are called amphoe and tambon.
How many digits does a Thai postcode have?
Five. The postcode comes at the end of the address, after the province. Confirm it at a post office or with the sender's official documents, rather than copying it from an old note.
How should I write my Thai address for a taxi?
Send a map pin or Plus Code if you can. Otherwise give the building or hotel name, the soi number and a nearby landmark, and show the address in Thai script. The house number alone rarely helps a driver.
Sources
- Social Security Office – head office address (checked October 2026)
- Office of the Consumer Protection Board – contact address (checked October 2026)
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office – Thailand: warnings and insurance (Bangkok's 50 districts) (checked October 2026)
- Thailand Post – home page (checked October 2026)
- Google – Plus Codes (checked October 2026)