If you leave something behind in Thailand, contact the operator that carried you as fast as you can: the ride-hailing app for a Grab or Bolt car, station staff or the call center for the BTS and MRT, the airport's lost-and-found office for a terminal. If the item is valuable or you need to claim on insurance, also get a police report.
Speed matters more than anything else. A phone left on a Skytrain seat may be handed in within minutes, while a bag left in a street taxi leaves with the next passenger. Each system below has its own rules, and most of them keep found items for a long time, so it is worth asking even days later. This page covers everything except the passport; if your passport is gone, follow our step-by-step guide to a lost or stolen passport in Thailand instead, because that needs the police, your embassy and immigration in a fixed order.
Lost-and-found contacts in Thailand (checked October 2026)
- BTS Skytrain
- Call Center 0 2617 6000, daily 06:00-24:00; items kept up to 1 year
- MRT Blue and Purple lines
- MRT Information Service Center 0 2624 5200
- Pink and Yellow Line monorails
- Station supervisor; office 0 2617 6111
- Suvarnabhumi Airport
- Lost & Found 0 2132 1880 or 0 2132 1890
- All AOT airports
- AOT Contact Center 1722
- Trains (SRT)
- Call center 1690, 24 hours
- Tourist Police
- 1155
The first ten minutes: what to do straight away
Before you call anyone, collect the details that let staff find the item. Write them down while you still remember them.
- The time and place you last had it: the station, the train direction, the taxi stand, the gate number.
- The vehicle: for a ride-hailing car, the trip in your app history; for a metered taxi, the license plate, any number displayed inside the car, or the receipt if you took one.
- A description that only the owner would know: the color, a sticker, the lock-screen picture, what is inside the bag.
- A phone number that works, even if your own phone is the thing you lost. Use a travel partner's number or your hotel's landline.
If your phone is missing, use another device to locate it, lock it and sign out of banking apps. If your wallet is gone, block the cards first; our guide to using cards in Thailand explains what to do when you are left without one.
Left it in a Grab or Bolt car
This is the easiest case, because the app has a record of the trip, the driver's name and the plate. Open the ride in your activity history and go to the help section from that trip. The exact steps and buttons change from one app version to the next, so follow what the app shows rather than a guide written months ago. Our article on how to use Grab explains the app itself, and the Bolt and Grab comparison covers where each one works.
Grab says its lost-and-found policy differs between countries in the region. In general, items are stored for a period and then donated to charity, while personal and security items are handed to the police if nobody claims them. Phones, wallets, water bottles, earphones and bags are the things passengers forget most often, according to Grab's support teams.
Report through the app before you message the driver privately. A report inside the app leaves a record linked to the trip. If a driver then asks for an unexpected fee to bring the item back, you have something to show the app's support team.
Left it in a metered taxi, tuk-tuk or motorbike taxi
Street taxis have no central lost-and-found office that we could verify. Your best chance is the vehicle's identity. Note the plate, any number displayed inside the car, or the vest number of a motorbike-taxi rider. At Suvarnabhumi, the public taxi queue ticket from the machines on Level 1 shows which bay your taxi came from; keep it until you are sure you have everything.
With those details, call the Tourist Police on 1155. They can trace the vehicle through its registration in a way you cannot. The Department of Land Transport hotline, 1584, handles complaints about taxi drivers and is open around the clock; our guide to motorbike taxis explains how riders are registered. If you are choosing how to travel in Bangkok in the first place, the taxi or Grab comparison notes that the app record is one practical advantage of ride-hailing.
On the BTS Skytrain, the MRT and the monorails
Bangkok's rail systems are run by different companies, and each handles its own lost property. Tell the staff at the nearest station first; you do not have to go back to the station where you lost it.
- BTS Skytrain: report the loss to station staff. If the item is found, the lost-property officer calls you to collect it; if it is not, BTS sends you an SMS. Items not claimed the same day go to the BTS head office. Perishable items are thrown away the same day, but other things are kept for up to one year. The call center is 0 2617 6000, daily 06:00-24:00.
- MRT Blue and Purple lines: the operator, BEM, directs lost-property questions to the MRT Information Service Center on 0 2624 5200, open Monday to Friday 07:00-20:00 and 08:00-17:00 on weekends and public holidays.
- Pink and Yellow Line monorails: tell the station supervisor and fill in a form. Items not claimed the same day go to the line's operations control center and are kept for one year; food is disposed of after 24 hours, liquids and flammable items after seven days. The office number for both lines is 0 2617 6111.
To collect anything, bring your passport or ID card, or a copy, and any proof that the item is yours. The BTS and MRT guide explains how the two main networks fit together, and our page on the Pink and Yellow Line monorails shows where they connect.
The BTS keeps unclaimed items for up to a year. Many travelers give up after a day or two. If you lost something on the Skytrain and are still in Bangkok, or are coming back, it is worth calling even weeks later.
On a train or at a railway station
The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) runs the long-distance trains, the night sleepers and the ordinary trains. We could not reach a page for an SRT lost-property office in October 2026, so start with the SRT call center on 1690, which runs 24 hours, and give the train number, the date and your carriage and seat or berth. If you are still at the station, go to the station master's office or the information counter. Long-distance trains from Bangkok leave from Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal, so that is where to ask about items left on a train that ended its trip there.
Your ticket, paper or in the D-Ticket app, shows the train and the seat. Keep it until the trip is over, because it is the quickest way to prove where you sat.
At Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and the other airports
Suvarnabhumi has its own Lost & Found office on 0 2132 1880 or 0 2132 1890; the airport help desk is 0 2132 3888 and the airport Tourist Police 0 2132 1155. For Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai and the other airports run by Airports of Thailand (AOT), we did not find a separate lost-property number, so call the AOT Contact Center on 1722 and ask to be connected.
Something left on the plane or in the cabin is a matter for the airline, not the airport. Ask at the airline's counter or its baggage service desk in the arrivals hall before you leave. A checked bag that did not arrive or came out damaged is a separate process with strict written deadlines; our guide to lost or delayed luggage at Thai airports explains it.
Getting a police report for your insurer
Travel insurers and card issuers usually want a written police report before they look at a claim for stolen or lost valuables. Ask for one at the police station in the area where the loss happened, or call the Tourist Police on 1155 for help; if a crime is happening right now, call 191. Our list of emergency numbers in Thailand explains when to use each.
The Tourist Police also run an app called "Thailand Tourist Police", which the UK government says works for visitors without a Thai SIM card. Take your passport or a copy, the receipts or photos that prove the item was yours, and ask for a copy of the report you can keep. Check your policy before you travel: many have a limit per item, and some exclude valuables left unattended. Our page on travel insurance for Thailand covers what a policy should include.
Report a theft as a theft, not a loss. If your bag was taken, say so. A report that says "lost" when the item was stolen can cause problems with an insurer that covers theft but not loss.
Frequently asked questions
How long does the BTS keep lost property?
Up to one year. Items not claimed on the day they are found go to the BTS head office, where they are stored for up to a year, but perishable items such as food are disposed of the same day. Call 0 2617 6000 to ask.
Can I get back something I left in a Grab car?
Often, yes, because the app records the trip and the driver. Report it from the trip in your activity history as soon as possible. Grab says unclaimed items are generally stored for a while and then donated, and personal and security items go to the police.
Who do I call if I left something in a Bangkok taxi?
Call the Tourist Police on 1155 and give them the plate or taxi number, the time and the route. The Department of Land Transport hotline, 1584, takes complaints about taxi drivers. Without the plate or a receipt, the chance of finding a street taxi is low.
Is there a lost-and-found office at Suvarnabhumi Airport?
Yes. Suvarnabhumi's Lost & Found can be reached on 0 2132 1880 or 0 2132 1890. Items left on the aircraft are handled by the airline, so ask at its counter or baggage service desk. For other AOT airports, call 1722.
Do I need a police report to claim on travel insurance?
Most insurers require one for theft or loss of valuables, but the rules are in your own policy, so check it. Ask for the report at the local police station or contact the Tourist Police on 1155, and keep a copy for yourself.
Sources
- BTS Skytrain – Lost and Found (checked October 2026)
- BEM (MRT) – Contact Metro (checked October 2026)
- Eastern Bangkok Monorail (Yellow Line) – Lost and Found (checked October 2026)
- Northern Bangkok Monorail (Pink Line) – Lost and Found (checked October 2026)
- Airports of Thailand – Suvarnabhumi Airport (checked October 2026)
- Grab – Things people have lost in Grab rides (checked October 2026)
- UK FCDO – Thailand: getting help (checked October 2026)