The Law on Real Estate Agents in Thailand

At a glance

Unlike many countries, Thailand has no mandatory licensing law for real-estate agents [4]. Anyone — Thai or, subject to work-permit rules, foreign — can call themselves an agent and broker deals without an exam or a government-issued licence. What exists instead is a landscape of voluntary professional credentials: bodies such as the Real Estate Broker Association (REBA), the Thai Agents Federation (TAF), and FIABCI issue certifications that signal training and ethics, but none are legally required to practise [4]. For a foreign client, "licensed agent" is not a status verifiable at a government registry the way it would be for a lawyer or doctor — due diligence rests on reputation, references, and the professional-body memberships an agent can show.

A more consequential rule sits alongside the licensing gap: foreigners cannot legally work as real-estate agents without a work permit, and their brokerage generally needs Thai-majority ownership, since brokerage sits on List 3 of the Foreign Business Act [4]. This is not a paperwork nicety — since 2024, enforcement against foreigners working informally as agents has intensified, treated as a Foreign Business Act violation [3].

Rules and requirements

Because there is no licensing regime, the "rules" agents operate under are a mix of company law, disclosure custom, and increasingly assertive nominee-structure enforcement:

• Work permits and company structure. A foreign national actively brokering deals needs a Thai work permit tied to a properly structured company. Brokerage is a List 3 restricted activity under the Foreign Business Act, so the brokerage itself typically needs Thai-majority ownership unless it holds a Foreign Business Licence [4].
• Disclosure duties. Even without a statutory code, professional norms expect an agent to disclose material facts — legal title status, outstanding liens, whether a unit sits inside the foreign freehold quota, and known defects — to both buyer and seller.
• Co-agent agreements. Co-broking between agencies is common and typically runs on a written referral or co-agency agreement splitting commission, defining who "owns" the client relationship, and setting a protection period against poaching.
• Anti-nominee due diligence. Foreigners cannot own land under the Land Code, and nominee structures disguising foreign land ownership are illegal [8]. Agents should steer foreign buyers toward lawful structures — leasehold, BOI-approved investment land ownership (qualifying investments of at least THB 40 million, capped at one rai, subject to ministerial approval) [7], or condominium freehold within the 49% quota [8] — rather than facilitate a nominee arrangement.

Costs, timelines and commission norms

There is no licensing fee because there is no licence, but the money that does move in a typical deal follows well-worn market conventions rather than statute:

• Sale commission: around 3% of the sale price, negotiable [3].
• Rental commission: one month's rent for a 12-month lease, also negotiable and a matter of market practice rather than law [3].
• Fund remittance for condo purchases: a foreign buyer's funds must be remitted from abroad in foreign currency, with a Foreign Exchange Transaction form required by the Land Office for transfers of USD 50,000 or more [9].
• Client visa timelines: from 15 September 2026 the general visa exemption most foreign clients travel on dropped to 30 days (from 60 days, in effect since July 2024), and the list of eligible countries/territories narrowed to 60 (from 93) [10]. Arrivals up to and including 14 September 2026 still received the 60-day exemption [10]. A one-time 30-day extension is available at an immigration office for roughly THB 1,900, giving a maximum of about 60 days on a single entry [11].

Step by step

1. Establish the working relationship. Agree, ideally in writing, who represents whom, the commission rate, and the exclusivity period before showing properties.
2. Verify the agent's standing. Ask about REBA/TAF/FIABCI membership, since there is no government registry to check instead [4]. For a foreign agent, confirm their company is properly licensed and any foreign staff hold valid work permits [4].
3. Run title and quota checks before an offer. For condominiums, confirm the unit falls within the building's 49% foreign freehold quota before proceeding on a freehold basis [8].
4. Plan the money movement early. For a foreign buyer, funds need to be wired in as foreign currency and the Foreign Exchange Transaction form obtained for amounts of USD 50,000 or more, starting well before the transfer date at the Land Office [9].
5. Handle disclosure and co-agency terms in writing. Material facts disclosed to both sides, and any co-broking split, should be documented rather than left as a verbal understanding.
6. For foreign clients relocating, plan the visa runway. Check whether the client is arriving under the shortened visa exemption, needs the paid extension, or should instead be pointed toward a long-stay category such as DTV, LTR, Thailand Privilege, retirement, business, or marriage visas, none of which are affected by the 2026 exemption change [10].
7. If a landlord client is renting to a foreign tenant, flag TM.30. The landlord (or the establishment) must notify immigration within 24 hours of a foreign national taking up residence; penalties for failing to do so run up to THB 10,000 [1].

Common pitfalls

• Assuming "agent" implies a licence. Because there is no licensing law, a business card or website claiming "licensed real estate agent" is not independently verifiable through a government body — check professional-association membership instead [4].
• Foreign staff brokering without a work permit. This is one of the more common compliance failures at foreign-facing agencies and has drawn intensified enforcement since 2024 [3].
• Steering a foreign buyer into a nominee structure. Using a Thai nominee to hold land on a foreign client's behalf is illegal under the Land Code, and 2026 brought materially tighter enforcement — AI-assisted Land Department screening reviewed by Cabinet in February 2026, and Foreign Business Act amendments submitted to Cabinet on 23 July 2026 carrying up to three years' imprisonment and roughly THB 3 million in fines for both parties [5][6]. A Land Code forfeiture proposal is also under study [7].
• Missing the condo foreign quota at contract stage. Confirming the 49% quota only after a deposit is paid can leave a foreign buyer with no freehold path, forcing a costly renegotiation [8].
• Assuming client visa timelines haven't changed. Advisors working from pre-2026 information may still quote the 60-day exemption or the wider 93-country list, both of which are now out of date for arrivals from 15 September 2026 [10].

What changed recently

2026 has been an active year for the regulatory environment agents operate in, even though agent licensing itself did not change:

• February 2026: Cabinet reviewed nominee-structure enforcement measures, including AI-assisted screening proposed for the Land Department [5].
• April 2026: Public consultation on Foreign Business Act amendments targeting nominee arrangements closed [5].
• 23 July 2026: The Ombudsman confirmed amendments carrying up to three years' imprisonment and roughly THB 3 million in fines for Thai and foreign shareholders in nominee structures had been submitted to Cabinet [6]; a related Land Code forfeiture proposal remains under study [7].
• 31 August 2026: New visa-exemption regulations were published, effective 15 days later; DTV applications must now be filed at the mission covering the applicant's citizenship or legal residence, with a criminal-record clearance certificate required [12].
• 15 September 2026: The general visa exemption was abolished; a new 30-day tier now covers 54 countries/territories and a 15-day tier covers 3 more (down from a single 93-country, 60-day exemption), with visa-on-arrival eligibility cut from 31 to 4 countries; arrivals up to 14 September 2026 still got 60 days, and long-stay routes (Thailand Privilege, LTR, DTV, retirement, business, education, marriage visas) are unaffected [10][2].

For agents, the practical effect is less about their own compliance burden — still governed by work-permit and company-law rules, not a licensing statute — and more about advising foreign buyer and tenant clients on lawful ownership structures and realistic visa timelines.