Marriage equality: in force since 23 January 2025, and what actually changed

The Act Amending the Civil and Commercial Code (No. 24) B.E. 2567 (2024) — the marriage equality law — was published in the Royal Gazette on 24 September 2024 and took effect after 120 days, on 23 January 2025. It rewrote Book V of the Code in gender-neutral terms: marriage is now between two persons (s. 1448), husband and wife (sami/phariya) became spouse (khu somrot) throughout, and the whole spousal package follows automatically — marital property (sin somros), management rights, maintenance duties, and the surviving spouse's place as statutory heir. A transitional provision (s. 67 of the amending act) makes every other law, regulation or cabinet resolution that refers to husbands and wives apply to all registered spouses, unless a specific law sets its own family or inheritance rules.

Two side effects people miss: the minimum marriage age rose from 17 to 18 for everyone (court permission still possible below that), and the 310-day remarriage waiting period now applies only to a woman remarrying a man (s. 1453) — it is about presumed paternity, not morality. Foreign same-sex couples can register at a Thai district office under the same conditions and document chain as any foreign couple; nationality is not a bar. The MFA confirmed that from 23 January 2025 Royal Thai Embassies and Consulates-General also register marriages under the amendment where local law or custom permits.