The Royal Thai Embassy in Washington D.C. provides registration services for Thai nationals currently residing in the 13 states within its jurisdiction, as follow: 

Alabama, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Puerto Rico

Changing a surname in the civil registration or recording family status after marriage/divorce must be processed in Thailand only. If the petitioner registers the marraige in the United States, the marriage/divorce certificate issued by the United States government agency must be certified at three locations in the United States: the Secretary of State, U.S. Department of States, and the Royal Thai Embassy before being used in Thailand. These certification from three locations refer to the process of authenticating marriage or divorce documents for international use and is often required when individuals need to use their marriage or divorce docuemnts issued in one country for legal purposes in another country. It ensures that the documents are recognized as valid and authentic in the receiving country.     

Step 1: Certification of Marriage/Divorce Registration by Secretary of State from the State That Isssued the Document

Bring the marriage/divorce certificate to be certified by the Secretary of State in the state that issued the certificate.

Please click the following link to find information about agencies and locations for submitting documents for certification of the issued state http://www.nass.org/business-services/apostillesdocument-authentication-services and select the issued state.

Step 2: Certification of Marriage/Divorce Registration by U.S. Department of State

Submit the marriage/divorce certification to the Department of State, along with any required forms and fees. The Department of State will then verify the document's authenticity and attach an official certification (a yellow paper). 

Please click the following link to find information about the location for sending the document https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/records-and-authentications/authenticate-your-document/office-of-authentications.html

Step 3: Certification of Marriage/Divorce Registration by the Royal Thai Embassy

Choose one of two methods below to submit the marriage/divorce certification to the Royal Thai Embassy at the follwing address:

Royal Thai Embassy (Consular Section) 

2300 Kalorama Rd., N.W.

Washington D.C. 20008   

1. Submit in-person: Documents can be submitted in person at the Royal Thai Embassy by appointment. In this case, an appointment must be scheduled in advance with the embassy.  

2. Submit via mail: Documents can be sent through postal services (USPS) or private courier companies such as DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc. The cost and delivery time depend on the selected service and the efficiency of the chosen courier service.  

Remarks: 

• The documents must be certified from the Secretary of State and the Department of State before submitting a request to the embassy.
• Royal Thai Embassy does not certify signatures on incompletly filled in documents.
• Royal Thai Embassy certifies the signature only and does not guarantee any message in the document.

Step 4: Translation of Documents into Thai and Certification of the Translation by the Department of Consular Affairs in Thailand.

Bring the marriage/divorce certificate that have been certified from the three entities mentioned above back to Thailand and have it translated into Thai and certified by the Department of Consular Affairs before submitting it to the district in which you are named requesting for a last name changed.  

Please click HERE to learn more details about requesting certification of translation from the Department of Consular Affairs. 

Physical/Mailing Address of the Department of Consular Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

123 Chaeng Wattana Road., 

Lak Si District, Bangkok

Tel. 02-575-1056-61

Fax. 02-575-1054

Email: [email protected]

1. Receive in-person: Documents can be received in person at the Royal Thai Embassy by appointment. In this case, an appointment must be scheduled in advance with the embassy. 

2. Receive by mail: Attach the self-addressed envelope through postal services (USPS) or private courier companies such as DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc. 

Remarks:

• A Meter Stamp is not accepted. 
• The self-addressed envelope with a tracking number is strongly recommended.
• The Royal Thai Embassy is not responsible for documents lost via mailing in any case.