The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) is an online form every foreign visitor must submit before entering Thailand. It is free, it takes three to five minutes, and it can only be filled in during the three days before arrival. There is one official website: tdac.immigration.go.th. The paid services that advertise for it are middlemen.
What is the Thailand Digital Arrival Card and who needs it
The TDAC replaced the paper TM6 card on 1 May 2025. It applies to all non-Thai nationals, whether they arrive by air, land or sea, and whatever they enter on: visa exemption or tourist visa, DTV or retirement visa. It is not a visa and it does not change who needs a visa for Thailand.
| Traveller | TDAC required |
|---|---|
| Tourist entering visa-free or with any visa | Yes, at every entry |
| Children and babies | Yes, one card each |
| Foreign resident living in Thailand, returning from a trip | Yes |
| Transit passenger who stays airside | No |
| Transit passenger who leaves the airport | Yes |
| Border Pass holder | No |
| Thai national | No |
One card covers one entry. If you leave for Laos or Malaysia and come back, you submit a new one.
The card is separate from the visa itself, which is requested on the Thailand e-Visa portal, and from what officers may ask to see. Since 15 September 2026 the visa-free stay is 30 days, not 60, for 60 countries including the UK, the US, Australia, Canada and the EU, and immigration may ask for 10,000 THB per person and an onward ticket.
TDAC official website and cost: it is free
The only official address is tdac.immigration.go.th, run by the Thai Immigration Bureau. The page title itself reads "No Fees Required". A Thai government site ends in .go.th.
A paid agent is not illegal. The official FAQ allows someone else to submit the form for you. You do not need one. If you have already paid a third-party site, submit again on the official website: the latest valid submission is the one immigration uses.
How to fill in the TDAC step by step
Have these ready before you start, because the form cannot be saved and finished later:
- your passport
- your flight number and arrival date
- the address where you will stay in Thailand, which guides say is the first one of your trip
- the countries you visited in the two weeks before arrival
- an email address you can open on your phone
- Open tdac.immigration.go.th and choose "Arrival Card".
- Enter your personal and passport details. You can scan or upload the photo page of the passport to fill them in automatically. If your passport shows no family name, type a hyphen.
- Add your trip and accommodation. Arrival date, country where you boarded, flight or vehicle number, purpose of travel, address in Thailand. Departure details are optional.
- Complete the health declaration. The system asks for more only if a country on your route is on the Ministry of Public Health list, mainly for yellow fever.
- Check the preview and correct anything that is wrong.
- Enter your email, accept the conditions and submit.
- Download the TDAC with its QR code. A copy arrives by email.
Travelling as a family or a group? Use "Add Other Travelers" to put up to ten people in one submission, and "Same as Previous Traveler" to copy the trip details. The form exists in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian.
When to submit the TDAC: the 3-day rule
The form opens three days before your arrival date, arrival day included. For a landing on Friday 20 November, you can submit from Tuesday 17 November. Count from the date you land in Thailand, not the date you take off: on an overnight flight from London or Los Angeles they are not the same day.
The system sends no reminder. The simplest habit is to do it the evening before the flight, once the booking can no longer change, and to save the QR code as a screenshot.
Changing or correcting a TDAC after you submit
Use "Update Arrival Card" on the official site and look up your card with its number, your date of birth and your nationality.
| Field | Can you edit it |
|---|---|
| Flight number, accommodation, purpose of travel, health details | Yes, any time before you travel |
| Full name | No, submit a new card |
| Passport number | No, submit a new card |
| Nationality | No, submit a new card |
| Date of birth | No, submit a new card |
A changed flight or a new hotel is an update. A typo in your name or passport number means a new submission, and the latest valid one replaces the first. If the email never arrives, the official advice is to see the immigration officer at the checkpoint.
TDAC at the airport: what happens on arrival in Thailand
At immigration you hand over your passport and show the QR code on your phone. A printout is not required, though a paper copy helps if your battery is flat. Since the system update of 15 October 2026, the QR code also records whether you can use the automatic gates.
If you arrive without a card, five airports have kiosks and Wi-Fi for it: Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Hat Yai. The kiosk cannot print, so photograph the QR code on its screen. No official source mentions a fine for arriving without the card. The official FAQ does say that entry can be refused when the information given is incorrect.
If the website fails with an error, keep a screenshot of the message and show it to the officer. The official FAQ advises refreshing the page when error 429 appears.
TDAC at land borders and sea ports
The card is required at land checkpoints and ports as well. The official list of kiosks names airports only, so fill it in before you reach the border, while you still have a connection. In the transport field, give the bus, train or boat you arrive on.
Overland visa-free entries are capped at two per calendar year since September 2026, and border crossings with Cambodia have been subject to closures. Check the status of your checkpoint a few days before you travel.