So, we've been scouring the web without much definitive advice.

 

My wife is traveling to Thailand Nov 25th.

 

Her passport expires 15th Jan 2023

 

Does Thailand enforce/require Thai nationals to have the ubiquitous six months validity on their passport?

 

Her plan was to first thing when she landed was go get it renewed, but now we're getting twitchy on whether we need to make a quick trip to DC to get it renewed ahead of time

It is my understanding that international law requires that any person be able to enter the country of his or her own citizenship, even on an expired passport.  She would, of course, need to renew her passport once in Thailand before traveling again on it.  Naturally, this does not mean she could enter any other countries on the expired passport.  I think the six-month validity period is for travel in those other countries, not one's own.

For an authoritative answer, have you emailed the Thai Embassy Wash DC?

She will have no problems just coming in. My daughter just came in on an expired Thai passport and Thai ID. It was a Friday two weeks ago. We went from the airport to the amphur office and got a new Thai ID in 1 hour. Then to the passport office on Changwattana for a new passport. 1 hour there and the passport came via EMS on the following Tuesday.

43 minutes ago, GinBoy2 said:

Does Thailand enforce/require Thai nationals to have the ubiquitous six months validity on their passport?

She will be able to enter, no issues.

However, wont be able to depart with a near expiring PP.

2 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

Does Thailand enforce/require Thai nationals to have the ubiquitous six months validity on their passport?

No she doesn’t, as has been correctly pointed out previously Thais can enter their home country even with an expired passport, though that could cause carriers to be twitchy.
 

You’ve already confirmed that she will renew her passport on arrival, very good thinking.

 

I can also confirm that passport renewals here are excellent, my wife renewed her passport in MBK when we visited Bangkok for a long weekend, her new passport was delivered before we got back home.

 

I’ll move your post to the Thailand Forum, though you’ve already got a definitive answer. 

Thanks everyone for the info

A Thai Citizen can enter Thailand on a expired passport.  IF DUAL CITIZEN, do NOT make the mistake of entering on 2nd passport, you will be considered foreign  visitor / citizen

Renew the THAI PP and ID as soon as possible

I agree with the answers about a Thai citizen being allowed to enter Thailand. However some airports and airlines have uninformed check in agents who are real job worths. Be prepared for an arguement just in case and try and get some printed proof to take with you.

Need to check that airline allows less than 6mths validity otherwise entry to Thailand  on expired ID and Passport is OK

9 minutes ago, chilly07 said:

Need to check that airline allows less than 6mths validity otherwise entry to Thailand  on expired ID and Passport is OK

I think all airlines will accept a Thai passport with less than 6 months validity to enter the country. Same for a expired one.