Hello,

I live in the North of Thailand and will be getting married soon.

I need advice re witness requirements at the Amphurs Office. I understand we will need two witnesses.

I saw on video saying I would need one of the witnesses should be a foreigner, which is difficult for me.

My question is : Can I get married here at the Amphurs office with Thai friends acting as witnesses.

Any feedback most appreciated.

Thanks in advance, cheers

Best to ask the amphur office what they want.

When I got married the office staff were the witnesses, but not all offices are like that.

Every amphur office does things their own way. The only people who can answer this is the office you'll be using.

2 hours ago, localexpat said:

Hello,

I live in the North of Thailand and will be getting married soon.

I need advice re witness requirements at the Amphurs Office. I understand we will need two witnesses.

I saw on video saying I would need one of the witnesses should be a foreigner, which is difficult for me.

My question is : Can I get married here at the Amphurs office with Thai friends acting as witnesses.

Any feedback most appreciated.

Thanks in advance, cheers

We are getting married in an Amphur in Udon Thani in a couple of weeks time and there was no mention of witnesses having to be foreign by the Amphur.

You should ask at the Amphur as my Amphur has asked for proof of income which is not normally neaded.

never heard of anybody having to produce a foreign witness , to be honest I think its incorrect, foreigners have little or no standing here , Don't take too much notice of what you see on you tube, most of it is rubbish ,

Personally I had the mother in law and one of the wife's nieces as witnesses, I have heard some say a translator was required but it was never mentioned to me

Worth remembering that you can register the marriage at any ampur and there will be one somewhere in the city center that you can use too, (amphur muang) which maybe your best option

The more out of the way places can be difficult to deal with as I found out, I tried my local amphur who were obviously not keen on doing it , and made up some excuse about being too busy, then heading towards Surin city I tried at the next amphur and received a similar reply , then mid afternoon I landed in Surin city were It was a totally different story and by close of play that day it was all sorted

I think the reluctance from the smaller offices was a mixture of laziness, and not knowing exactly what to do, due to having little if any experience in marrying a foreigner

As others have said the only way to find out is to ask, if your Thai is good enough I suggest asking yourself rather than getting your girlfriend ask, my theory being that women are sometimes peculiar creatures who can sometimes take an instant dislike to each other , especially when one of them is wearing a uniform, and the other is marrying a foreigner.

Mileage varies... and when it comes down to Amphur offices the requirements change from region to region, day to day and officer to officer...

As I understand it, there is a requirement for two witnesses if either party does not speak Thai.

There is no stipulation regarding nationality of witnesses, they could both be Thai, or both be foreign, or one of each... (thats as I understand it).

When my Wife and I attempt to get the legal process of marriage out of the way at the Amphur Office we didn't take Witnesses - we just rocked up, I spoke in Thai and the Amphur officer refused us claiming my Thai was not good enough (I'd answered one of the questions inaccurately)... We drove straight to another Amphur office and had no issues.

Thus: anecdotal experience suggests - just go with what you have and see how you get along, otherwise you could be chasing your tails unnecessarily trying to provide this that and the other when the Amphur officers are friendly.

16 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Best to ask the amphur office what they want.

When I got married the office staff were the witnesses, but not all offices are like that.

Same for me.

Many thanks for you prompt and helpful responses, cheers

On 1/17/2026 at 12:38 PM, BritManToo said:

Best to ask the amphur office what they want.

When I got married the office staff were the witnesses, but not all offices are like that.

Same happened to me.

My Amphur requires 2 who can speak Thai and English. (the same as making a will there.)

5 hours ago, brian69 said:

My Amphur requires 2 who can speak Thai and English. (the same as making a will there.)

yet there is no requirement for witnesses to a UK will to be able to read English, not really surprising in these days of "inclusivity" seriously though its because they are only witnesses to your signature and as such have no need to be able to read English ,

On 1/17/2026 at 12:38 PM, BritManToo said:

Best to ask the amphur office what they want.

When I got married the office staff were the witnesses, but not all offices are like that.

Same, witnesses were never mentioned, but Amphoe staff signed the KR 2 as witnesses.

6 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

yet there is no requirement for witnesses to a UK will to be able to read English, not really surprising in these days of "inclusivity" seriously though its because they are only witnesses to your signature and as such have no need to be able to read English ,

I am from England and have no clue what this post means?

7 hours ago, mlkik said:

I am from England and have no clue what this post means?

read this slowly it might help. i've broken it down into single syllables

It is not a re quire ment for a wit ness to a uk will to be able to read Eng lish.

just as well as many "uk citizens" cannot (read English)

Are you sure you are not a yank?

49 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

read this slowly it might help. i've broken it down into single syllables

It is not a re quire ment for a wit ness to a uk will to be able to read Eng lish.

just as well as many "uk citizens" cannot (read English)

Are you sure you are not a yank?

Maybe this will help.

Topic is about getting married in Thailand, not witnesses to a UK Will in the UK.

Two syllables 'Off topic'.

4 hours ago, Liquorice said:

Maybe this will help.

Topic is about getting married in Thailand, not witnesses to a UK Will in the UK.

Two syllables 'Off topic'.

Oh deary deary me "off topic" is actually 3 syllables, If you are going to attack me at least do some basic research , learn what a "syllable" is and learn to count too , in this case the ability to count up to three would have sufficed

I've already posted at length regarding my experience with witness requirements when getting married ( i assume that met with your approval ? ) However a further post, in response to another member, highlighting what I consider to be a strange anomaly in witness requirements regarding "wills" which he mentioned, appears not to have met with your approval,

Now then, despite how you act and what you may think, you are not a moderator, so, now I've got two syllables for you too, the second one is "off," can you guess what the first one is ?

24 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

Now then, despite how you act and what you may think, you are not a moderator, so, now I've got two syllables for you too, the second one is "off," can you guess what the first one is ?

You must brighten up every room you walk out of.

Don't apologise, your just being yourself.

On 1/17/2026 at 12:38 PM, BritManToo said:

Best to ask the amphur office what they want.

When I got married the office staff were the witnesses, but not all offices are like that.

Exactly the same for me, expected to have to pay tea money but never did, all done quickly and with a smile.

When I got married my wife’s two best friends were there to witness. No mention of the requirement of a foreigner.

Just go into pocket pull out a few 1 thousand baht and all the witnesses will suddenly appear.🤑

In our case the office provided the witnesses at 500 each. Doubtful if a foreigner’s signature is required as some have pointed out that foreigners do not hold official status in Thailand.

1 minute ago, AustinRacing said:

In our case the office provided the witnesses at 500 each. Doubtful if a foreigner’s signature is required as some have pointed out that foreigners do not hold official status in Thailand.

Status or nationality is irrelevant in this case - generally, two witnesses are required, foreigner or Thai, the nationality (i.e. status or lack thereof) doesn't matter.

I had to pay tea money to be able to get an appointment at the Amphur within the 3 month validity of my papers. No other options unless I wanted to travel around looking for an available slot. Both my witnesses were Thai (friends).

2 hours ago, pub2022 said:

I had to pay tea money to be able to get an appointment at the Amphur within the 3 month validity of my papers. No other options unless I wanted to travel around looking for an available slot. Both my witnesses were Thai (friends).

How much was 'tea money'.... If it was 500 baht - harmless... if it was 5000 baht then thats something different.

8 hours ago, pub2022 said:

I had to pay tea money to be able to get an appointment at the Amphur within the 3 month validity of my papers. No other options unless I wanted to travel around looking for an available slot. Both my witnesses were Thai (friends).

I paid nothing at our local amphur, they could not have been more helpful.

They were a bit nervous about marrying a Thai/Farang couple but they had an unusually positive attitude to the whole process. So much so that a month later they married my daughter and her partner - the first time the amphur had performed a Farang/Farang marriage.

15 hours ago, pub2022 said:

I had to pay tea money to be able to get an appointment at the Amphur within the 3 month validity of my papers. No other options unless I wanted to travel around looking for an available slot. Both my witnesses were Thai (friends).

Big city in Thailand.

I prepared all the required documents by myself (embassy, translations, legalizations).

When I finally went to the Amphur (muang) to get an appointment I was clearly told that I could not get it within the 3 months without the "help" of an agency because there's no free slot available.

Paid near 10k to the agency. No other option unless willing to travel around visiting amphurs in other regions.

Called a few smaller amphur in the area but they were all "full" and not willing to help.

The agency gave me a free slot after just a few days. They were nice and helpful.

1 hour ago, pub2022 said:

Big city in Thailand.

Bangkok?

8 hours ago, pub2022 said:

Big city in Thailand.

I prepared all the required documents by myself (embassy, translations, legalizations).

When I finally went to the Amphur (muang) to get an appointment I was clearly told that I could not get it within the 3 months without the "help" of an agency because there's no free slot available.

Paid near 10k to the agency. No other option unless willing to travel around visiting amphurs in other regions.

Called a few smaller amphur in the area but they were all "full" and not willing to help.

The agency gave me a free slot after just a few days. They were nice and helpful.

I was late as there were no slots left that day. Woman checked paper work, gave her 1000 thb and was 3rd in line the next day. They did the witness part for me too.