Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC): How to Fill It In, Free, in 5 Minutes

The TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card) is Thailand’s arrival card, filled in online and free of charge. It replaced the paper TM6 form on 1 May 2025. Every non-Thai traveler completes it before entering the country by air, land or sea, on the official Thai Immigration website. It takes about five minutes with your passport at hand.

The essentials in 30 seconds

• Who: every non-Thai national, children and infants included, each with their own card.
• When: in the 3 days before your arrival date.
• Cost: free. A site that asks you to pay is not the official one.
• Where: only on tdac.immigration.go.th.
• What you get: a TDAC card by email, to download and keep for your whole stay.
• What it is not: neither a visa nor proof of onward travel, which your airline may ask for separately.

What to prepare

The official TDAC user guide lists five sets of information:

1. Passport: number, nationality, date of birth. The form can read your passport’s MRZ strip.
2. Personal details: names exactly as in the passport, occupation, country of residence.
3. Trip: arrival date, mode of travel, the number of the flight that lands in Thailand, the country where you boarded, purpose of the visit.
4. Accommodation in Thailand: the address of your first night is enough if you move around afterwards.
5. Health declaration: only asked when a country you visited in the two weeks before arrival, your flight or your nationality is on the Ministry of Public Health’s list.

Everything is entered in English. In drop-down fields, type three letters to see the options.

How to fill in the TDAC, step by step

1. Open the official site and click Arrival Card.
2. Enter your personal and passport details, or scan the MRZ strip, then click Continue.
3. Enter your trip and accommodation, then Continue.
4. Answer the health declaration if it appears, then click Preview.
5. Check everything. Edit takes you back to correct a field.
6. Enter the email address that will receive the card, accept the terms and click Submit.
7. Download the card. You can also print it from the email throughout your stay.

Families and groups

Every traveler needs their own TDAC, including a child listed in a parent’s passport. A group submission covers up to 10 people at once, as long as they arrive on the same date.

After you submit: the automatic lane or the counter

The confirmation email tells you where to go on arrival:

• AUTOMATED BORDER CONTROL – ELIGIBLE (in green): you can use the automated gates (ABC).
• IMMIGRATION COUNTER – MANUAL PROCESSING: go to the immigration counter as usual.

Changing a TDAC you already sent

Click Update Arrival Card, then enter your card number, date of birth and nationality. You can update the details any time before you travel. Three fields are locked: name, nationality and date of birth. If one of them is wrong, simply submit a new card: the latest one is the one that counts.

The most common mistakes

• A name that differs from the passport. Copy it as it appears in the MRZ strip; a mismatch sends you to the counter.
• The wrong arrival date. It is the day you land in Thailand, not the day of your first flight.
• The wrong flight. Enter the flight that arrives in Thailand; with a stop in Doha, the boarding country is Qatar.
• One card for several entries. Each entry needs a new TDAC, including after a quick trip to Laos or Malaysia.
• Paying a middleman. The Thai Tourist Police warned about fake websites that charge for the TDAC and collect personal data. The official site is free.

What the TDAC does not replace

The TDAC is not a visa: it declares your arrival, it does not authorize your stay. It does not replace the proof of onward travel that your airline or immigration may ask for either.

Since 15 September 2026, the tourist visa exemption allows a 30-day stay, and the Royal Thai Embassy in London says visitors should be able to show a departure within those 30 days. Airlines often check this at check-in. If you are flying without an exit ticket, a verifiable flight reservation for Thailand shows your planned departure, in your name, with a booking reference the airline can find. Our Thailand return-ticket guide covers each entry category.

Frequently asked questions

Does the TDAC cost anything? No. It is free on the official Thai Immigration website.

Do I need a new TDAC for every trip? Yes. One card covers one arrival: every new entry into Thailand needs a new TDAC.

I am in transit in Bangkok. Do I need one? Not if you stay airside without passing immigration. If you leave the airport or change airports, fill it in.

What if I stay longer than 90 days? The official notice reminds visitors that a stay beyond 90 days must be reported to immigration, then every 90 days.