Thailand Digital Arrival Card 2026: TDAC Guide (Free)

Since May 2025, the paper TM6 arrival card is history. In its place is the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC), and it is compulsory for every foreign national entering the country — by air, by land, or by sea.

The rules, briefly

• Submit it within 72 hours before arrival. Not earlier — the form will reject you.
• It is free. Zero baht. Always.
• Do it on the official Thai Immigration site only.
• Every traveller needs their own submission, children included.
• You'll get a QR code by email. Screenshot it. Airport wifi is not a plan.

The scam to actually worry about

The tell is straightforward: if a site asks for a card payment for the TDAC, it is not the government. The real service does not take money. Type the immigration URL directly rather than clicking an ad, and check the domain before you enter a passport number.

What you'll need to hand

Passport details, flight number, and the address of your first night's accommodation. That last one catches people out — if you haven't booked anything yet, you cannot complete the form. Book at least the first night before you sit down to do this.

What it costs you

Nothing, if you do it right. Roughly ten minutes per person. The only real cost is the one you incur by paying a middleman for a free form — so don't.

Prepare the information before opening the form

Keep your passport, arrival booking and first accommodation details together. Copy names and passport details directly from the travel document rather than from an airline profile that may shorten them. Decide who will complete the form for each traveller in your group, and check each submission separately. A simple checklist with a name, arrival date and confirmation status helps avoid assuming that one person has completed everybody’s paperwork.

Use the Immigration Bureau’s official TDAC website. The arrival card is free and the official submission window is within three days before arrival. It is a separate step from obtaining permission to travel or enter. If your arrival date changes, check whether the details you submitted still match the new journey before relying on the saved confirmation.

Work through the form in a calm, checkable order

First compare the personal-information section with the passport. Pay particular attention to similar-looking characters in the document number and to the order of names. Next check the travel section against the booking you will actually use to enter Thailand. Use the arrival date in Thailand, which may differ from the date your flight leaves home. A journey that crosses midnight is a good reason to read the itinerary carefully.

For accommodation, keep the hotel’s full address available so you can choose the correct location from any address fields the form displays. A booking confirmation is a better reference than trying to reconstruct an address from memory. If you are staying with someone, obtain the address before departure. Follow the current form’s instructions for your circumstances rather than filling an unfamiliar field with a guess.

Complete any health or travel-history questions using the wording and time period shown on the official form. Review the whole submission before confirming. Check the email address carefully because a typing error there can make it harder to retrieve confirmation. Save the result somewhere you can open without depending on a new Thai SIM or an airport Wi-Fi connection.

Resolve mistakes before joining the arrival queue

If you notice an error, return to the official site and follow its current update instructions. Some changes may require a fresh submission; the official manual and FAQ explain the available process. Keep the confirmation that corresponds to the corrected information and avoid leaving several files with unclear names. Naming your saved file with the traveller’s name and arrival date makes it easier to show the right document.

For a family or group, review each person’s passport number and arrival information independently. Do not copy one person’s personal details into another traveller’s form. If you need help, use the official guidance before paying an intermediary. A third party charging for assistance does not turn the free arrival card into a government fee. Complete this admin before travelling when possible so that a weak connection or a flat phone battery does not become the final task before immigration.

Keep arrival admin with the rest of your itinerary

Before leaving for the airport, put the latest arrival-card confirmation beside your first hotel booking and onward travel information. Use a folder you can find quickly, with an offline copy if your device supports one. Give each traveller access to their own information, especially if the group may separate during a connection or reach different immigration desks. Check that a saved screenshot is readable at normal brightness and that important details are not cut off.

Finally, charge the phone and keep a practical backup for essential travel documents. If you later change your flight or first accommodation, review the official update process rather than assuming the original submission covers every change. The goal is a consistent set of documents that describes the journey you are actually taking.