Is the Thailand Digital Arrival Card free?

Yes — completely free, forever, for everyone. The only official place to submit it is tdac.immigration.go.th, run by Thai Immigration. Any website that charges a fee for a TDAC is not the official system: Thai immigration warned in March 2026 that at least 10% of arrivals had used fraudulent paid sites, whose submissions don't reach immigration at all.

When should I submit the TDAC?

Within 3 days before you arrive in Thailand, counting your arrival date — so for a Friday arrival, you can submit Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday. You can't do it earlier than that 72-hour window, so it belongs on your final-days checklist, not your booking-day one.

Do children and babies need a TDAC?

Yes — every non-Thai traveler needs one, including infants and children. A parent can submit for the whole family in one session (up to 10 travelers); each traveler gets their own QR code by email.

What if I don't have a smartphone or printer?

You can show the QR code from the confirmation email on any device, or print it. If neither is possible, Thai airports provide kiosks and free Wi-Fi at arrival so you can complete it there — expect it to be slower than doing it at your hotel two days before.

Does the TDAC apply at land borders and ports too?

Yes — air, land, and sea arrivals all require it. The exceptions: travelers transiting without passing through immigration, and airline/ship crew. It replaced the old TM6 paper card in May 2025.

Can I fix a mistake on my TDAC?

Partly. You can update most fields after submitting with the Update Arrival Card function, but not your full name, nationality, or date of birth — the official manual locks exactly those three. If you got one of those wrong, simply submit a fresh TDAC; the latest submission is the one that counts.

Does Thailand's new THIM app replace the TDAC?

No. As of August 2026 the THIM app is a pilot: the Tourism Authority of Thailand says it does not replace the TDAC, and the official TDAC site does not mention it. Submit the card at tdac.immigration.go.th as usual. Claims that the app became mandatory in August trace to third-party sites, not Thai Immigration.

Before you fly

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card, without the scam sites.

Last updated September 2026 · Checked against Thai Immigration's official TDAC system and current notices · Nobody paid us to say any of this

The short answer Every non-Thai traveler — including babies — must submit a Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) before entering Thailand, by air, land or sea. It is free, takes about five minutes, and can only be done in the 3 days before you arrive (arrival day included). The one and only official website is tdac.immigration.go.th. That's the whole thing. Everything below is detail — and one important warning about the copycat sites that charge money for it.

One thing the TDAC does not decide is how long you may stay. Those rules change on 15 September 2026, when the visa exemption drops from 60 to 30 days for most Western passports — the country list, the transition dates and the extension option are in our visa exemption guide.

What it is (and what it replaced)

The TDAC replaced the old TM6 paper arrival card in May 2025. Instead of scribbling your hotel address on a form somewhere over the Andaman Sea, you enter your passport details, flight, and first-night accommodation online before you travel, and get a QR code by email. At immigration you present your passport (and can show the QR if asked). Crew and travelers transiting without passing immigration are exempt; everyone else needs it — every entry, every time.

The scam warning — read this before you Google "Thailand arrival card"

Here's the part most guides whisper and we'll say plainly: a whole industry of lookalike websites charges travelers $20–60 to "process" a form that is free, and Thai Immigration warned in March 2026 that at least 1 in 10 arrivals had used one. The worst part isn't the fee — it's that many of those submissions never reach the real immigration system, so you land with nothing, having handed your passport details to strangers. The pattern is always the same: they buy ads against "Thailand arrival card," look vaguely official, and sit at addresses like "thailand-tdac-online" or "tdac-apply." The official site has exactly one address: tdac.immigration.go.th — a .go.th government domain. If a TDAC page shows a price, close the tab.

How to do it in five minutes

Timing: within 3 days of arrival (inclusive). Flying Friday? Wednesday onward. You can't submit earlier — the window simply won't open.
Go to tdac.immigration.go.th — type it, don't Google it.
Have ready: passport, arrival flight/vehicle number, and your first night's accommodation name and address (copy it from your booking confirmation).
Submitting for a family or group: one session covers up to 10 travelers, and a "Same as Previous Traveler" shortcut copies the shared flight and hotel details. Each traveler still gets their own QR.
Save the QR from the confirmation email — screenshot it, and if you like paper, print it. No smartphone at all? Airports have kiosks and free Wi-Fi at arrival, but doing it from your hotel two days early beats doing it jet-lagged in a queue.
Made a typo? Most fields can be edited afterward with the site's "Update Arrival Card" function — except your full name, nationality, and date of birth; the official manual locks exactly those three. Got one of those wrong? Just submit again; the latest TDAC is the valid one.

🛂 Our rule of thumb: the TDAC belongs on your T-minus-3-days checklist, right next to online check-in — not on your booking-day panic list, and never on your credit card statement.

Common edge cases, answered

Land borders from Malaysia, Laos, or Cambodia? Same requirement, same site, same 3-day window. Island-hopping in and out of the country? Every re-entry needs a fresh TDAC. Airline asked for it at check-in? Some carriers spot-check the QR before boarding — one more reason not to leave it for the arrival hall. Asked about your health? The form adds a health section only when the Ministry of Public Health lists a country you visited in the two weeks before arrival, your boarding country, your nationality, or your flight. If none of those are on the list, the section simply doesn't appear. Used a paid site already? Submit again — free — on the official site before you fly, and consider the earlier one a $40 lesson in why we write these guides.

The new immigration app doesn't replace this

In mid-2026 Thailand started piloting a mobile app called THIM (Thailand Immigration Management), and posts began circulating that it replaces the arrival card, or that it became mandatory in August. Neither has happened. The Tourism Authority of Thailand said it plainly in June: travelers "should continue to complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card," and THIM "is not an additional arrival-card requirement and does not replace TDAC at this stage." The official TDAC site doesn't mention the app at all. Early users also report rough edges, like passport scans failing and profiles that won't save. So: the app is a pilot you can ignore, and the card on the website is the requirement. If that changes we'll rewrite this section the week it does.

Checked August 12, 2026: tdac.immigration.go.th is live (its notice reads "All passengers must complete the Thailand Digital Arrival Card") and contains no mention of THIM. TAT's statement of June 11, 2026 is the source for the quotes above. The "mandatory in August" claims trace to third-party visa sites writing in June, before the app's planned launch; we found no Immigration Bureau notice saying so. We re-check this while the app rolls out.

How we keep this honest: this page is checked against the official TDAC system (tdac.immigration.go.th), its published FAQ, and Thai Immigration notices, and the "last updated" date above is real. Rules like this change — if you spot drift before we do, email hello@thaitinerary.com and we'll fix it within the week.

The TDAC is one line on a longer runway.

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