Land Office Pattaya: Condo Title Transfer Step by Step

The sales contract is signed, the money has been transferred – and yet you are not the owner just yet. Ownership of a condo in Thailand only comes into being through the official transfer at the Land Office (the Thai land registry). Only once your name is on the unit title deed and the official stamps the entry does the apartment truly belong to you.

This article describes in concrete terms how this day unfolds: which papers have to be on the table, who must attend, how long it takes, what is payable at the counter – and why title transfers typically fall through. The focus here is deliberately on the Land Office day itself. The general framework for buying a condo as a foreigner is covered separately in our guide to buying a condo legally.

Which Land Office is responsible for Pattaya

Every property falls under a specific land registry – what matters is the location of the apartment, not your place of residence. For Pattaya, Jomtien, Pratumnak and Naklua, the responsible authority is the Chonburi Provincial Land Office, Bang Lamung Branch. Other districts or provinces may differ. This is more than a formality: officials interpret procedural details somewhat differently from one location to another, and the practice in Bang Lamung varies in nuance from that of other offices. It is therefore worth attending the appointment with someone who knows the particular office.

The documents: what absolutely has to be on the table

The transfer stands or falls with the completeness of the paperwork. If a single document is missing – or too old – the official will send you home without discussion. For foreign buyers under the Foreign Quota, these are the core documents:

• Passport (valid, ideally with several months remaining) – plus several copies. Officials have rejected transfers over missing passport copies.
• FET foreign-exchange evidence (Foreign Exchange Transaction Form, formerly the "Thor Tor 3"). It proves that the purchase price was transferred from abroad into Thailand and converted into baht there. From a single amount of USD 50,000, the receiving bank issues the official FET form; for smaller amounts an equivalent credit-note letter from the bank is sufficient. The document must state the purpose (purchase of a condominium), the project name and the unit number.
• Foreign Quota confirmation from the juristic person (building management). It certifies that the apartment falls within the 49% foreign quota of the building's saleable floor area (Condominium Act, §19 bis). Without this letter, the Land Office will not register the ownership under a foreign name.
• Debt-free letter from the building management: confirmation that there are no outstanding common-area fees. Note: this letter has a very short validity (often only 7–15 days) – it must be freshly issued shortly before the appointment.
• Original Chanote / unit title deed (for condos, the Or Chor 2). Only the original with the red Garuda stamp counts; copies are rejected. If a mortgage is still outstanding, the seller's bank must release the title in good time.
• Signed sales contract (Sale and Purchase Agreement) as well as the transfer form completed in Thai (Tor Dor 13).

If the seller is married, a consent declaration from the spouse, along with a copy of their ID and the marriage certificate, may be required. If a company is selling, a commercial register extract and a shareholders' resolution are added.

Attend in person or by power of attorney?

In principle, buyer and seller must attend the Land Office in person. Anyone unable to do so can be represented via a power of attorney – but only on the official Land Department power-of-attorney form (Tor Dor 21). Self-drafted or generic powers of attorney are rejected. A power of attorney granted abroad must generally be officially certified and bear an apostille – allow roughly two to three weeks of lead time for this. If an authorised representative is appointed, a copy of their ID belongs in the stack of documents too.

Procedure and duration at the appointment

The registration itself is a one-day process. You take a number, the official checks the documents, calculates fees and taxes, the parties settle the remaining purchase price at the counter (usually by cashier's cheque) along with the levies, and at the end the new owner is entered on the title deed. With complete paperwork you are often done in two to four hours – on busy days it can take longer.

The real time investment lies before the appointment: from contract signing to the completed transfer, a resale typically takes 30 to 90 days. The bottlenecks are almost always the same – the international transfer (three to five bank working days), the issuance of the letters by the building management, and the release of the title deed by the seller's bank.

What is payable at the counter

All levies are calculated on the higher of the declared purchase price or the official appraised value. Who pays what is partly negotiable and should be set out in the sales contract.

In total, the state levies come to roughly 2.5% to over 6% of the relevant value. Important for buyers from German-speaking countries: the transfer fee, temporarily reduced to 0.01% since 2025 for properties up to 7 million THB, currently applies in practice only to Thai citizens – foreigners pay the regular 2%. Bring the levies in the agreed form of payment; many offices most readily accept cashier's cheques.

What can go wrong

• The FET is missing or incorrectly labelled. Without correct foreign-exchange evidence (correct purpose, project name, unit number) there is no entry into the Foreign Quota. We have broken down the details of a clean transfer in our guide to the FET certificate.
• The quota is full. In older, centrally located Pattaya buildings the 49% is sometimes exhausted – in which case freehold in your own name is not possible at the appointment.
• The debt-free letter has expired or the building management issued it too late.
• The seller's bank does not release the Chanote in time, because a mortgage has not yet been paid off.
• Power of attorney not on the official form or without an apostille – rejected immediately.
• Title irregularities (wrong deed type, encumbrances) only come to light during the check at the counter.

Most of this can be avoided through a thorough advance review (due diligence) and early coordination with the building management. This is not legal or tax advice; fees, quota and procedures can change and are handled differently from one location to another. Always check an official source before acting, or consult a specialist adviser.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to come to Pattaya in person for the transfer?

Ideally yes – buyer and seller normally attend in person. If you are unable to, it can be done by power of attorney, but only on the official Land Department form and generally officially certified and apostilled.

How long does registration at the Land Office take?

The appointment itself is usually done in two to four hours, provided all documents are complete. The entire process from sales contract to completed transfer typically takes 30 to 90 days for a resale.

What happens if a document is missing?

Then the transfer will not be carried out that day. Missing passport copies, an expired debt-free letter or an incorrectly labelled FET are enough for the official to postpone the appointment.

Why do I absolutely need the FET foreign-exchange evidence?

Foreign freehold ownership is only registered if it can be proven that the purchase price came from abroad and was converted into baht in Thailand. The FET is the official bank document for this.

Who pays the fees at the counter?

The usual arrangement is: transfer fee 50/50, with the taxes (SBT or stamp duty, withholding tax) borne by the seller. This is negotiable and should be clearly set out in the sales contract.

With a new-build / off-plan purchase directly from the developer, the transfer is usually well organised: the developer coordinates the Foreign Quota confirmation, the necessary documents and the appointment – which takes a lot of friction out of the day. We are happy to accompany you to the appointment at the Land Office and to make sure your papers are complete and in the right order beforehand. If you are planning a specific transfer or simply want to know what applies in your case, arrange a free initial consultation. You will also find a concise overview of the entire buying journey in our free guide.