Certified translation and legalisation of Thai title deeds

A Thai title deed carries details that are easy to mistranslate: the deed number, parcel number, survey page, map sheet, and area expressed in rai, ngan and square wah, plus the registration record on the reverse listing sales, mortgages and encumbrances in date order. Overseas recipients often care about that reverse record as much as the front page, so the translation must cover both sides, not only the page showing the owner's name.

Thai area units have no direct metric equivalent. A good translation keeps the original units and adds an approximate square-metre figure in brackets: one rai equals four ngan, one ngan equals one hundred square wah, and one square wah equals four square metres. Dropping the original units makes it impossible to reconcile the translation with the source.

The usual order is: obtain a copy of the deed certified as a true copy by the Land Office, prepare the translation, have the translation legalised by the Legalisation Division of the Department of Consular Affairs, and then, where the recipient requires it, certified by the destination country's embassy. A self-made photocopy without Land Office certification usually fails at the legalisation step.

Once the Apostille Convention is in force for Thailand, documents destined for other contracting states will carry an Apostille instead of the extra embassy step, while non-contracting states keep the existing embassy route. Ask the recipient which form they need before you start, because taking the wrong route means repeating the whole set.

Some recipients require the translation to be produced by a registered translator or certified by a Notarial Services Attorney. This varies by country and by institution, so obtain the requirement in writing from the recipient before translation begins.