Prostitution laws in Thailandประเทศไทย

Section 4 defines prostitution (การค้าประเวณี) as accepting sexual intercourse or any other act, or doing any other act, to gratify another person's sexual desire 'in a promiscuous manner' for remuneration or any other benefit, whether the persons are of the same or different sex (our translation).

• s. 5 (soliciting): approaching, soliciting, introducing oneself to, following or importuning a person in a street or public place, or elsewhere, for prostitution, in a manner that is open and shameful or a nuisance to the public. Originally a criminal fine of up to 1,000 baht; since the Act on Phinai Fines B.E. 2565 (2022) it is a phinai offence, a non-criminal fine imposed by state officials (see the street topic).
• s. 6 (frequenting a prostitution establishment): a person who 'associates' (มั่วสุม) in a prostitution establishment for the purpose of their own or another's prostitution faces up to one month's imprisonment, a fine of up to 1,000 baht, or both. There is no offence where the person acted under compulsion or under a power they could not avoid or resist.
• s. 7 (advertising): see the advertising topic.

The Committee on Fines (Office of the Council of State) confirmed in opinion 878/2567 that s. 5 alone became a phinai offence; ss. 6 to 12 and s. 41 remain criminal. The same opinion found that arranging a sale in private, for example by telephone or in a massage room without others being made aware, does not meet s. 5.

For offenders under 18 under ss. 5 to 7, the court may order protection and vocational development instead of punishment (s. 34); adults may ask to be sent to a protection and occupational development centre (ss. 33 and 34).

The Act's offences aimed at sellers are not worded as limited to them. Section 5 covers 'whoever' approaches or solicits a person in public for prostitution, and the Committee on Fines discussed s. 5 in terms of contacts to buy and sell sexual services. Section 6 covers anyone who frequents a prostitution establishment for the purpose of their own or another person's prostitution. We found no official data on buyers penalised under either section.

Section 8 applies to a person who has sexual intercourse or commits any other act for their own or another's gratification with a person over 15 but not over 18 in a prostitution establishment, whether or not that person consents. The government draft protection bill of 2023 and the 2026 citizen bill would both keep penalties for buying from minors.

A prostitution establishment (สถานการค้าประเวณี) is a place arranged for prostitution or where prostitution is allowed, including a place used for contacting or procuring other persons for prostitution (s. 4).

Licensed venues. Bars with hostesses, karaoke lounges, dance halls and bath, massage or sauna establishments with attendants are entertainment places (สถานบริการ) under the Entertainment Places Act B.E. 2509 (s. 3). No one may open one without a licence from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner in Bangkok or the provincial governor elsewhere (s. 4). The licensee must be at least 20 and must not have been punished for sexual offences under the Penal Code or under the law on the suppression of prostitution (s. 6). The licence can be suspended or revoked where the venue is run contrary to public order or good morals (s. 21). The Act does not authorise prostitution; selling and buying sex inside a licensed venue remain subject to the 1996 Act.

Practice. The US State Department reports that children are exploited in commercial sex in 'brothels, massage parlors, bars, karaoke lounges, hotels, and private residences', and that corrupt officials protect brothels and other commercial sex venues from enforcement and inspections.

The Act draws no distinction between a managed brothel and a flat or room used by several self-employed sex workers. On the statutory definitions, two workers sharing a room would each risk s. 6 (up to one month's imprisonment and/or 1,000 baht), and anyone who organises the premises would risk s. 11 (3 to 15 years). We found no court ruling or official guidance on shared premises.

• s. 9: 1 to 10 years and 20,000 to 200,000 baht for an adult; 5 to 15 years and 100,000 to 300,000 baht if the person is over 15 but not over 18; 10 to 20 years and 200,000 to 400,000 baht if 15 or under; one third more with deception, threats, violence, undue influence or coercion. Receiving a person known to have been procured, or supporting the offence, carries the same penalty.
• s. 10: a parent or guardian of a person under 18 who knows of and connives in procuring faces 4 to 20 years and 80,000 to 400,000 baht.
• s. 12: detaining, confining or threatening a person to compel prostitution carries 10 to 20 years and 200,000 to 400,000 baht; life imprisonment for grievous harm; death or life imprisonment if the victim dies; 15 to 20 years where the offender is a police or administrative officer or staff of a protection centre.

Trafficking offences are prosecuted separately. In 2024 the government reported prosecuting 547 suspects and convicting 328 for sex trafficking.

Section 7 covers both the advertiser, including a sex worker advertising herself or himself, and whoever 'accepts to advertise' (รับโฆษณา), which on its wording reaches publishers. The phrase 'by any other means' (ด้วยวิธีใด) is not limited to print. The 1996 Act's explanatory note says the offence was created because advertisements soliciting contact for prostitution had become widespread.

The Committee on Fines confirmed in opinion 878/2567 that s. 7 remained a criminal offence after the 2022 Fine Act. Where a person both solicits in public and advertises, the officials must impose the phinai fine for s. 5 and refer the s. 7 conduct to the police for prosecution.

Section 4 includes in prostitution establishment a place used for contacting or procuring other persons for prostitution; whether an online service is a 'place' has not been tested in any decision we found. The US State Department reports that children are recruited into commercial sex through the internet, chat and dating apps and social networks, and that in 2024 the Thai Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigated 76 cases of internet-facilitated child trafficking.

Fine Act. The Act on Phinai Fines B.E. 2565 (2022) turned offences punishable by a fine only into phinai offences, which are not criminal penalties. Section 5 of the 1996 Act was among them. According to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), a Ministry of Social Development and Human Security notification gave its own officials the fining power from 25 October 2023, extended by a second notification from 26 September 2024.

Scope (Committee on Fines, opinion 878/2567). Asked by the Department of Women's Affairs and Family Development (letter of 30 May 2024), the Committee held that:

• 'elsewhere' in s. 5 must be read like 'street or public place' (ejusdem generis);
• 'open and shameful' means visible to the public, as in Supreme Court judgment 508-510/2513 (sex workers waiting in a hotel lobby to be seen by men);
• contact arranged privately, for example by telephone or in a massage room, does not meet s. 5;
• evidence from a police decoy purchase is admissible unless the police induced an offence the person had no prior intent to commit.

Enforcement. On 4 April 2025 the NHRC found that police in Khon Kaen had acted without legal authority when, on 3 June 2024, they arrested nine women in a street, took them to the station, recorded criminal histories and fined them 50 baht each, citing 'loitering', an offence of the Prostitution Suppression Act B.E. 2503 (1960) repealed in 1996. It also found that police had passed the women's personal data to media through a LINE group, and recommended that the ministry and the police agree guidelines for s. 5 cases.

Under the Entertainment Places Act B.E. 2509 the licensee registers staff, not sex workers. The history card may not state the employee's duties in a way that harms them (s. 14). Opening hours, layout, lighting and employee number badges are set by ministerial regulation (s. 17). Licences run to 31 December of the year of issue (s. 10).

The 1996 Act provides 'protection and occupational development' instead: reception centres and protection centres run by the state or licensed foundations offer rehabilitation, medical treatment and vocational training (ss. 4, 26 to 38). Adults are sent there only if they wish (ss. 33 and 34).

The citizen bill submitted in May 2026 would recognise adult sex workers as workers with social security; social-security enrolment costs are one reason Parliament classified it as a financial bill (see pending). In February 2024 the SWING Foundation, the NHRC and UNDP discussed an interim draft ministerial regulation under ss. 6 and 22 of the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 to protect sex workers employed in entertainment venues. In a survey of sex workers presented at that meeting, 77% of respondents said they wanted such protection.

The Committee on Fines advised in opinion 878/2567 that a phinai fine for s. 5 against a foreigner who has left Thailand can be pursued through mutual legal assistance in criminal matters (Act B.E. 2535, 1992). It also advised the Department of Women's Affairs and Family Development to pass offenders' details to the Immigration Bureau so the case can resume if they return within the limitation period.

The 2025 TIP report says victims come from Thailand, other Southeast Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Russia, Uzbekistan and some African countries. It says undocumented foreign victims may not report exploitation for fear of arrest and deportation, and that corrupt officials protect brothels and commercial sex venues.