TDAC Step by Step: How to Fill Out Thailand's Digital Arrival Card in 2026

The Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) can only be submitted within a three-day window before you land, counting the day of arrival itself: fly on the 10th and the form opens on the 8th. It is free on the official immigration site, tdac.immigration.go.th, takes about five minutes per person, and at passport control you simply show the QR code from your phone. Every passenger needs a separate form, infants included.

Since 1 May 2025, the TDAC has replaced the paper TM6 card once handed out on the plane. Paper forms on board have been abolished. Note that the official form is available in English, Chinese and Thai, and registration by email is required.

Who has to file a TDAC

Every person travelling on a non-Thai passport must submit one, whether entering by air, land or sea. Visa-exempt entry, visa on arrival, tourist visa, long-term, work or Destination Thailand Visa: the visa type makes no difference. Children and babies count as separate passengers, and the most common family mistake is parents filing two forms instead of four.

Three groups are exempt: Thai citizens, transit passengers who stay airside and never clear immigration, Border Pass holders at land crossings, and aircraft or vessel crew. If your Bangkok connection involves leaving the airport or collecting baggage, you clear immigration, so you need a TDAC.

One important caveat: the TDAC does not grant entry. It is an arrival registration only. Visa requirements, onward tickets and everything else still apply.

When the window opens

The countdown runs from your arrival date in Thailand, not your departure date. This matters for overnight flights: depart on the 7th in the evening, land in Bangkok on the 8th, and your window is counted from the 8th.

• Arrive 10 February: submit from 8 February
• Arrive 1 March: submit from 27 February
• Arrive 15 December: submit from 13 December

The system rejects any arrival date outside the three-day window, so nobody can submit a week ahead. Paid 'services' promising early filing are not a real option. If your flight is rescheduled and the arrival date shifts, the old form no longer applies and you must file again.

Technically you can fill the form out at the gate or in the arrivals hall, but the best moment is the evening before departure, at home, with good internet and every family passport on the table. Typos in passport numbers tend to happen while standing in a queue with a child on one arm.

What to prepare

• Passport (data entered in Latin letters, exactly as printed in the document)
• Flight number, or vehicle details if entering by land or sea
• Address of your first accommodation in Thailand: hotel, condo or a friend's address
• A phone or laptop where the confirmation email with the QR code can arrive

The address trips up travellers who plan to find housing on the ground. Enter the hotel or guesthouse where you will actually spend your first night. If you have not chosen yet, it is easier to book a hotel for a couple of nights first, then fill in the form with the address in hand. Take the flight number from your ticket, not from memory: it is an airline code such as TG or FD plus digits, with no spaces or extra zeros.

Step-by-step filing

1. Open tdac.immigration.go.th or the THIM (Thailand Immigration Management) app for iOS and Android. Nowhere else.
2. Choose individual or group submission. Group mode suits families: trip details are entered once, passport details per person.
3. Enter passport data in English. The app can scan the passport with the camera, but check that the number and surname were read correctly, because cameras confuse zero and the letter O. Fields must match the passport's machine-readable zone (MRZ) exactly.
4. Fill in the trip details: arrival date, flight number, country of departure, purpose of visit.
5. Enter your address in Thailand.
6. Submit and wait for the confirmation email with the QR code.
7. Save the QR code offline as a gallery screenshot or a PDF in your files. Mobile data often is not working yet in the arrivals hall, but you will still need to open the code.

Printing is optional, but if you have long connections and a phone battery that dies by the end of the route, a sheet of paper in your passport never hurts.

Common mistakes

The costliest are fake websites. Searches for TDAC regularly surface copies of the official form that charge for 'processing' and sometimes send a polished but useless PDF. The official submission is free, and the only correct address ends in immigration.go.th.

Other frequent errors: one form for a whole family (each passenger needs their own application and QR code); forgetting that every new entry requires a new form (a weekend in Kuala Lumpur or a visa run to Cambodia means a fresh TDAC on the way back, in the same three-day window); and assuming the TDAC replaces a visa or extends your permitted stay. It does neither. Visa-exempt and visa periods are calculated separately, and border officers check those. If you spot a passport-number typo before flying, resubmitting costs nothing and is easier than explaining the mismatch at the counter.

FAQ

How much does the TDAC cost?

Nothing. Filing on the official immigration site and in the THIM app is free. Any request for payment is a sign of a copycat site.

Can I fill in the TDAC at the airport before departure?

Yes, as long as you are already inside the three-day window. You can submit from your phone at the gate or even in the Thai arrivals hall, but queues and weak internet make that the worst option.

Do I need a TDAC for a transit through Bangkok?

Not if you stay in the transit zone and skip passport control. If you leave the airport or collect baggage, you file as a normal arriving passenger.

Do children need their own form?

Yes. Every child, and even every infant, needs a separate TDAC with their own passport details.

What if my flight is moved to another day?

Submit a new form with the updated arrival date. The old one is tied to a date that no longer exists in your itinerary.

Is the TDAC available in Russian?

The official form works in English, Chinese and Thai, so prepare your details in Latin letters in advance.

Do I need a new TDAC for every entry?

Yes. Each new entry into Thailand, including a return from a short trip abroad, requires a new form.

A final tip: screenshot the QR codes for your whole family, rename them by passenger and keep them in one gallery folder. At the checkpoint you pull out your phone once and never scroll through email looking for the right message.

Source: tdac.info

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