2026 Thailand TDAC Entry Card Guide + 300 Baht Tourist Fee Status

Planning a trip to Thailand? After booking your flights and hotels, there's one more thing you need to do — fill out the TDAC (Thailand Digital Arrival Card). This mandatory digital entry card system, enforced since May 2025, replaces the old blue paper arrival cards you used to fill out on the plane. Every non-Thai traveler must complete it, even if you have visa-free access.

The problem is, when you search for "TDAC," you might end up on a fake paid website first, or get confused by all the news about a "300 baht entry fee" and wonder whether you need to pay extra.

This article covers it all: how to fill out the TDAC, how to avoid scam sites, what to do if you make a mistake, and whether the 300 baht tourist fee is actually being collected.

TL;DR

• TDAC is mandatory for all non-Thai travelers entering Thailand. The only official channel: tdac.immigration.go.th — completely free
• Fill it out on your phone browser 1-3 days before departure — takes about 5 minutes. Name and passport number cannot be changed after submission, so use the MRZ scan feature to avoid typos
• The 300 baht tourist fee is still not being collected as of March 2026 — it's expected to launch no earlier than Q2-Q3. You do not need to pay this fee right now

What Is TDAC and Why Is It Required?

TDAC stands for Thailand Digital Arrival Card, a digital entry card system launched by Thailand's Immigration Bureau. According to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), since May 2025, all non-Thai travelers — whether arriving by air, land, or sea — must complete the TDAC online before entering Thailand.

Even if your nationality qualifies for visa-free entry, that doesn't exempt you from TDAC. These are two separate requirements.

Compared to the old TM6 paper card, the TDAC digital system has one major difference: it's much stricter about data accuracy. In the paper era, immigration officers eyeballed your handwriting — an extra space or a slightly off letter usually wasn't a problem. But the TDAC system automatically cross-checks the name, passport number, and other details you enter against your passport's MRZ (Machine Readable Zone). Any mismatch could cause issues.

Thailand's goals with TDAC are straightforward: speed up immigration processing, track foreign visitors for security purposes, and collect health declarations. For travelers, the practical impact is simple — one more online step before your trip.

Watch Out for Fake Websites! The Only Official TDAC Channel

This might be the most important warning in this entire article: The official TDAC application is completely free. Any website asking for payment is not the official channel.

The TAT Taiwan office has issued a formal warning about third-party websites posing as the official TDAC portal. When you search for "TDAC application," some of the top results are indeed third-party sites that look remarkably like the official page but charge a "service fee" (typically USD 10-30) at the final step.

Spotting fake sites is straightforward — watch for these three red flags:

1. Payment required — The official application costs nothing, not a single cent
2. URL doesn't end in .go.th — .go.th is the exclusive domain for Thai government agencies. tdac.immigration.go.th is the only correct URL
3. Asks you to upload a passport scan to a third-party platform — The official system only requires you to manually enter passport details or scan your MRZ with your phone camera. It never asks you to upload a passport photo file

Important: If you've already paid and submitted through a third-party site, your entry card may not have been submitted to Thailand's Immigration Bureau system at all. We recommend filling out a new one at the official website.

Complete TDAC Walkthrough — Step-by-Step, Error-Free

Based on hands-on experience and multiple reference guides, here's the full 6-step process:

Step 1: Go to the Official Website and Select Arrival Card

Open tdac.immigration.go.th and select "Arrival Card" to begin. The site has an English interface.

Step 2: Enter Personal Details (The Most Critical Step)

This step determines whether your TDAC will work smoothly at immigration. We strongly recommend using the MRZ scan feature — point your phone camera at the bottom of your passport's data page (the two lines made up of < symbols and letters), and the system will automatically populate your name, passport number, nationality, and date of birth.

Why scan instead of typing manually? Because your name, passport number, nationality, and date of birth are locked after submission and cannot be changed. The most common manual entry mistake is misspelling your name (e.g., typing CHAN instead of CHEN), and MRZ scanning ensures an exact match with your passport.

Step 3: Enter Flight Information

Enter the flight number of your international flight arriving in Thailand. If you're flying direct, enter that flight number. If you have a connecting flight (e.g., your city to Singapore, then Singapore to Bangkok), enter the last leg — the one that actually enters Thai territory.

Step 4: Enter Accommodation Address

This is where most people get stuck. The TDAC accommodation field requires complete information: street name, district, province, and postal code. After selecting a province, the system automatically updates the district and sub-district dropdown options.

Here's how to handle common scenarios:

• Staying at a hotel: Enter the hotel's full address. If you're unsure about the postal code, search the hotel name on Google Maps — the address info usually includes the postal code
• Staying at an Airbnb or guesthouse: Same format as a hotel, but Airbnb-provided addresses are sometimes incomplete. Search the Airbnb address on Google Maps first to confirm it includes the full street, district, and postal code
• Multiple hotels: Just enter the address of your first hotel — no need to list every accommodation
• Can't find the postal code: Google "[hotel name] postal code" or "[district name] Thailand postal code"

Step 5: Health Declaration

Fill out a basic health status declaration. Just answer honestly.

Step 6: Submit and Get Your QR Code

After confirming all details are correct, submit. The system will send a confirmation email with a QR Code PDF to the email address you provided.

Pre-Submission Error-Prevention Checklist

Before hitting submit, verify these four things:

• Name spelling exactly matches your passport MRZ (use the scan feature)
• Passport number is correct
• Accommodation address is complete (street, district, province, postal code)
• Flight number is for the international leg arriving in Thailand

After Submission — Confirmation Email, QR Code, and Immigration Process

After submitting your TDAC, you'll receive a confirmation email containing a QR Code PDF. We recommend doing two things:

1. Screenshot the QR code and save it to your phone's photo library — so you can show it even without internet
2. Save the PDF to your phone's file manager app

The immigration process in Thailand is simple: line up at the immigration counter, and present your passport + QR code on your phone screen. In practice, when the officer scans your passport, the system can already pull up your TDAC data — the QR code serves more as a backup. But it's best to have it ready just in case.

Important: Keep your confirmation email until you leave Thailand. If you need to extend your visa or complete a 90-day report while in Thailand, you may need your TDAC confirmation details.

Made a Mistake? Non-Editable Fields and How to Fix Errors

Don't panic — a mistake on your TDAC won't prevent you from entering Thailand, but you do need to take action.

According to Siam Legal's guide, TDAC fields fall into two categories:

Non-editable core fields (locked after submission):

• Name
• Passport number
• Nationality
• Date of birth

Fields that can be updated later:

• Accommodation address
• Flight information
• Trip-related details

If you discover a core field error, the only solution is to submit a completely new TDAC. The system uses your passport number as the identifier, and a new submission overwrites the old data. So the worst-case scenario is spending another 5 minutes refilling — not a big deal.

Additionally, some travelers have reported occasional page freezes when using desktop Chrome. The exact trigger is unclear, but if you encounter issues on a desktop, switching to a mobile browser or clearing your browser cache usually resolves the problem.

Final backup plan: Major international airports in Thailand (such as Suvarnabhumi Airport) have TDAC self-service kiosks in the arrivals hall where you can fill it out on the spot. But this is a backup, not a first choice — during peak hours, the queue can be quite long.

Best Time to Fill It Out: The 72-Hour Rule and Airport Kiosks

The TDAC system has a hard limit: you can only submit it within 72 hours (3 days) of entering Thailand. Submitting too early simply won't work.

As for the latest you can submit? Technically, there's no deadline — you could even fill it out at the boarding gate or on the plane (if you have internet). But we don't recommend cutting it that close.

The best time to fill it out is 1-2 days before departure, because:

• It gives you a buffer — if you mess up a core field, you still have time to resubmit
• You avoid last-day chaos when you're already juggling packing and getting to the airport
• You won't discover at the airport that you still need to fill it out, adding unnecessary stress

Even if you genuinely forget, don't panic. Thailand travel expert Richard Barrow has confirmed that airports have self-service kiosks in the arrivals hall. But during peak immigration hours, expect a queue of fellow travelers who also forgot.

Bottom line: filling it out early saves hassle, but forgetting won't get you turned away from Thailand.

300 Baht Tourist Fee — Latest Status as of March 2026

If you've been researching Thailand travel recently, you've almost certainly seen headlines about "Thailand to charge foreign tourists a 300 baht entry fee." Travel media have been reporting on this policy throughout 2025-2026, often with wording that implies it's "about to launch" or even "already in effect."

But as of March 2026, this fee is still not being collected.

According to The Nation Thailand, Thailand's Assistant Tourism Minister Chakrapol confirmed that due to tourism demand not yet fully recovering, the policy is expected to be delayed until Q2 or Q3 of 2026.

The back-and-forth on this policy has been remarkable. Here's a brief timeline:

• 2023: Thai government first announces plans to charge foreign tourists an entry fee
• 2024: Implementation postponed
• July 2025: Delayed again due to declining tourist numbers
• October 2025: New minister pushes the plan forward again; Khao Sod English reports on the fee structure details
• March 2026: Still not implemented

The planned fee structure (when eventually implemented) is as follows:

Entry Method	Fee	Notes
By air	300 baht (~USD 8.50)	Includes travel accident insurance
By land / sea	150 baht (~USD 4.25)	Includes travel accident insurance

As for the payment method (online prepayment, cash on arrival, or bundled into airline tickets), the Thai government has not yet made an official announcement.

The bottom line is simple: as of this article's publication date (March 2026), you do not need to pay the 300 baht tourist fee when visiting Thailand. If you want to track updates, set up a Google Alert for "Thailand tourist fee" or follow announcements from the Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Family Travel, Complex Itineraries, and Practical Tips

Traveling to Thailand with family? Here are a few things to know:

Everyone needs their own TDAC — including infants and young children. Every non-Thai traveler needs an individual entry card. The good news is that the TDAC system has a group feature (Add Other Travelers) that lets you add your spouse's and children's details within a single session and submit them all together, instead of each person going through the entire process separately.

For children, the ID document number required by TDAC is simply their passport number. Make sure every family member (including toddlers) has a valid passport before your trip.

5 Practical Tips

1. Use your phone browser: Based on real-world testing, the mobile experience is the smoothest, plus you can scan your passport MRZ directly with your camera
2. Look up your hotel address beforehand: Search your hotel on Google Maps for the full address and postal code before departure, and copy it for easy pasting
3. Prepare postal codes in advance: Thai postal codes are 5 digits. Search "[district name] postal code Thailand" to find yours
4. Double-backup your QR code: After receiving your confirmation email, save a screenshot to your photo library AND save the PDF to your file manager app — so you can show it in airplane mode or without internet
5. Desktop issues? Switch devices: If the page freezes on your computer, switching to a mobile browser usually fixes it

Conclusion

There are two things to remember before traveling to Thailand:

1. TDAC is mandatory — it's free, takes 5 minutes, and works best on mobile. Complete it 1-2 days before departure at the only official website: tdac.immigration.go.th
2. The 300 baht tourist fee is not being collected yet — after multiple delays, it remains unimplemented as of March 2026

If your Thailand plans go beyond a short vacation and you need to understand the DTV digital nomad visa or LTR long-term resident visa, check out our 2026 Thailand Visa Changes Complete Guide.

Bookmark this page as your Thailand entry checklist before you go. Have a great trip.