Laws for visitors

At a glance

Drinking and buying age

20Source 1

Licensed entertainment venues

No entry under 20; the venue checks an official photo documentSource 2

Cannabis flower

No recreational use; only on a prescription issued in Thailand, up to 30 days’ supply, since 23 June 2025Source 3

E-cigarettes

Illegal. Possession: up to 5 years in prison, or a fine of four times the value, or bothSource 4

Smoking indoors

Banned in almost all indoor public placesSource 5

Drink-driving

Over 0.05% blood alcohol; over 0.02% for drivers under 20, on a temporary licence, with a licence for another kind of vehicle, or with no, a suspended or a revoked licenceSource 6

Age, ID and the door

Three different rules meet at the door. The first is the law on alcohol: you must be 20 to drink or to buy it in Thailand (Thailand.go.th, May 2026).

The second is the law on entertainment venues. Clubs and other places licensed under the Entertainment Place Act may not let anyone under 20 in while they are open, staff aside, and must check an official document with a photo that shows your age (section 16/1). Bring your passport or another official photo ID; whether a copy will do is up to the door.

The third is each venue’s own policy. Hard Rock Hotel Pattaya’s bar is 20 and over after 22:00, and Sina, the floating beach club, lets guests from 14 in with a parent before 18:00 and is 20 and over after that (their own sites). A door rule tells you the policy, not which licence a place holds, and we don’t know the licence class of the venues we list. More on entry and dress codes.

Cannabis

Since 23 June 2025, cannabis flower has been a controlled herb. Recreational use is not allowed, and TAT says it never was. Tourists may not use, buy, carry or transport cannabis flower without a valid prescription issued in Thailand by a licensed practitioner, and what is dispensed may not exceed 30 days’ supply. Shops selling it for smoking to walk-in customers may be operating outside the law (TAT Newsroom, 26 June 2025).

Vapes and e-cigarettes

E-cigarettes are a separate matter, and they are illegal in Thailand: possession can bring up to five years in prison or a fine of four times the product’s value, or both. Leave them at home.

Smoking

Smoking is banned in almost all indoor public places, by TAT; it gives fines of up to 5,000 baht for smoking in airports’ public areas. Shisha and e-shisha are illegal.

Driving and riding after drinking

Don’t drive or ride after drinking. A legal limit is not a safe amount to drink. Under the ministerial regulation of 2024 on testing drivers for alcohol, a driver counts as drunk above 0.05% blood alcohol, and above 0.02% if under 20, on a temporary licence, holding a licence for a different kind of vehicle, or with no licence or a suspended or revoked one (Government Public Relations Department, 23 September 2024).

The lower limit is the one that catches scooter riders: a car licence is not a motorbike licence. Australia says you need a motorcycle licence and an International Driving Permit to ride; the UK says to carry an International Driving Permit with your UK licence, and warns that insurers expect the right licence for the vehicle. See getting home.

Drinking in public

Alcohol is banned in temples, government offices, petrol stations, public parks and on public transport. Sale hours and ban days are on alcohol hours.

If you are in trouble

Call the Tourist Police on 1155, 24 hours. See staying safe.

Questions