Translation:Establishment of Family Names Act, 2456 Buddhist Era
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Establishment of Family Names Act,
2456 Buddhist Era[1]
His Majesty King Maha Vajiravudh Phra Mongkutklao Chaoyuhua bestows upon all heads a Great Royal Command that it be announced for general information as follows: Whereas He deems it appropriate to enact a stable and clear procedure for registration of persons born, deceased, employed, or married, but this very procedure would be possible only upon accurate verification of personal identity and parental backgrounds, His Majesty conceives the idea that, in order for this purpose of His to be accomplished, every person must have both given name and family name and the practice of establishing a family name should be widely and generally observed amongst the citizenry throughout His Kingdom. Therefore, He is graciously pleased to enact an Act containing the following sections:
Section 1
This Act shall be called the Establishment of Family Names Act, 2456 Buddhist Era.
Section 2
This Act shall enter into operation as a law from the 1st day of the month of July of the 2456th year of the Buddhist Era.[1]
Section 3
Every Thai person must have a name which consists of a given name and a family name.
Section 4
The given name is the name given to a child upon its birth.
Section 5
The family name is the name specific to a family which is transmitted from the father to his children.
Section 6
A woman who has employment and is married to a husband shall use the family name of the husband and shall remain entitled to use her own former given name and family name.
Section 7
Any person must use the matrilineal family name as long as his father is not known.
Section 8
No person shall change his own given or family name or that of a child, grandchild, or great-grandchild who descends from him, save where he has obtained permission from the Secretary of State heading the ministry in charge of the local administration of districts, both in the Capital and in the outer towns.
Section 9
Within a period of six months from the day of promulgation of this Act onwards, the head of every family shall choose a certain family name and have it registered at the local district office.
Section 10
Such head of a family is required to refer to the oldest living ascendant in that very family.
Section 11
If any family already has a specific family name for use, it is required that such family name be the one to be registered.
Section 12
If any family still has no family name, the head of that family shall choose any name as appropriate. But such a name—
(1)shall not be identical to the name of a member of the royal household who holds the dignitary rank of phra-ongchao or higher;
(2)shall not be intended to be similar to a royally conferred name which is a noble style or title;
(3)shall not contain an impolite or inappropriate term;
(4)shall not require the writing of more than ten letters;
(5)shall not duplicate a family name already in use on the day of promulgation of this Act, or duplicate a name which has already been registered in the area of the same municipality or district or in the area of an adjacent municipality or district.
Section 13
The Secretary of State heading the ministry in charge of the local administration of districts, both in the Capital and in the outer towns, shall bear the duty to invent family names and publish them on sheets of paper for distribution to the district chiefs in every area, in order that they would serve as a guidance for the citizens in want, enabling them to choose and take up any of those names.
Section 14
The district chief who makes an entry in a registration form shall set his hand thereto and provide a counterpart thereof to the head of the family.
Section 15
No cost or fee shall be demanded from this registration at all.
Section 16
If a family has two or more heads who are brothers and sisters born of the same deceased father, they may choose the same family name.
Section 17
The family name chosen by the head of the family is required to be also used as family name by his sons and daughters and also by the male grandchildren and great-grandchildren who are his consanguineous descendants, successively.
Section 18
If any woman has no senior relative who is her living ascendant, she shall take up the family name of her closest male consanguineous relative, or if the said closest male relative cannot be found, she shall take up the same family name as her next closest male relative.
Section 19
Upon expiry of a period of six months from the day this Act enters into operation as a law, no person shall have his name cited or recorded on public documents in any manner other than the reference to his given name and family name. And if it is not impossible, the officer having the duty to produce such a document shall examine the copied registers provided by district chiefs or consult the original registers and refer to his family name correctly in accordance therewith.
Section 20
The Secretary of State heading the ministry in charge of the local administration of districts, both in the Capital and in the outer towns, shall have the duty to implement this Act and have the power to issue statutory rules for organising the proceedings so that they proceed in a smooth manner. Upon receipt of royal assent and publication in the journal Royal Gazette, those statutory rules shall be deemed to part of this Act.
Announced on the 22nd day of March 2455 Buddhist Era,[1] being the 863rd day or 3rd year of the present reign.
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
| Original: |
This work is in the public domain worldwide because it originated in Thailand and is a work under section 7(2) of Thailand's Copyright Act, 2537 BE (1994) (WIPO translation), which provides:
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| Translation: |
I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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