Is Approved Thailand a government website?

No. It is a privately run guide with no link to the Thai government, the Tourism Authority of Thailand or any other agency. We link to official sources so you can check each rule yourself.

Does Approved Thailand certify hotels, tours or taxis?

No. We do not issue certificates or badges and do not inspect businesses. We list services that meet checks you can repeat, and we point you to real licences, such as the Department of Tourism's tour operator licence.

How current is the information?

Each guide shows its update date and the date each source was checked. Guides are reviewed when a rule changes and at least every six months.

Is Approved Thailand connected to any taxi company?

Yes. Smile Taxi Service and its regional transfer sites are affiliated with us, and we disclose that wherever they appear.

No. They are AI-generated illustrations, used to show the kind of place or situation a page describes.

About Approved Thailand: How We Check Facts

What does this site do?

It gathers the rules that matter on a trip to Thailand in one place, checks them against official Thai sources, and says when each one took effect. There are three parts: six practical guides (entry, transport, scams, laws, emergencies and money), nineteen destinations by region with realistic travel times, and a short list of travel services that pass checks you can repeat yourself.

What does "approved" mean, and what does it not mean?

What it means

Official: the rule comes from a Thai government source, which we link.
Licensed: the service holds the licence Thai law requires, such as a Department of Tourism number or a yellow or green vehicle plate.
Checkable: you can verify it yourself, and we show you how.

What it does not mean

A certificate, badge or inspection by us.
Any link to the Thai government, TAT or another agency.
A guarantee about any business, driver, vehicle or premises.

Earlier versions of this site described a certification process and published counts of "verified" places and businesses. Those labels have been withdrawn: this site does not certify anyone. Official Thai quality marks, such as the Department of Tourism's Thailand Tourism Standard, are explained on our trusted services page.

How are the guides researched?

Official sources first: ministries, the Immigration Bureau, the Bank of Thailand, the Revenue Department, Airports of Thailand and the TAT newsroom. Where only news reports exist, we name them.
Dated: every guide carries an "Updated" date, states facts "as of" a month, and lists its sources with the date we checked them.
Conflicts shown: when official pages disagree, we give both versions and the safe choice.
Unverified left out: if we cannot confirm a fee, penalty or date, we say so or leave it out.
Reviewed: when a rule changes, and at least every six months.

Rules in Thailand change often. If what you read here differs from the official source linked in the guide, the official source is right.

How are services chosen?

We apply the same checks to every listing: a price published before you book, per vehicle or per person; clear cancellation terms; a person you can reach; a licence where Thai law requires one; and no prepayment traps. We do not inspect vehicles or premises. Businesses marked "Editor's pick" are independent and unaffiliated; the label is an opinion, not a verification.

Affiliations

Smile Taxi Service and its regional transfer sites, and the Thai eSIM and eSIM Hub stores, are affiliated with Approved Thailand. We disclose this on every page that mentions them, and everything we say about them comes from their published terms. We do not print their prices, because prices change; each site shows its own.

Images

The images on this site are AI-generated illustrations of places and situations in Thailand. They are not photographs of any specific business, vehicle or person.

About Approved Thailand: what "approved" means here