# Tabien Baan (House registration) Blue/Yellow Books - questions



## Laislica

*How Many Tabien Baan Books Can A Thai Have Their Name In*

If a Thai person has a property in Bangkok with the Tambian Ban registered in their name.
Then they buy another house outside Bangkok.
Can they have a second TB and have their name put in the book?
Someone said that they were only allowed to have one book but that the one book could include many properties.
What is the rule on this please.


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## Song_Si

*Tabien Baan info*

As the term tabien baan may nor be familiar to all readers, some background info
source


*Tabien Baan* is the official house book or condominium identification and address registration book. The house book is not a legal ownership document but an administrative document issued by the local municipality giving the address of the house or condominium and is the address registration book for the persons living in it.

Contrary to what is often assumed this document has nothing to do with actual ownership of a house or condo. In any case it cannot be used as proof of ownership, but as proof of address. A house book could state the name of the owner but not necessarily. Non-resident foreigners can usually only be registered as the owner of a house in Thailand in a yellow house book or yellow Tabien Baan, but the value is limited.

*Thailand has 2 types of house books:*

the *blue house book* (Thor.Ror.14) for Thai nationals, and;
the y*ellow house book* (Thor.Ror.13) for foreigners.

A house book is asked as proof of address of a person in official registration procedures such as transfer of ownership of a car at the Transport Department or opening a bank account. Foreigners can in such cases also show a letter of residence issued by the local immigration office instead of a house book, or a condominium unit title deed in combination with the blue book.

In case of a foreigner the blue house book is usually empty, unless he has Thai relations living with him. It is more important for Thai nationals to be registered in a house book than it is for foreigners.

*House book application*

The application of a blue house book is straightforward and standard issued. A house book can be issued for a house, condominium appartment (whether registered under the Condominium Act or not). The official house book for foreigners is the yellow book. The blue book can be exchanged for a yellow book if the foreigner meets specific criteria. The documents required for the application of a yellow book vary per district or location, but could among others include:

a non-immigrant visa 
work permit
marriage certificate
condominium title deed 
the official land office sale of a structure agreement
building permit


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## Song_Si

back to your question - wouldn't having name in two be impossible, as voter registration info would then show two voters same name differnet addresses? Many people - esp in cities - remain on thier original/family tabien baan and return there to vote at election time.

from above



> this document has nothing to do with actual ownership of a house



****
anyone else? welcome to step in with your exp! thanks


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## Laislica

Very many thanks.
Do I get this right?
So if the person has an inherited property in Bangkok and is registered in the TB for that property, voting will be from that address and carries on as usual.
In the new TB for the property outside Bangkok, the original Building Company have their name and, if I understand you correctly, there is no need to make any changes.
Proof of ownership for the new property would be the purchase contract with the builder (I presume).


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## Mweiga

Laislica said:


> Very many thanks.
> Do I get this right?
> So if the person has an inherited property in Bangkok and is registered in the TB for that property, voting will be from that address and carries on as usual.
> In the new TB for the property outside Bangkok, the original Building Company have their name and, if I understand you correctly, there is no need to make any changes.
> Proof of ownership for the new property would be the purchase contract with the builder (I presume).


I would have thought ownership proof for a property is covered by whoever's name appears on the land title deed on which the property sits. This is a potentially very grey area but there must be a definitive explanation available from somewhere , although tracking down the right somewhere is likely to be the hardest part.


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## Laislica

Mweiga said:


> I would have thought ownership proof for a property is covered by whoever's name appears on the land title deed on which the property sits. This is a potentially very grey area but there must be a definitive explanation available from somewhere , although tracking down the right somewhere is likely to be the hardest part.


Thanks again


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## Song_Si

*The House 'Blue Book'*

From the ongoing *Property in Thailand* series in Bangkok Post

*So what is a blue book? It is a house registration document issued by the Provincial Administration Department. It's part of the civil registration system, which includes the registration of birth, death, migration and procedures in connection with the home like applying for a house number or demolition.*

_* possession of the blue book doesn't mean anybody owns the property - all it means is that the property is a registered address in Thailand.*_

A house must have a blue book in order to apply for public utilities such as electricity, water or land telephone lines. It is often required when applying for cable or satellite TV.

The procedure for applying for a blue book is fairly straightforward.

The person in possession of the house, such as the owner or tenant, must apply for the book within 15 days of construction on the house being finished. There's a 1,000 baht fine for not complying with this requirement.

The documents that have to be filed with the application are as follows:

Form Tor Ror 900;
copies of the ID cards of the applicant and the applicant's representative, if a representative such as a lawyer is submitting it;
power of attorney to the representative, if any;
documents certifying the right to possess the land on which the house is located, for example, the land title deed Nor Sor 3 or Sor Por Gor. They would also include the letter of consent to construct the house on the land signed by the landowner in case the householder submitting the application is not the landowner;
building permit;
photographs of the completed house, showing all four sides.

After these documents are submitted, the registration officer will issue the blue book in duplicate, one copy of which goes to the applicant. There is no fee for this.

You can see then that the existence of a blue book doesn't mean somebody has title to the house. But there can be good news.

That's because to apply for the blue book in the first place, it means the owner most likely has other documents that do indicate ownership or a registered long lease. We'll talk about the real proof of ownership in the future.


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## Newforestcat

I am a Thai. I am pretty sure that you can only have your name in ONLY one Tabien Baan. 

From my experience, when I went to study in Bkk; in order to be eligible to study in the school I wanted, I needed to have my name registered in my uncle's Tabien Baan. That meant my name was automatically removed from my parents' Tabien Baan! My mum had to move my name back later. 

Tabien Baan is only for:-
Proof of address
Proof of your right to vote in the area your name is registered
Proof of your aligibility to certain land/property tax-free allowances. (I won't get into more details here)

The land and/ or property ownership is on the deed title, nothing to do with Tabien Baan. I have never bought a condo but have done some Google searches. A condo's deed title is called Or Chor 2 or อช.2 which is very similar to a Chanote (โฉนด) see the picture here:-

????????? ?????????????????????????? - ????? ???? ???????? ???????????????????? - ThinkofLiving.com

Or Chor 2 should show:- 
Your name (s) as per the purchase contract,
the room plan,
Your ownership of the land (yes, you do have a tiny bit of it in percentage such as 0.04%), in case the whole building comes down,
your share of maintenance and 
your right to vote at residents' meeting, etc.


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## Laislica

Many thanks Song_Si and Newforestcat.
I think I've got it.
It's the title deed for proof of ownership and the Tambien Baan for voting rights.


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## Song_Si

and more, for future reference - now - The Yellow Book!!

also from the Bangkok Post series, I've edited from their article, as they archive stories at 60 days.

*The scoop on yellow books*










To explain the use of the yellow book, we have to clarify something about the blue book we didn't mention last week. It is that a Thai person may have his or her name put in the blue book.

When is a Thai person's name in the blue book for a house? When the house is that person's principal residence. It is required as a matter of registration with the Provincial Administration Department at the district where the house is located. Under the Civil Registration Act as amended, if a person has his or her principal residence registered in a blue book and changes to another principal residence, the head of household must notify the Provincial Administration Department and have them change the blue book within 15 days of the move.

Many people think that the blue book, discussed last week, always has the name of the resident written in it. But this isn't true. The function of the blue book is to show that the house is a registered address in Thailand. If, for example, you are renting a house owned by your landlord, the house will have a blue book, but your landlord's name won't be in it.

Why not? Because a person can have only one principal residence in Thailand and the blue book for that house is where his or her name will appear.

Can and must foreigners register their names in blue books? Foreigners can only have their names in blue books if they have ID cards for foreign nationals, and relatively few foreigners have these. Otherwise, to register a house as a foreigner's principal residence in Thailand, the Provincial Administration Department will issue a *yellow* book.

What if a foreigner who doesn't have an ID card is building a house? He or she must apply for a blue book, even though it doesn't contain anyone's name. As stated earlier, there is a fine of 1,000 baht for not doing this on a timely basis.

What is the procedure for getting a yellow book? The foreigner who wants one must show up at the district office where the house is located, with someone to translate into Thai if he or she doesn't speak Thai. The documentation required varies between district offices but in general includes:

Passport.
Photos of the applicant.
Work permit, if any.
These documents must be translated into Thai in a translation certified by the Foreign Ministry. The granting of the yellow book is at the discretion of the deputy director or director of the district office in charge of the case.

You probably know that in practice few foreigners take the trouble to get a yellow book. What are the advantages in doing so?

The yellow book is not evidence that anyone owns the house. As with the blue book, the house can be owned by someone other than the person whose name is in the yellow book. It is simply used to prove that the foreigner has his or her principal residence in the house. To be honest, the need to prove one's principal residence in Thailand is pretty limited. Some car dealers in Thailand won't provide financing to a foreigner unless the recipient has a yellow book. Likewise, some banks require evidence of a yellow book before giving a foreigner a safe deposit box. It can also be used in applying for a driver's licence, though this isn't required, and in applying for Thai medicare in some government hospitals.


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