Do I need the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC)?

The TDAC replaced the paper TM6 arrival card Thailand used for years. It is a short online declaration of who you are and where you are staying, and almost every foreign traveler needs one for every entry, tourists and long-stay visa holders alike. The only people who skip it are those staying entirely in an airport's international transit area without clearing immigration.

It is not a visa and not an entry permit. For US citizens, Thailand grants a 60-day visa exemption on arrival for tourism, free, with no advance visa. The TDAC is simply the arrival form you file before you land, and airlines check for it at boarding.

It is free and takes about ten minutes.

1. Within 72 hours (3 days) of your arrival, go to the official site, tdac.immigration.go.th. Go there directly, not through a search ad.
2. Enter your passport and trip details: arrival date, flight, and where you are staying.
3. Submit. Traveling as a family or group? The portal lets you file up to 10 cards in one go.
4. Save the confirmation, a QR code, to your phone, and a screenshot as backup. Show it if asked at boarding or on arrival.

This is the trap. Because the TDAC is mandatory and free, a crowd of lookalike sites rank in search and charge a service fee to file the same government form for you. The Thai Immigration Bureau does not charge for the TDAC. If a site asks for a payment, it is not the official one. Use only tdac.immigration.go.th.

One heads-up for later: Thailand has been testing a new arrival app (THIM), expected around late 2026. Until it officially replaces the website, the official website above is the way to file.

US citizens get 60 days visa-free for tourism, and you can extend once by 30 days at a Thai immigration office for ฿1,900, for up to 90 days total. You will need a passport valid at least 6 months beyond entry, and immigration may ask to see an onward ticket.

Worth knowing before you count on the full 60: in May 2026 the Thai cabinet approved cutting the visa exemption back to 30 days, but as of mid-2026 that had not yet been published in the Royal Gazette, so the 60-day rule was still in force. Because this is exactly the kind of thing that changes quietly, confirm the current limit on the official page before you book a long trip.

For how money works on the ground, cards, cash, ATMs and the rest, see the Thailand money guide.

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