Land Title Deeds in Thailand ExplainedChanote, Nor Sor 3 Gor, Sor Por Kor and the rest
Every land listing on BoardDee shows a Title Deed Document field. It might say Chanote (Nor Sor 4), or Sor Por Kor (ส.ป.ก.), or Por Bor Tor 5 (ภ.บ.ท.5). To a Thai buyer these are everyday words. To everyone else they look like seven interchangeable options.
They are not interchangeable. They range from full, freely transferable ownership down to a document that is not evidence of ownership at all. The difference decides whether the land can be sold to you, whether a lease can be registered on it, and in one case whether the sale is lawful in the first place.
This page explains what each one is. It is reference information, not legal advice — see the notice at the bottom.
At a glance
| Document | Thai | Issued by | Can it be sold? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chanote | โฉนด (น.ส.4) | Land Department | Yes — full ownership, freely transferable |
| Nor Sor 3 Gor | น.ส.3 ก. | Land Department | Yes — confirmed right of possession |
| Nor Sor 3 | น.ส.3 | Land Department | Yes, but with a 30-day public notice period |
| Sor Por Kor 4-01 | ส.ป.ก. 4-01 | ALRO (not the Land Department) | No — inheritance to farming heirs only |
| Por Bor Tor 5 | ภ.บ.ท.5 | Local authority | Not an ownership document at all |
| Sor Kor 1 | ส.ค.1 | Land Department (historic) | Effectively no — see below |
Chanote — Nor Sor 4 Jorโฉนด
The strongest land document in Thailand, and the only one that is true freehold ownership.[1][2]
The plot has been surveyed by the Land Department using GPS, and its corners are marked with concrete posts on the ground. Because the boundaries are certain, every real right — sale, lease, mortgage, usufruct, superficies — can be registered against it at the Land Office without conditions.[1][2]
If a listing says Chanote and the seller can produce the book, you are looking at the cleanest situation Thai land law offers.
Nor Sor 3 Gorน.ส.3 ก.
A confirmed certificate of use. The Land Department has measured the plot, but the survey is based on aerial photography rather than concrete boundary markers. In practice this means the documented boundaries and the boundaries on the ground can differ.[1][2]
It carries a strong right of possession, real rights can be registered against it, and it can usually be upgraded to a Chanote by application at the local land office. For most purposes it is close to Chanote — the open question is always exactly where the edges are.[1][2]
Nor Sor 3น.ส.3
A certificate of use for land that has never been precisely measured by the Land Department. There are no exact boundaries, and boundary and ownership disputes are common.[2][9]
It can be sold, but a transfer requires a 30-day public notice period — precisely because the absence of surveyed boundaries means someone else may have a competing claim. It can be upgraded to Nor Sor 3 Gor, and from there to Chanote.[1][2]
Treat the 30-day notice as information, not as an obstacle: it exists to surface exactly the problem you would want surfaced before paying.
Sor Por Kor 4-01ส.ป.ก. 4-01
This land cannot be sold. To anyone.
Sor Por Kor is land-reform land, allocated by the Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) — not the Land Department — to qualifying landless Thai farmers. It may be used for agriculture only. It cannot be sold, cannot be pledged as collateral for a bank loan, and passes only by inheritance to heirs who will farm it.[3][5]
For a foreign buyer the position is harder still: foreigners cannot hold Sor Por Kor land directly or through any structure, any disguised transfer is void, and the State may reclaim the land. Because ALRO rather than the Land Department issues it, transactions cannot be registered at the Land Office at all.[3][5]
If you see agricultural land offered at an unusually good price, this is the first thing to check. A Sor Por Kor plot being “sold” is not a bargain — it is a transaction that cannot lawfully complete.
Por Bor Tor 5ภ.บ.ท.5
This is not a land title document. It is not issued by the Land Department.
It is a record that someone has been paying an annual local land-use tax. It shows the name of the taxpayer — not an owner. The Supreme Court confirmed the point in Ruling 7740/2012: Por Bor Tor 5 conveys no ownership rights, only possession rights.[4]
Historically it was used to show occupation of a plot in order to apply for a Sor Kor 1. That route is closed (see below).[4][6]
Por Bor Tor 5 land is regularly advertised for sale. What is actually being sold is somebody’s tax receipt and whatever physical possession comes with it.
Sor Kor 1ส.ค.1
A notification of possession, from the era after the Land Code of 1954. None have been issued since 1972.[6]
It was once possible to apply to upgrade a Sor Kor 1 to a Nor Sor 3 or a Chanote, but that window expired in 2010. Today the only remaining route is a court procedure.[6]
If you encounter one, you are looking at a historical claim, not a title.
Other
Anything the seller has that does not fit the six above. Ask what it is, specifically, before anything else.
What this means if you are not Thai
The document type matters even more to a foreign buyer than to a Thai one — but not for the reason most people assume.
Under Section 86 of the Land Code, foreigners may acquire land only by virtue of a treaty granting the right to own immovable property. No such treaty currently exists with any country. So in the ordinary case, a foreigner cannot own land in Thailand in their own name, whatever the document says.[7][8]
What the document decides is what your Thai-side arrangement can actually do with the plot:
- On a Chanote or Nor Sor 3 Gor, real rights can be registered at the Land Office — which is what makes a long lease, a usufruct or a mortgage enforceable rather than merely promised.[1][5]
- On a Sor Por Kor, nothing can be registered at the Land Office at all, because the Land Office did not issue it.[3]
- On a Por Bor Tor 5, there is no title to register anything against.[4]
That is the practical hierarchy. It is less about what you can buy and more about what can be written down in a register that a court will later look at.
Before you pay
- Ask to see the actual document, and check that the name on it is the person selling.
- For Chanote, the plot's corners should be findable on the ground.
- For Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Gor, ask how the boundaries were established.
- For anything below that, ask why the seller has that document and not a better one. There is always an answer; it is worth hearing before you commit.
- Have a Thai lawyer read the document before money moves. This is routine, it is not expensive relative to the transaction, and it is the single step that most protects you.
FAQ
Can a Nor Sor 3 Gor be upgraded to a Chanote? Yes — the holder can apply to the Land Department for a survey and upgrade to a full Chanote.
Is it safe to buy Sor Por Kor land? No. Sor Por Kor land cannot legally be sold to anyone; a purported sale is a transaction that cannot lawfully complete.
What deed does a condominium have? A condominium unit has its own unit title deed under the Condominium Act — a different instrument from land deeds, and the one form of freehold a foreigner can hold outright.
Sources
- Siam Legal International — Title Deeds in Thailand
- ThaiLawOnline — Title Deeds in Thailand: Chanote, Nor Sor 3
- ThaiLawOnline — Sor Por Kor 4-01 (SPK)
- ThaiLawOnline — Por Bor Tor 5 in Thailand (PBT 5 or ภ.บ.ท.5)
- ThaiLawOnline — Land Ownership Restriction in Thailand: Law and Rights
- Thailand Law Online — Land Title Deeds / Land Documents in Thailand
- Siam Legal Thailand Law Library — Land Act 2497: Limitations of Foreigner Rights (Sections 86–96)
- Thailand Law Online — Thai Land Law: full translation of the Land Code Act B.E. 2497
- Integrity Legal — Thai Title Deeds: What Is a “Black Chanote” (Nor Sor 3 and Nor Sor 3 Khor)?