Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha Tuesday confirmed he has received a police recommendation that ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra should be stripped of his police lieutenant colonel rank.
Gen Prayut said he had read the proposal, but had yet to sign it.
When he does sign the document, he will send it to His Majesty the King for endorsement, he said.
It is not necessary to forward it to the cabinet for consideration, he added.
The latest push to strip Thaksin of his rank came last month, when Gen Prayut ordered Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya to set up a panel to look into the matter.
Gen Paiboon had promised action by Sept 1, but Tuesday came and went without any movement on the years-long controversy. Thaksin has stopped using the title and his son Panthongtae recently urged the government to take action.
A joint meeting between the Royal Thai Police and Council of State, which serves as the government's legal adviser, agreed Thaksin can be stripped of his rank.
Their decision was based on Thaksin being a criminal fugitive, one of seven criteria needed to strip a police officer of his rank, according to Gen Paiboon.
The Council of State ruled in 2011 that the criteria can apply to retired officers.
Thaksin left the police force before the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders sentenced him in absentia in 2008 to two years in prison for abuse of authority while he was premier, in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land case.
The head of a retired police officers association, worried the Thaksin case sets a precedent, yesterday petitioned the Administrative Court calling for the revocation of rules introduced by police concerning the stripping of a former officer's rank.
Pol Col Banjob Sudjai said the Royal Thai Police was not authorised to devise rules to withdraw the rank of retired officers or those who have left the force.
Police administrative power under the Police Act should not apply to those who have left the force, he said. "Moves to strip ex-officers of their ranks are unprecedented and this is happening with Thaksin," he said.