The Ministry of Interior's new regulation on family registration was announced in the Royal Gazette on Monday to align with the equal marriage bill that will take effect on Thursday.
The Ministry of Interior Regulation on Family Registration (No.4) BE 2568 (2025) will support same-gender families, including couples who are engaged or married, said Karom Polpornklang, a deputy government spokesman.
Under its new wording, the terms "man", "woman", "husband", "wife", and "husband and wife" have been replaced by "person", "fiance", "fiancee", and "spouse".
The new terms will affect the operation of the family registration and recording system of district offices of the Interior Ministry, Mr Karom said.
So the ministry has adjusted the system to support the new terms, allowing same-sex couples to register their marriage or even divorce in the future, he added.
The change will come into force from Thursday, the same day that the equal marriage bill takes effect, the deputy government spokesman said.
The Department of Provincial Administration, as the central registrar, has prepared and rehearsed the operations with the registration departments of 878 district offices, along with 50 district offices in Bangkok, 94 Thai embassies and consulates around the world to make sure that marriage registrations proceed smoothly from Thursday, Mr Karom said.
Bangkok Pride posted a statement on its Facebook page welcoming the new regulation.
"This marks a 104-day wait since the Marriage Equality Law received royal endorsement on September 24, 2024," it posted.
"The Ministry of Interior has now issued the necessary family registration regulations, effective on Jan 23. From this date forward, anyone, regardless of their gender, will truly be able to marry without legal restrictions tied to gender."