Glossary, title deeds

Chanote (Nor Sor 4 Jor) in Thai property

โฉนดที่ดิน (น.ส. 4 จ.)

A chanote is Thailand's full land title deed, issued by the Department of Lands for a plot whose boundaries have been surveyed and fixed with numbered marker posts. It is the strongest form of land title in the country.

A chanote records the owner's name, the plot's position on the national survey grid and its area in rai, ngan and square wah (one rai is 1,600 square metres). The reverse side lists every registered dealing: sales, mortgages, leases, usufructs, superficies and servitudes. Because the boundaries are fixed, rights over chanote land can be registered at the land office without a public notice period, usually on the day of application.

For a foreign buyer the chanote matters in two ways. A villa lease or superficies should sit on chanote land, and the registration should appear on the back of the deed. A condominium can only be registered on chanote land, and each unit then receives its own unit title deed, the Or Chor 2.

Ask your lawyer to obtain the land office's copy of the deed and compare it with the seller's original. The two must match entry for entry. Our guide to title deeds and due diligence sets out the full checks.

General guidance, not legal or tax advice. Take independent legal advice before you commit to a purchase.

Terms related to chanote (nor sor 4 jor)

Nor Sor 3 Gor: Nor Sor 3 Gor is a certificate confirming the holder's right to use and possess a plot that has been mapped from aerial survey but not yet issued a full chanote. It can be sold, leased and mortgaged, and upgraded to a chanote on application.
Nor Sor 3: Nor Sor 3 is a certificate of use confirming a person's right to possess and use a plot whose boundaries have not been accurately surveyed. A sale, lease or mortgage can be registered, but only after a 30-day public notice period.
Land office: The land office is the local branch of the Department of Lands where title deeds are held and every sale, lease, mortgage and other right over property is registered. A transfer of Thai property takes legal effect only when it is registered there.
Due diligence: Due diligence is the set of legal and physical checks a buyer makes before committing to a property: who owns it, what is registered against it, whether it was lawfully built and whether the seller can deliver what the contract promises.