# Land office (สำนักงานที่ดิน)

Source: https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/glossary/land-office

**Definition:** 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.

Thailand's Department of Lands (กรมที่ดิน) sits under the Ministry of Interior and works through provincial and branch offices. Each property is dealt with at the office for the area where it stands.

On transfer day the buyer and seller, or their representatives under a [power of attorney](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/glossary/power-of-attorney), attend together. The officer checks identities and documents. For a foreign condominium buyer these include the passport, evidence of the inward remittance and two letters from the building's juristic person: one confirming the foreign ownership ratio and one confirming that no common fees are owed. The officer then assesses fees and taxes against the appraised value, payment is made, usually by cashier's cheque, and the updated title deed is handed over, normally the same day.

The land office is also where your lawyer runs the title search, obtaining the official copy of the deed and everything registered against it. See [title deeds and due diligence](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/title-deeds-and-due-diligence) and [property taxes and buying costs](https://www.thailandpropertyinvestor.com/guides/property-taxes-and-buying-costs).