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Homeschooling is legal in Thailand as family-based basic education. Families apply to their local Educational Service Area Office with an education plan, and once a provincial committee approves it, the office assesses the child every year.
This guide covers the law, who can apply, what it means for expat families and online schooling, Cambridge exams in Bangkok, costs, and routes to university in Thailand and abroad.
Yes. Section 12 of the National Education Act gives families the right to provide basic education, and a 2004 ministerial regulation sets out how it works.
| Law or regulation | What it says |
|---|---|
| National Education Act 1999, section 12 | Besides the state, private providers and local government, individuals, families and other organisations have the right to provide basic education, as set out in ministerial regulations |
| Compulsory Education Act 2002 | Nine years of schooling are compulsory, from Prathom 1 to Mathayom 3, and parents must enrol their child. Parents who don't can be fined up to 1,000 baht |
| Ministerial Regulation on the Right of the Family to Provide Basic Education 2004, clauses 2 and 3 | The family applies to its Educational Service Area Office with house registration documents for the family and the child, details of where the child will learn, the qualifications of the person who will teach, and an education plan agreed with the office. Since 2017, the Provincial Education Committee has decided these applications |
| The same regulation, clauses 5 and 6 | The family assesses the child's learning and reports to the office at least once a year, and the office assesses the child at least once a year. A child who doesn't pass gets remedial teaching and is assessed again |
| The same regulation, clauses 4, 7 and 8 | The office issues transcripts and certificates to children who pass. If a family doesn't follow its plan and ignores the office's advice to improve, the committee can end the arrangement |
In Thai it's often called baan rian (บ้านเรียน). At one meeting in August 2025, Bangkok's Provincial Education Committee approved 241 families with 255 learners, according to the Ministry of Education.
A new National Education Act is in draft, and the Office of the Education Council opened a public consultation on it in August 2026. Until it passes, the 1999 Act and the 2004 regulation apply.
The Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC) sets two application windows a year to match the school semesters. This is the calendar for a child starting in Semester 1.
An education office's guide, in Thai| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 to 30 November | Tell the Educational Service Area Office for your address that you want to apply, and hand in a draft education plan. Pre-primary and primary plans go to the primary office, and secondary plans go to the secondary office |
| December | A committee of at least five office staff goes through the plan with you and asks for any changes |
| January | Send back the revised plan |
| 1 to 31 March | Apply for permission in person. The Provincial Education Committee has 30 days to decide, counted from the day the office accepts a complete application |
| 16 May | Semester 1 starts, and the office supervises the teaching through the year |
| Each January and February | The family sends its assessment report by 31 January, and the office assesses the child in February |
Families continuing from another school's first semester hand in a plan in July and apply in September, ready for Semester 2 on 1 November. These dates come from OBEC's process as published by one Educational Service Area Office in June 2025, so confirm them with your own office.
Under OBEC's guidance, the person who teaches needs at least an upper secondary (Mathayom 6) qualification or equivalent, unless the office assesses them as having the knowledge, ability or experience to teach. The plan follows the learning standards of the Basic Education Core Curriculum 2008, adapted for the child. Families can apply for any level from Anuban 1, for children who are 3 by the first day of the school year, to Mathayom 6.
Approved families receive a per-student subsidy from the state, which they can decline. If the committee refuses an application, the family can take the decision to the Administrative Court within 90 days.
Only families with Thai nationality can apply for family-based education, so foreign families can't register to homeschool in Thailand.
The Education Council's 2022 ruling, in ThaiIn May 2022 the Education Council ruled that families without Thai nationality can't apply, partly because the application needs a Thai house registration (tabien baan) and the rules allow no substitute. It added that their children can get basic education in other ways, and Thai state schools accept children without Thai nationality.
The Compulsory Education Act doesn't exempt children who aren't Thai, and we haven't found official guidance on how it applies to foreign families living in Thailand. An online school based abroad, CambriLearn included, isn't a Thai educational institution.
Where a parent and the child both hold Thai nationality, the family can apply through the Thai parent. Families design their own teaching, so the plan can include international courses, as long as it covers the Thai core curriculum's learning standards and the child passes the office's assessment.
If your child's education needs to move with you between countries, speak to a consultant about where you'll be living, because the rules depend on the country you live in.
