ARCHIVED: Our Services

ARCHIVED: Document Certification


Last Updated: June 12, 2019

The Office of Commercial Affairs no longer provides document certification services. This page is for reference only.

Introduction

For the importation of medical products and apparatus into Thailand, the Thai Food & Drug Administration requires that each U.S. vendor present a “CERTIFICATE …” to their Thai importer or distributor for use in obtaining clearance of incoming goods through the Thai Customs Department.

The authority of the Office of Commercial Affairs is limited to the below named certificates. For ANY & ALL OTHER types of certificates or legal documents, please see the Royal Thai Embassy’s Consular Affairs Office official website for more information.


“CERTIFICATE …” The type of Certificate required varies depending on the following:

I) If the product is regulated in the U.S. market by the U.S. FDA, then a Certificate to Foreign Governments (or equivalent), issued by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration may be used.

II) If the product is NOT regulated in the U.S. market by the U.S. FDA, then AN ORIGINAL (AND NOT A CERTIFIED COPY) Certificate to Foreign Governments, issued by the State Chamber of Commerce or Department of Health or equivalent agency (located in the same state as the product’s manufacturer) may be used. This document must be on their official agency letterhead.

**NO self-issued certificates (i.e. on a company’s own letterhead) will be accepted**


Please Note: The Certificate formerly called a Certificate of Free-Sale may also be substituted by a Certificate to Foreign Governments or Certificate of Products for Export or Certificate of Exportability depending upon specific usage. They are, for our certification purposes, interchangeable and follow all of the same procedures.


Procedures

Some of the below steps are prerequisites required by the Royal Thai Government (noted by T), while others are requirements of the US Government (noted by US). As you may notice, we only have one requirement – but that requirement has prerequisites of its own. We have outlined them for your convenience below.

For more up to date / detailed information on the US’s procedural requirements, please contact the US Department of State’s Office of Authentications directly.

  1. The Original Document
  2. ■ If your document is an original *Certificate of … * from the U.S. FDA Go directly to step #4.

    ■ If it IS NOT from the U.S. FDA (i.e. it is a State-level document such as a manufacturer’s State Department of … or Chamber of Commerce or other State-level government Agency) – Go to step #2.

    **NO self-issued documents (i.e. on a company’s own letterhead) can be accepted**

  3. The document must be signed and notarized (US)
  4. The document must then be sent to the Secretary of State (of the state in which the document was issued), so that the Notary’s standing / document’s authenticity may be verified (i.e. Florida issued documents must go to Florida Secretary of State. The Office of the Secretary of State for each state is usually located in your state’s capital city.) (US). For a listing of all U.S. Secretaries of State, click here.
  5. The document must then be forwarded to the the Office of Authentication, at the US Department of State, at the federal level. (For full contact information, see below) (T). PLEASE ALSO NOTE: Thailand is NOT a signatory to the Apostille Convention / Treaty of 1961 and thus an Apostille document mark or certification is not accepted for use in Thailand.
  6. NOTE: Please contact their office for the most up to date information on fees and procedures before sending any documentation to them.

  7. The document must then be forwarded to us. After Step #4 You may a) either have the document returned to you first, after which you can then mail it to us OR b) alternatively, you may enclose a cover letter instructing the Office of Authentication to forward the documents directly to our office.

Before sending the document to our office (or having it forwarded to us from the Office of Authentication), please verify that you have enclosed the following:

• A cover letter with your company information (preferably on your company letterhead) and the submitted document’s point of contact (email/phone/fax), should additional information or clarification be necessary

• Our certification fee of US$ 15.00 per set of documents (Certified or company checks or money orders only. No personal checks, please as these will delay the processing of your documents. All payments should be made payable to: Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy).

• Appropriate return postage (or Fedex account # or UPS envelope). Please use a traceable mail carrier. We cannot bear responsibility for any in-transit losses that may occur, nor from any losses caused by the delivery services themselves.

If you have any questions, please contact us before sending any documents.


Contact Information

• Office of Commercial Affairs, Royal Thai Embassy

1024 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Suite #202, Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202-467-6790 x11,
Fax: 202-429-2949
Email: inquiries@commercethaiusa.org


• Office of Authentications, U.S. Department of State

(Physical Address)
Office of Authentications, U.S. Department of State
600 19th Street, NW, Washington, DC 2006
Phone: 202-485-8000

(Mailing Address)

Office of Authentications, U.S. Department of State
CA/PPT/S/TO/AUT
44132 Mercure CIR PO BOX 1206, Sterling, VA 20166-1206
Email: AOPRGSMAUTH@STATE.GOV
For more information, see: Department of State, Office of Authentications website


• U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition

5100 Paint Branch Parkway, College Park, MD 20740-3835
Toll-Free Information Line: 1-888-SAFEFOOD or (1-888-723-3366)
Email: Industry: industry@fda.gov or Consumers: consumer@fda.gov
Also useful is the: US FDA Compliance Policy Guide