How to check if a Thai company is actually registered
A DBD registration confirms a company legally exists — it says nothing about whether it's licensed to sell you an investment, a loan, or run an exchange.
Every legal company operating in Thailand must register with the Department of Business Development (DBD), part of the Ministry of Commerce — a separate, lower bar than being licensed by a financial regulator like SEC Thailand or the Bank of Thailand. A scam operation sometimes registers a real, legitimate-looking company, mainly to get a business bank account and look credible, without ever holding any financial license at all.
How to check a registration
- Go to the DBD DataWarehouse at datawarehouse.dbd.go.th — the official portal run by the Ministry of Commerce (the Thai-language-only interface is normal; there's no English version)
- Search by the exact company name, or its 13-digit registration number if you have one
- Check the registration status ('active' vs. dissolved), registered capital and registered address — a shell registered days ago with minimal capital is itself a signal
- Compare the registered legal name character-for-character against any contract, invoice or bank account you were asked to pay — a near-identical spelling is a common trick
A registration is not a license
Being a registered company only confirms it legally exists — it says nothing about whether it's allowed to sell securities, manage investments, lend money or operate an exchange. Always check the specific financial license here separately, on top of any DBD registration.
To see the difference in practice: Bitkub Online Company Limited is a real SEC-licensed record — notice it shows a regulator, a status and a source link, not just a registered name and address.
Questions
No — 'active' only means the company hasn't been dissolved, not that it's licensed for whatever it's offering you. Search the exact name here to check for an actual SEC or AMLO record separately.
It's a Thai government registry built primarily for the domestic market, so it stays Thai-only — a browser translation tool can help you read a result, but always cross-check the exact Thai legal name, since a translated name can differ from the registered one.
Yes — registering a company is cheap and gives an operation a real bank account and a more credible appearance, without requiring any financial license. A real registration is not proof the underlying investment offer is legitimate.
Yes — the DBD itself warns that fraudsters impersonate it through fake call centers, SMS, social media and apps. Only trust results from dbd.go.th or datawarehouse.dbd.go.th directly, never a link sent to you privately.