Consumer Protection Alert: Controlled Contract Rules for Car and Motorcycle Rentals in Thailand

From 30 December 2025 onward, businesses that provide car and motorcycle rental services in Thailand will be subject to new regulatory requirements under the Announcement of the Contract Committee on Prescribing Car and Motorcycle Rental Services as a Controlled Contract Business B.E. 2568 (2025) (“Announcement”). This Announcement, which was published in the royal gazette on 1 October 2025, introduces specific contractual standards for the car and motorcycle rental sector. It appears to reflect the regulators’ intent to enhance consumer protection in the vehicle rental market by preventing unfair contract terms and excessive liabilities, which may have appeared frequently in car and motorcycle rental contracts. Key highlights of the Announcement are summarized below.

Scope of the Announcement
The Announcement applies to all entities that provide car and motorcycle rental services to consumers, including those that operate via electronic platforms. However, the Announcement does not extend to leasing services. The cars and motorcycles covered by the Announcement must be motor- or electric-powered and intended for personal use; rentals of vehicles to be used for commercial transportation, business operations, or monetary gain are excluded.

Contract Requirements
Car and motorcycle rental contracts must adhere to the following standards:

• Language and Format: Rental contracts must be clearly legible, written in Thai, and use a font size of no less than two millimeters and not in excess of 11 characters per inch. 
• Required Clauses: Rental contracts must incorporate the essential terms and conditions specified in the standard form attached to the Announcement.
• Duplicate Execution: Each rental contract must be executed in duplicate with identical content, and one executed original must be provided to the consumer immediately after execution.
• Electronic Platforms: For rental services provided via electronic means, rental contracts also must be clearly legible, written in Thai, comply with relevant electronic transaction laws, and incorporate the mandated terms and conditions.

Prohibited Contract Provisions
Car and motorcycle rental contracts must not contain any clauses that have the following characteristics or effects:

• Limiting or exempting the business operator from liability for breach of contract.
• Allowing the business operator to change the vehicle return period, or any other conditions, in a manner that imposes additional burdens on the consumer compared to those agreed upon at the time of contract execution.
• Permitting termination of the contract by the business operator when the consumer has not breached the contract or any material conditions.
• Allowing forfeiture of or deductions from security deposits by the business operator when the consumer has not breached the contract or any material conditions.
• Granting the business operator the right to collect, use, or disclose personal information of the consumer in violation of personal data protection laws.

Penalties for Noncompliance
According to Section 35 ter of the Consumer Protection Act B.E. 2522 (1979) (as amended) (“CPA”), any deviation from or omission of the required contract clauses will result in the noncompliant provisions being deemed automatically corrected to conform to the law. In addition, Section 35 quarter of the CPA provides that any prohibited provision included in a contract shall be deemed not to exist. 

Failure to deliver a compliant contract to the consumer within the required timeframe may result in imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to THB 200,000, or both, pursuant to Section 57 of the CPA. Where the offender is a juristic person (e.g., a company), if the offense is committed as a result of an order, action, or omission by a director, manager, or person responsible for the company’s operations, that individual also will be subject to the same penalties prescribed for the offense committed by the relevant juristic person, in accordance with Section 59 of the CPA.

Recommended Actions for Service Providers
Businesses in the car and motorcycle rental sectors should conduct a comprehensive compliance review of existing contract templates to ensure alignment with the new regulatory standards. Timely adjustments, if necessary, will help avoid legal penalties and foster greater consumer trust.

This is intended merely to provide a regulatory overview and not to be comprehensive, nor to provide legal advice. Should you have any questions on this or on other areas of law, please contact:

Nuttaros Tangprasitti
Partner

Jarawee Suksngacharoen 
Associate

Authors