What is DBD registration for an e-commerce website?
If you sell goods or services to customers over the internet in Thailand as a business, you are generally expected to hold an e-commerce commercial registration from the Department of Business Development (DBD), part of the Ministry of Commerce.
The requirement comes from the Commercial Registration Act B.E. 2499 (1956) and the Ministry of Commerce notification on businesses that must register (No. 11, B.E. 2553), which added selling through the internet to the list. Published guidance says the registration should be made within 30 days of starting the business.
Once registered, you can apply for the DBD Registered trustmark: a small badge that links to a DBD page confirming your shop's details. Thai shoppers look for it, particularly on independent stores where they cannot rely on a marketplace's buyer protection.
A clear note before going further: we build websites; we are not lawyers or accountants. Everything below is general information cited to public sources. Rules and forms change, so confirm your own situation with the DBD or a Thai legal adviser. If you are still mapping the bigger picture, our guide to starting an online store in Thailand puts registration alongside the other launch steps.
Who has to register with the DBD?
The notification is framed around the activity, selling by electronic means over the internet, rather than around the type of seller. In practice that covers:
- Individuals running an online shop as a regular business, such as a home baker taking orders through a website or a reseller with a WooCommerce store.
- Companies and partnerships that sell online. Being registered as a company does not by itself replace the e-commerce commercial registration; check with the DBD whether your entity needs a separate filing.
- Service businesses that take bookings and payment online, for example a clinic selling treatment packages or a tour operator selling day trips through its site.
What about marketplace-only sellers?
Selling only on Shopee or Lazada is still selling online, and DBD guidance has generally treated marketplace shops as covered too. The platforms may also ask for identity and business documents of their own. If you are weighing Shopee and Lazada against your own website, registration is not a deciding factor: you are likely to need it either way.
Registration is separate from tax. VAT, withholding tax and issuing e-Tax invoices from an online store are Revenue Department matters, and direct-marketing registration with the Office of the Consumer Protection Board is another separate rule that some online sellers must meet.
How do you register an online store with the DBD?
You can file in person or online. In Bangkok, commercial registration is handled through DBD offices; in the provinces, usually through the provincial commerce office or the local registrar. The DBD e-Service lets many sellers file without a visit. The exact document list depends on whether you are an individual or a juristic person, so treat the steps below as a planning guide and use the current DBD checklist when you file.
- Step 1
Get your website ready
Registration asks for your shop name and website address, so the domain and store should exist, even if not yet launched.
- Step 2
Gather documents
Typically an ID card (or company certificate and director ID), house registration or lease for the business address, and a map or details of the premises.
- Step 3
Prepare shop details
What you sell, how customers pay (PromptPay, cards, COD) and how goods are delivered.
- Step 4
File with the DBD
Online through DBD e-Service or at the relevant registrar office; keep the certificate you receive.
- Step 5
Apply for the DBD Registered mark
After registration, request the trustmark through the DBD trustmark system and receive your badge code.
- Step 6
Install the badge
Add the supplied code to your site so the badge links to your DBD record.
DBD Registered and DBD Verified
The two marks are often confused. DBD Registered confirms that a shop has completed e-commerce registration and that its details can be checked. DBD Verified goes further: the DBD assesses the business against its quality standards for online sellers, looking at things like how transparent the shop's information is, its terms of sale, website security, personal data protection and how it handles complaints. DBD has described Verified in tiers (Silver, Gold and Platinum), with the higher tiers tied to how long a juristic person has been registered and filing financial statements.
For a new store, DBD Registered is the realistic first step. Verified is something to aim for once the business has a track record, and its data-protection criteria are easier to meet if your site was built with a proper privacy notice and consented forms from the start.
| DBD Registered | DBD Verified | |
|---|---|---|
| What it confirms | The shop holds e-commerce commercial registration | The shop also passed a DBD quality assessment |
| Who can get it | Registered online sellers, individuals or companies | Registered sellers meeting extra criteria; higher tiers for juristic persons with a filing history |
| What DBD checks | Registration details | Information, terms, security, data protection, complaint handling |
| Good fit for | New and small stores | Established stores building buyer confidence |
Adding the trustmark to your website
Since 1 April 2025 the DBD has issued the DBD Registered mark through its dbdregistered.dbd.go.th system, which replaced the older trustmarkthai.com site, so older guides may point to the wrong address.
When your trustmark is approved, the DBD provides a short piece of HTML code. Pasted into your site, it shows the badge and links to a page on the DBD trustmark site with your registration details. Do not copy a badge image from another shop or make your own: the value of the mark is that shoppers can click it and see a real record.
Where it belongs
- The footer, so it appears on every page. This is where most Thai shoppers expect it.
- Near the checkout or payment step, next to the logos of the payment methods you accept. If you are still choosing a provider, our comparison of Omise, 2C2P and SCB payment gateways covers that decision.
- The About or Contact page, alongside your business address and registration details.
Technical points
On WordPress and WooCommerce, the code usually goes into a footer widget or the theme's footer template. On Shopify, it goes into the footer section of the theme. Check that the link opens in a way that does not take buyers out of checkout, that the badge loads on mobile, and that it survives theme updates. Keep your registered details (shop name, address, website address) matching what the site shows; a mismatch undermines the point of the badge.
Foreign-owned businesses
Foreign-run firms in Bangkok often ask whether they can register an online store at all. The registration itself is not the hard part; the question is whether the business is allowed to trade in the first place.
- Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999). Retail and wholesale are on the list of activities restricted for foreign-majority companies, with exceptions tied to minimum capital thresholds. A company that is majority foreign-owned may need a Foreign Business Licence or another route, such as BOI promotion, before selling to Thai consumers.
- Individual foreigners. Selling as an individual raises work permit and visa questions that sit outside commercial registration entirely.
- Selling abroad from Thailand. Export rules, customs and international shipping are a separate topic, covered in our guide to selling internationally from Thailand.
These are exactly the points where a Thai lawyer earns the fee. Get the structure right first, then register; changing company structure after launch means updating the registration, the trustmark and the details on your website.
How it fits your store launch
Registration sits between "we have a domain and a store" and "we are taking orders". A sensible order for a new Thai online shop looks like this:
- Settle the business structure and, for foreign-owned firms, the licensing question.
- Register the domain and start building the store, with the shop name and address fixed.
- Set up payments and delivery. Rates and pickup options for Thailand Post, KEX Express (formerly Kerry Express), Flash Express or J&T are covered in our article on connecting Thai couriers to your store.
- File the e-commerce registration and apply for the DBD Registered mark while testing.
- Install the badge, check the footer and checkout, then launch.
Our typical website project runs about 15 days from the agreed brief to launch, and large catalogues can take longer, so starting the paperwork in the first week keeps registration from holding up launch. We do not file registrations for clients, but we build the store around them: a footer ready for the badge, clear business details on About and Contact, a PDPA privacy notice and consented forms.
If you want that done for you, see our e-commerce website design and development service, built on Shopify or WooCommerce with PromptPay, cards, COD, Thai couriers and e-Tax invoice setup. The E-commerce package starts from THB 50,000 as an indicative one-time price, and the page on how much an e-commerce website costs explains what moves the final quote. WhatsApp or call +66 93 004 4098, or email service@websitedevelopmentbangkok.com, any day from 10:00 to 19:00 Bangkok time.
Keep reading
Sources
- Department of Business Development (DBD)
- DBD: Commercial Registration (English)
- DBD Registered mark system (replaced trustmarkthai.com from 1 April 2025)
- Thailand.go.th: DBD Registered electronic commerce registration mark
- Thailand.go.th: DBD Verified trust mark
- DBD: Foreign business under the Foreign Business Act B.E. 2542 (1999)
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