Anyone that has a prepaid SIM in their Thai mobile MUST register their SIM card between today, February 1st, and the end of July. Failure to do so means your mobile number will unable to use data or make calls when the deadline passes.

Mandatory sim card registrationin Thailand starts today

The rules are being enforced by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), and anyone that has a prepaid SIM card in Thailand must provide their personal details before July 31st. This does not apply to those people on contracts, as their details are already captured.

RELATED: Deadline looms for prepaid mobile users in Thailand to register

The new rules start today on February 1st, after which users will have 6 months to provide their personal details (name, ID, and of course the phone number in question). Failure to do so means that you will be unable to make outgoing calls, text or use data by the end of the deadline. However, you will still be able to receive calls.

How to register your SIM card in Thailand

If you are a foreign citizen in Thailand, you will need to take your passport to register at any of the “subscriber information registration points” at Big C and Tesco Lotus, as well as 7-11 stores. It will also be possible to register at Krungthai bank in the near future (we have not had confirmation of the date yet), or at your local NBTC office if you are lucky to have one nearby (there are offices in Bangkok and Phuket). Thais will just need to show their ID card to register.

If you are abroad between February 1st and 31st of July, it appears that you will not be able to register by phone or the Internet, as it would impossible to prove who you are without showing your ID in person.

Tourists who come to Thailand for a holiday and purchase a prepaid SIM card will need to show their passport at the point of purchase in order to qualify as registered.

Even if you have previously provided your information when you purchased a SIM card in Thailand, it’s likely that you are not registered because the mobile operators seem to have ignored the registration requirements in the past.

The easiest way to register your SIM card is to visit the local store of your mobile network provider.

Jonathan, one of the writers for ThaiTech recently registered his prepaid SIM card at the DTAC store in Hua Hin. To register Jonathan gave the DTAC staff his passport who then entered his details into the computer, and the whole process took no more than 5 minutes.

If you are unsure, we advise that you visit your network provider’s store to double check whether your SIM card is already registered. Alternatively, you can call your operator’s customer service numbers, as below.

Contact details for the mobile operators in Thailand

Here are the customer service contact details each mobile operator in Thailand:

AIS: call 1175 in Thailand or +66 2299 5000 from abroad.

call in Thailand or from abroad. DTAC: call 1678 (press 7 for English) in Thailand or +66 2202 8000 from abroad.

call (press 7 for English) in Thailand or from abroad. True: call 1331 in Thailand or +66 89100 1331 from abroad.

So don’t delay, register today! Get down to your local mobile company’s store and ask them to register, then let us know in the comments how long it took, and if the staff even knew anything about it.

We’re sure there will be some very interesting stories related to SIM card registration in Thailand on Thaivisa in the next few months!