section_path: Adoption and parenting
section_name: Adoption and parenting
paragraph_text: Adoption and parenting
  
  On 23 January 2025, adoption of children by married same-sex couples became legal in Thailand as a result of the Marriage Equality Act. However, single people and unmarried couples regardless of their sexual orientation or sex are not allowed to adopt children. The only exception is for single women petitioning for the adoption of a special-needs child.
  
  Married same-sex couples are also expected to have access to in vitro fertilisation (IVF) at some point, but that requires a change in the law. Since the Marriage Equality Act came into force, the Ministry of Public Health has been working to amend the surrogacy law, but it is unclear how long that will take.
  
  The bill to legalize adoption by same-sex couples was approved by the Thai parliament in June 2024. It was later signed into law by the King. The new law, however, does not change the existing adoption legislation to replace the terms "mother" and "father" with the gender neutral term "parent". LGBTQ activists have expressed concern that without this change there is risk to the parental rights of same-sex couples.
  
  Thailand had long been a popular destination for surrogacy arrangements. In 2015, however, the Thai Parliament passed a law banning foreigners from travelling to Thailand to have commercial surrogacy arrangements. Only married couples as Thai residents are allowed to make commercial surrogacy contracts.
  
  A 2024 poll found that 82% of surveyed Thais agreed that same-sex couples should have the same rights to adoption as opposite-sex couples. Of the 26 surveyed countries from around the world, Thailand ranked as number 1 in public support for adoption rights of same-sex couples.