Restaurant & Bar Thailand | Licenses & Compliance Guide

Opening a Restaurant in Thailand

Bangkok is one of the world’s best food cities, and foreign restaurateurs are part of the reason. But between the food license, alcohol license, employment rules, and monthly tax filings, the admin side can overwhelm you before you serve your first customer.

Here’s what you actually need – and what we handle for you.

What you need

Licenses you need

Four things to sort before you serve your first customer. We handle each of them end-to-end.

Food License

Apply at your local district office (Khet). They inspect your kitchen, check sanitation, and issue the license. Health inspections happen periodically. Keep your kitchen clean and your license visible.

Alcohol License

Apply through the Excise Department with your company registration and premises documents. Legal serving hours: 11:00–14:00 and 17:00–24:00. Selling outside these hours is illegal and heavily enforced.

Company Registration

Register as a Thai limited company first. Most foreign restaurateurs use a 51/49 structure with a Thai partner. BOI promotion is available for some food industry categories.

Employment

Front-of-house staff must be Thai (work permits restrict foreigners from certain occupations). Foreign chefs and managers can get work permits. Register all employees for social security within 30 days.

Monthly Tax Obligations

VAT (PP.30) on all food and beverage sales if you exceed 1.8 million baht revenue. Payroll tax (PND.1) for your staff. Withholding tax (PND.3/PND.53) on rent, service fees, and freelancer payments. Social security contributions every month.

That’s at least 4-5 filings per month. We handle all of them.

Opening a Restaurant?

We handle company registration, food and alcohol licensing support, accounting, payroll, and monthly tax filing for restaurants and bars across Bangkok. Fixed monthly fees starting at 8,900 baht.

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