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Emergency numbers in Thailand — who to actually call
What this means
Thailand does not have one single emergency number that covers everything — different services answer different lines, and the one most useful to a foreigner (the tourist police on 1155) is not the one locals dial first. Knowing which number fits which problem, before you need it, is the entire value of this page. Save the two or three that match your situation now; nobody looks up phone numbers calmly mid-emergency.
Last reviewed · AraiWa editorial
Decision helper
Quick decision
Save three numbers now: 1669 for medical emergencies, 191 for police, 1155 for the tourist police — 1155 is the one with English-speaking staff, and for most non-life-threatening foreigner problems it is the right first call.
What changes your plan
In a medical emergency in a tourist area, private hospitals often send their own ambulances faster than the public line — if you know which hospital you would use, save its direct number alongside 1669.
Common mistake
Calling 191 for a dispute with a business, a scam or a lost item and hitting a language wall — for anything involving a foreigner that is not an immediate crime in progress, 1155 gets you an English speaker and a service built for exactly these cases.
Local-style move
Keep your location in Thai script available — a screenshot of your hotel's Thai address or a pinned map location. The dispatcher's English may be limited, and the ability to show or read a Thai address to a driver or officer solves half of most emergencies.
The numbers, by situation
- Medical emergency or accident: 1669 — the national emergency medical dispatch line, free from any phone.
- Crime in progress or immediate danger: 191 — the general police emergency number.
- Anything involving you as a foreigner that is not life-threatening — scams, disputes, theft reports, harassment, being lost: 1155, the Tourist Police hotline with English-speaking staff, 24 hours.
- Road trouble on highways — accidents, breakdowns, dangerous driving: 1193, the highway police.
- Tourism questions and complaints that are not police matters: 1672, the Tourism Authority of Thailand contact centre.
- Immigration matters — overstays, reporting requirements, lost entry records: 1178, the immigration hotline (office hours; complex cases still mean a visit to an immigration office).
What to have ready when you call
- Your location, as precisely as you can give it — road name, landmark, or a Thai-script address you can read out or hand to someone nearby to read.
- What happened and whether anyone is injured — lead with the injury; it determines what gets dispatched.
- Your phone number, in case the line drops.
- Patience with language: dispatchers on 191 and 1669 may have limited English. If you cannot make yourself understood, 1155 can bridge — the tourist police coordinate with other services on behalf of foreigners.
Hospitals: public line vs going direct
1669 dispatches public emergency services and works everywhere in the country. In Bangkok and major tourist areas, large private hospitals also run their own ambulances and English-speaking emergency rooms; if you already use or plan to use a specific private hospital, its direct emergency number can be the faster route in practice. This is a practical observation about response patterns, not medical advice — in a life-threatening situation, call whichever line you can reach first.
Your embassy's role — and its limits
Embassies and consulates help with what a state can do for its citizen: emergency travel documents, contact lists of lawyers and doctors, notifying family, and visiting citizens who are arrested. They do not pay bills, get people out of jail, or override Thai law. For a lost passport, the practical sequence — police report first, then embassy — is covered step by step in the lost passport guide.
Related guides
If the emergency is a scam in progress or its aftermath, the scams guide covers what the tourist police can and cannot do about each type. A missing passport has its own exact sequence — the lost passport guide walks through it. For what a hospital visit actually looks like, including public vs private, see healthcare in Thailand, and if the accident involves a rented scooter, the insurance reality is in the scooter rental guide.
Sources & further reading
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