How to Appeal for State Welfare Card Rejection Due to Shareholder Status Despite Genuine Poverty

The Ministry of Commerce mobilizes assistance for those who did not meet the eligibility criteria for the State Welfare Card, or "Poor People's Card," explaining how to appeal in cases where individuals are genuinely poor but are listed as shareholders, directors, or partners in partnerships or companies, and what actions to take.

The Ministry of Commerce, through the Department of Business Development and provincial Commerce Offices nationwide, is mobilizing support for citizens who failed the 2026 State Welfare Card eligibility due to being shareholders, directors, or partners in partnerships or companies. They facilitate verification for those rejected to check their status as directors, partners, or shareholders in legal entities at the Department of Business Development and provincial Commerce Offices across the country. Every applicant receives a notification letter after verification. The collected data and facts will be submitted to the Ministry of Finance. Those rejected who wish to verify their information can do so from now until the end of the appeal period free of charge.

Mr. Poonpong Nainapakorn, Director-General of the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce, revealed that after the Ministry of Finance announced the eligibility results for the 2026 State Welfare Card project on 17 July 2026, with 9,314,253 people failing the criteria, previously the Ministry of Finance sent a list of 19,604,886 registrants to the Department of Business Development for verification. The review found 122,324 registrants were listed as directors, shareholders, or partners in 139,804 legal entities (some individuals appear in more than one entity).

To align with the project’s principle, which aims to remove individuals who are not truly poor but previously received the State Welfare Card, the funds can then be redirected to genuinely impoverished and needy individuals who did not receive welfare benefits in the previous round. This matches the project’s goal to assist those genuinely in poverty.

Initially, those rejected due to being shareholders, directors, or partners in partnerships or companies, including public limited companies, have provided various explanations and clarifications. These include cases of relatives borrowing their names to establish legal entities, acting as nominees for foreigners, knowing their names appear in company records but having requested removal which the company has not processed, errors in identification numbers on registration documents, or being shareholders in Pracharat Rak Samakkhi Company Limited, a social enterprise, among others.

Steps to appeal the State Welfare Card rejection due to being listed as a shareholder in a company:

1. Submit a request for rights review from 17 to 31 July 2026 via the following channels:

• Paotang application
• Government application
• Project websitehttps://welfare.mof.go.th/
• Registration units at five banks during business hours: Krung Thai Bank, Government Savings Bank, Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, Government Housing Bank, and Islamic Bank.

2. Submit a verification request to the Department of Business Development.

• Applicants may submit the verification request in person or authorize someone else to do so by completing the form "Request to Verify Director/Partner and Shareholder Status in Legal Entities," presenting their ID card, and allowing staff to copy the ID or record proof of identity. If authorized, the letter must state "For eligibility verification under the State Welfare Card registration project" and include the ID number of the rejected individual.
• Staff will verify the information.
• An official letter with the verification results will be issued, including details of partnership in registered ordinary or limited partnerships and shareholder or director status in limited or public limited companies, provided to the applicant free of charge.
• For the benefit of appellants, applicants may provide additional information explaining how they became a partner, director, or shareholder by filling out a factual statement form and submitting it to the staff (this is optional).
• The Department of Business Development compiles the data and facts to submit to the Ministry of Finance for reconsideration of eligibility, after which the Ministry of Finance will announce the results of the review.

Where to submit a verification request for the State Welfare Card rejection due to shareholder status:

• Central offices Contact the Department of Business Development, 3rd floor, Ministry of Commerce, or the Business Development Offices District 2 (Phaholyothin), District 3 (Ratchadaphisek), District 1 (Si Phraya), and District 5 (Bangna).
• Regional offices Contact the provincial Commerce Offices nationwide.

For more information, contact the Department of Business Development Call Center at 1570 or telephone 0 2547 4376.