The origin of the Department of Science Service (DSS) is dated back to 1891, when it was set up as a small unit in the Royal Department of Mines and Geology. In 1902, the unit was then promoted to the Assay Office under the Ministry of Royal Treasury. In 1918, the Assay Office was legalized to foresee all scientific activities under the new name "Sala Yaktat" which functioned as the Government Laboratory under the administration of the Department of Commerce and Statistical Forecasting. On January 30, 1933, the Laboratory became the Department of Science working under the Ministry of Finance. The Department of Science was then transferred to be under the Ministry of Industry in 1942. In 1979, the Department of Science was named Department of Science Service under the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Energy. The Ministry, presently, was named the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST).

From the DSS's early day until today, the responsibility and the amount of works have grown which resulting in several organization spin-offs. Some of them are, Government Pharmaceutical Organization GPO (in 1939), Office of the National Research Council of Thailand, NRCT (in 1956), Office of Atoms for Peace, OAEP (in 1962), Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research, TISTR (in 1963), Thai Industrial Standard Institute, TISI (in 1979), and National Institute of Metrology Thailand, NIMT (in 2008).