Digital by Default, Paper on Request: Việt Nam Rewrites the Rules That Govern Every Administrative Procedure

Every licence, registration and certificate in Việt Nam is an “administrative procedure” (thủ tục hành chính): a set of steps, documents, conditions and deadlines that a government body imposes before it will do something for a citizen or a company. For sixteen years the rules on how such procedures are created, published and pruned came from a 2010 decree that had been patched twice. On 9 October 2026 the Government replaced it with Nghị định 385/2026/NĐ-CP, and the new text is written around data and digital delivery. It took effect the very next day, 10 October, which is also Việt Nam’s National Digital Transformation Day.

The document

Number and title: Nghị định 385/2026/NĐ-CP về kiểm soát thủ tục hành chính (on controlling administrative procedures).
Issued by: the Government. It was signed on its behalf by Deputy Prime Minister Phạm Thị Thanh Trà on the proposal of the Minister of Justice.
Signed: 9 October 2026.
Effective: 10 October 2026.
Size: 7 chapters, 39 articles. Chapter IV is devoted to the use of IT in procedure control.
Repeals: Nghị định 63/2010/NĐ-CP (signed 8 June 2010) and the two decrees that amended it, 48/2013/NĐ-CP and 92/2017/NĐ-CP. It also rewrites Điều 5 of Nghị định 78/2025/NĐ-CP (the decree implementing the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents), so that procedures in legal documents now follow the procedure-control rules.

Who it covers

The decree binds central government bodies, vertically organised central agencies with local branches (customs, tax and so on), and local authorities at provincial and commune level. It also applies to anyone involved in procedure control. Three things are outside its scope: internal procedures used within a single agency, the handling of administrative violations and inspections, and procedures containing state secrets. Bodies outside the executive branch are encouraged to apply it.

The Ministry of Justice is now in charge of procedure control across the state, through its Cục Kiểm soát thủ tục hành chính (Administrative Procedure Control Department). Under the 2017 version of the old decree, the Government Office (Văn phòng Chính phủ) ran the national database. Ministries rely on their legal departments or offices, provinces on the provincial People’s Committee office, and communes on their public administration service centre.

What changes

1. Digital principles become legal requirements (Điều 4, 6, 7). Procedure control “must be tied to digital transformation and data governance”. It must also ensure that data is mined, connected, shared and reused throughout the handling of a procedure. Every procedure written into a legal document must respect “the principles of digitisation, use and interconnection of data, electronic identification, and providing information only once” (Điều 6 k1 g). People must be able to choose how they file, with priority for electronic filing and no dependence on administrative boundaries, so you can file wherever you are (Điều 7 k4).

2. A procedure must justify its existence against data (Điều 12). A drafting agency’s impact assessment must now assess how far IT can be used and whether the procedure can be done online. A procedure may only be created after that assessment, and only if it cannot be replaced by one of four alternatives:

post-inspection, risk-based management, or self-declaration;
the person doing it themselves, under their own responsibility;
delegating it to a qualified professional body;
“exploiting and using data”.

In plain terms, if the state already holds the information, a new form asking for it should not pass review.

3. Competition and innovation tests (Điều 13). A procedure needs a separate competition assessment if it could create market-entry barriers, cap the number of players or tilt the field. The same applies if it could “restrict innovation, technology development or new business models”. Procedures touching public health, the environment, security or major public interests need a risk-management assessment.

4. A heads-up before new procedures (Điều 9, 10). Before issuing a new procedure, a ministry or province must notify the Ministry of Justice on the new Nền tảng số về kiểm soát thủ tục hành chính (digital platform for procedure control). The notice gives the name, scope, the problem being solved, the compliance cost and the expected timing. The draft is then posted there for comment. There are exemptions for emergencies, for procedures that reduce burdens, for documents issued under the fast-track procedure and for internal procedures. Until the platform is fully running, notices go through the national document exchange platform, Trục liên thông văn bản quốc gia (see our post on Quyết định 43/2026).

5. Electronic results by default (Điều 15). The results of a procedure, such as a licence, certificate or decision, are provided electronically. Paper is issued only when the person asks for it or a law requires it. Implementing bodies must also apply the “provide once” principle, use electronic interconnection and give priority to data and digital services.

6. The database is the law of record (Điều 17, 25, 26). The Cơ sở dữ liệu quốc gia về thủ tục hành chính (National Database on Administrative Procedures), hosted on the National Public Service Portal, is declared “the official source of information with legal value” for publishing and applying procedures nationwide. Forms downloaded from it count the same as forms handed over the counter. Deadlines for loading published procedures into it are shorter. Ministries now have 5 working days after signing the publication decision, instead of 10 under the 2017 rules. People’s Committee chairs have 3 working days and fast-track documents 2 working days. If the Ministry of Justice finds an error, the agency has 5 working days to fix it.

7. More publication lead time at local level (Điều 17). Ministries must still publish a procedure at least 20 days before the underlying legal document takes effect. For provincial and commune chairs and delegated bodies, the minimum rises from 5 days to 10 days. Documents issued under the fast-track procedure, which take effect on signing, must have their procedures published within 3 working days.

8. Rights at the counter (Điều 18, 20, 21). Agencies must give written reasons when they refuse a filing or ask for more papers. They must not invent procedures, documents or papers beyond what the law requires. Officials must explain everything that is missing in one go, so applicants are not sent back again and again. Citizens and companies may refuse any requirement that is not in the published procedure or has not been made public.

9. Data-driven review (Chương V). Reviews of existing procedures must rely on data and evidence. Priority goes to procedures with high volumes, high costs or many complaints, to those that could be digitised or interconnected, and to any procedure that has had no filings for 3 consecutive years. Review criteria explicitly include end-to-end online delivery, automation, and the use of electronic identification, digital signatures and e-payments (Điều 31 k5). Reporting to the Ministry of Justice is electronic, through the digital platform (Điều 36).

Practical implications

For businesses: the strongest tool here is Điều 21. If an officer asks for a paper that is not in the procedure published in the national database, you can decline. Pair it with the “explain everything in one go” rule and the duty to give written reasons. Firms that lobby on regulation also get new hooks: the Điều 9 notice and posting, and the competition and innovation test in Điều 13.
For tech companies and fintechs: the innovation test gives a legal basis to argue that a new licensing step is an unjustified barrier to a new business model. Vendors building public-service systems should expect more demand for data integration, e-ID and automated processing, since those are now formal review criteria.
For citizens: expect e-results by default. Ask for paper explicitly if you need it.
For ministries and provinces: loading deadlines are shorter, the publication window is longer at local level, and monthly-to-annual electronic reporting continues.

Open questions

The decree delegates a lot to the Minister of Justice. That includes guidance on impact assessments (Điều 12 k7), on publication (Điều 16 k3), on review criteria (Điều 31 k7) and on reporting (Điều 36 k4). None of that guidance was public at the time of writing. The digital platform in Điều 23 is not yet fully operational, as the transition clause in Điều 39 k5 acknowledges. The decree also contains no sanctions of its own, so the “refuse unpublished requirements” right depends on complaint channels (Điều 22) and on existing discipline rules for officials. Finally, the one-day gap between signing and entry into force leaves little time to adapt. Proposals and drafts already in progress keep the old impact-assessment rules (Điều 39 k6).

Sources

This post is general information, not legal advice.