Updated Regulations on Notarization and Authentication in Vietnam

Recently, the Government issued Decree 104/2025/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Notarization 2024, replacing Decree 29/2015/ND-CP. This Decree will officially take effect from July 1, 2025 with many updated regulations on notarization and authentication compared to previous regulations. Below, Viet An Law will present the updated regulations on notarization and authentication in Vietnam.

Roadmap for converting and dissolving Notary Offices before January 1, 2029

Article 15 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP specifically stipulates the roadmap for completing the conversion and dissolution of Notary Offices as follows:

• For Notary Offices that self-insure all regular and investment expenses: No later than December 31, 2026;
• For Notary Offices that self-insure all regular expenses: No later than December 31, 2027;
• For Notary Offices not covered by Point a and Point b, Clause 1, Article 15, Decree 104/2025/ND-CP: No later than December 31, 2028.

Provincial People’s Committees shall, based on the provisions of the Law on Notarization 2024, Decree 104/2025/ND-CP, laws on organization and reorganization of public service units and the actual situation in the locality, decide on the conversion and dissolution of local Notary Offices under the prescribed roadmap.

Thus, the roadmap for completing the conversion and dissolution of Notary Offices must be implemented before January 1, 2029.

If Article 6 and Article 7 of Decree 29/2015/ND-CP previously did not stipulate a specific time frame, but assigned localities based on actual conditions to develop a Plan and Project for conversion, Decree 104/2025/ND-CP has stipulated the conversion roadmap. Along with that, if the old regulation in Decree 29/2015/ND-CP required the procedure for converting a Notary Office to be carried out in 2 steps: developing a Conversion Plan (Article 6) and a Conversion Project (Article 7), then in Article 9 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP, the step of developing a Plan is omitted, only requiring the development of a direct Conversion Project.

Article 14 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP also clearly stipulates: A notary office that cannot be converted must be dissolved. Dissolution can only be carried out when the conditions in Clause 2, Article 22 of the Law on Notarization are met and after resolving the regime for notaries and employees.

Specific instructions on private enterprise notary offices

Previously, the Law on Notarization 2014 only stipulated that Notary Offices were a type of partnership. However, from July 1, 2025, pursuant to the new regulations in Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 23 of the Law on Notarization 2024, Notary Offices can be organized in the form of partnerships and private enterprises. This is suitable for district-level administrative units with low population density, underdeveloped infrastructure and services, and difficulties in establishing Notary Offices in the form of partnerships.

To guide this new regulation, Article 17 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP clearly stipulates that Notary Offices are organized and operated in the form of private enterprises:

• The People’s Committee at the provincial level shall issue a list of district-level areas where Notary Offices can be established and operated in the form of private enterprises in their locality.
• A notary office in the form of a private enterprise may be converted into a notary office organized and operating in the form of a partnership. A notary office in the form of a partnership may not be converted into a notary office in the form of a private enterprise.
• Conditions, dossiers and procedures for conversion are also detailed in Article 17 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP.

Guidance on regulations on electronic notarization from July 1, 2025

Decree 104/2025/ND-CP has specified many updated regulations on notarization and authentication in Vietnam of the Law on Notarization 2024, especially on electronic notarization, specifically:

Legal validity of electronic notarization

Electronic notarization is notarization performed by electronic means to create electronic notarized documents, complying with the principles prescribed in Article 5 of the Law on Notarization 2024.

Pursuant to Article 47 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP, an electronic notarization is a document created directly in the electronic environment according to one of two processes: Direct or online electronic notarization.

• A notarized paper document converted into an electronic document with the notary’s digital signature and the notary practice organization’s digital signature is also considered an electronic notarized document.
• Notarized paper documents that are converted into electronic documents with valid digital signatures are also considered electronic notarized documents.
• Electronic notarized documents must have a QR-Code or link or code or other unique form of symbol to perform reference and verify authenticity.

Accordingly, an electronic notarized document is a document created in an electronic environment, with the digital signature of the notary and the notary practice organization, and has the same value as a paper notarized document.

Testaments cannot be notarized electronically online.

Regarding the scope of application of electronic notarization: Direct electronic notarization is applied to all civil transactions. Online electronic notarization is applied to civil transactions, except for testaments and other unilateral legal civil transactions.

Conditions for providing and using electronic notarization services

Conditions for providing electronic notarization services

• Accounts for performing electronic notarization (of notaries, notary practice organizations, diplomatic officials, and diplomatic missions) must be created on an electronic notarization platform.
• Digital signatures using timestamping services to perform electronic notarization by notaries, notary practice organizations, diplomatic officials, and diplomatic representative agencies provided by trusted service providers of Vietnam under the provisions of Vietnamese law.
• Notaries and notary practice organizations must register digital signatures to perform electronic notarization at the Department of Justice where the notary practice organization is registered to operate.
• Notary organizations providing electronic notarization services must ensure conditions regarding computers, network connections, electronic equipment and other necessary conditions.
• The provision of electronic notarization services at diplomatic missions is carried out according to the actual conditions of that diplomatic mission.

Conditions for using electronic notarization services:

• Participants in electronic notarization transactions use public digital signatures provided by Vietnamese public digital signature certification service providers under Vietnamese law or foreign digital signatures and digital signature certificates recognized in Vietnam, except where otherwise provided by law.
• Organizations and individuals participating in electronic notarization transactions can register an account to use electronic notarization services on the electronic notarization platform or be authenticated to receive a digital signature certificate via the VNeID application or other applications at the time of participating in the transaction to synchronize accounts and issue digital signature certificates under the provisions of law. Notaries and notary practice organizations are obliged to guide organizations and individuals to register accounts to use electronic notarization services and comply with relevant legal provisions.

Regulations on the ability to take photos and videos when notarizing

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 50 of the Law on Notarization 2024: A notarial requester, witness or interpreter shall append their signature to each page of a transaction in the presence of a notary. The signing of the notarized document in the presence of the notary must be photographed and stored in the notarial record..

Providing detailed guidance on this regulation, Article 46 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP clearly states that photos must meet the following requirements:

• Identify the person signing the notarized document and the notary performing the notarization;
• Clear, sharp, not easily discolored or faded; no cutting, editing, adding, or removing details or background;
• Printed in color or black and white on A4 paper; in case of using specialized photo paper, the minimum photo size is 13cm x 18cm.

In case the notarization involves a witness or interpreter, taking photos of the witness or interpreter signing or fingerprinting in the presence of the notary must also ensure the above requirements.

In case there are many people participating in the transaction signing a notarized document at the same time and at the same place, a photo of each signer may be taken in the presence of a notary or a photo of all signers in the presence of a notary; the photos must meet the above requirements. If the notarization is performed at different times or places, the photos must be taken in the presence of a notary at the corresponding times or places.

Supplementing clarity on cases considered “other legitimate reasons” for performing notarization outside the headquarters

Previously, Decree 29/2015/ND-CP did not specifically list cases considered as other legitimate reasons as prescribed in Clause 2, Article 44 of the Law on Notarization 2014.

Article 43 of Decree 104/2025/ND-CP clearly lists 4 groups of cases considered as “other legitimate reasons”, including:

• Pregnant women or women with children under 12 months old;
• Elderly people, people with disabilities or people with difficulty moving;
• People on duty in the armed forces, on official duty who cannot leave their positions;
• Other cases of force majeure or objective obstacles.

In addition, notarization outside the headquarters must be performed at a location with a specific address, consistent with the stated reason.

Specific regulations on professional liability insurance for notaries

Chapter III of Decree 29/2015/ND-CP stipulates the principles of insurance purchase, coverage and payment conditions. However, the minimum insurance amount, insurance period, deductible… are not specific.

Decree 104/2025/ND-CP from Article 28 to Article 35 has detailed regulations:

• Scope of insurance: The insurance company shall compensate the notarial practice organizations for the amount of money that the notary organization is responsible for compensating the person requesting notarization and other individuals and organizations due to the fault of its notary during the notarization process, except for the cases specified in Clause 2, Article 28.
• Insurance term: minimum 5 years from the effective date of the insurance contract.
• Insurance fee: not less than 3 million VND/year/notary
• nsurance amount: minimum 400 million VND and must be clearly stated in the insurance contract.
• Deductible level: minimum 2 million VND for one insurance claim and must be clearly stated in the insurance contract.
• Regulations on compensation principles; responsibilities of notarial practice organizations and insurance companies; Insurance contracts; Insurance claim records;…

Above are some updated regulations on notarization and authentication in Vietnam. If you have any related questions or need in-depth legal advice, please contact Viet An Law for the best advice and support!