Vietnam VSIC: Applying Business Codes in 2026

Identifying and assigning business codes is a mandatory step when registering a new company, notifying changes to business lines, or applying for a revised Enterprise Registration Certificate. This coding process must strictly comply with enterprise laws and the Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification issued by competent state authorities to ensure consistency, transparency, and efficient state management. Regarding Vietnam VSIC: Applying business codes in 2026, Viet An Law provides the following detailed guidance to help clients navigate the latest regulatory requirements for business line classification.

Selecting business lines for enterprise registration

According to Clause 1, Article 7 of the Law on Enterprises 2020, enterprises are free to conduct business in any sector or profession that is not prohibited by law.

Currently, the business lines prohibited by law are stipulated in Article 6 of the Investment Law 2020, amended in 2025, such as:

• Prostitution;
• Buying and selling people, tissues, corpses, body parts, and human fetuses;
• Business activities related to human cloning;
• Trading in fireworks;
• Debt collection services;…

Businesses should note that they are not permitted to operate in the aforementioned sectors. Besides being denied enterprise registration, individuals and organizations engaging in prohibited business activities may also face criminal prosecution.

For conditional business sectors as stipulated in Appendix IV of the Law on Enterprises 2020, amended in 2022, 2023, and 2025, enterprises can register these sectors during the enterprise registration process. However, after obtaining the business registration certificate, the business must meet the conditions to apply for sub-licenses (such as certificates, licenses, confirmation documents, approvals, etc.) depending on the specific business sector before commencing operations.

Vietnam VSIC: Applying business codes in 2026

According to Clause 2, Article 7 of the Law on Enterprises 2020, enterprises have the right to proactively choose their industry, profession, location, and business form; and to proactively adjust their scale and business sectors.

To guide this regulation, Article 7 of Decree 168/2025/ND-CP stipulates the application of business sector codes according to the provisions of the Law on Enterprises as follows:

Recording the four-level business sector in the Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification (VSIC)

• When registering an enterprise, notifying changes to business lines or activities, or requesting a replacement enterprise registration certificate, the business founder or the business entity shall select a four-digit economic sector code from the Vietnamese Economic Sector Classification System to record the business lines and activities in the business registration application.
• The business registration authority shall guide, verify, and record the business lines and activities of the enterprise in the National Database of Business Registration.

Conditional business investment lines

• During the enterprise registration process, in addition to specifying the industry code and business name, enterprises must detail the legal documents stipulating the conditions for that business to avoid having their registration application rejected.
• Choosing a conditional business sector will be very difficult if the enterprise does not meet the conditions for that sector. Enterprises should only register a conditional business sector if it is a mandatory sector or a primary sector that the business must choose for its operations. If it is a sector that the business anticipates future business activities in, it should not be registered as a conditional sector.

Business lines not included in the VSIC

• For business lines not included in the VSIC but regulated by other legal documents: The business sector shall be recorded according to the sector specified in those legal documents.
• For business lines not included in the VSIC and not yet regulated by other legal documents: The business registration authority shall record the addition of this business sector for the enterprise if it does not fall under the prohibited sectors for investment and business activities, and simultaneously notify the Ministry of Finance to add the new business sector.

Detailing business lines within the four-level VSIC

• If a business needs to specify its business lines in more detail than the four-digit economic sector classification, it should select a four-level business sector classification from the VSIC, then detail its business activities below that four-level business sector classification, ensuring that the detailed business lines are consistent with the selected four-level business sector classification.
• In this case, the business lines are the detailed business lines that the business has already specified.

Updated regulations on the Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification (VSIC)

From November 15, 2025, Decision No. 36/2025/QD-TTg promulgating the VSIC will replace Decision No. 27/2018/QD-TTg. Accordingly, the VSIC will include several new business sectors, while those that are no longer relevant will be removed.

According to Clause 2, Article 3 of Decision No. 36/2025/QD-TTg, the VSIC comprises 5 levels as follows:

Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification

• Level 1: consist of 22 sectors, arranged alphabetically from A to V;
• Level 2: consist of 87 sectors, each formed according to its corresponding Level 1 industry, and each assigned a two-level code from 01 to 99;
• Level 3: consist of 259 sectors, each formed according to its corresponding Level 2 industry, and each assigned a three- level code from 011 to 990;
• Level 4: consist of 495 sectors, each formed according to its corresponding Level 3 industry, and each assigned a four- level code from 0111 to 9900;
• Level 5: consist of 743 sectors, each formed according to its corresponding Level 4 industry, and each assigned a four- level code from 01110 to 99000.

Procedures for changing business codes within the VSIC framework

According to Clause 1, Article 49 of Decree 168/2025/ND-CP, in case of changes to business lines, enterprises must submit a notification dossier to the provincial business registration authority where the enterprise’s head office is located. The enterprise registration dossier includes the following documents:

• Notification of changes to enterprise registration details;
• Copy or original of the resolution or decision of the company owner for a single-member limited liability company; of the Board of Members for a limited liability company with two or more members, or a partnership; of the General Meeting of Shareholders for a joint-stock company regarding the change of the business lines and activities of the enterprise.

After receiving the enterprise registration application, the provincial business registration authority issues an acknowledgment of receipt and schedules a date for returning the results to the applicant.

Within 3 working days from the date of receipt of the application, the provincial business registration authority reviews the validity of the application and assesses market access conditions for business sectoes with restricted market access for foreign investors as stipulated by investment law, and updates the information on the business sectors in the national database of enterprise registrations.

If the enterprise so requests, the provincial business registration authority will issue a Certificate confirming the change in business registration details to the enterprise.

The above is an analysis of Vietnam VSIC: Applying business codes in 2026. If your business is having difficulty changing its business sector according to the latest economic sector classification system, please contact Viet An Law for the fastest and most accurate support!