Conditional business lines are business investment lines where the performance of business investment activities in that line must meet necessary conditions for reasons of national defense, national security, social order, social safety, social ethics, and community health. Aiming to reform the business investment environment, ensuring the right to freedom of business, shifting from a “pre-inspection” to “post-inspection” mechanism, the list of conditional business lines at the Law on Investment 2020 is continuously amended and supplemented towards reducing conditional business lines, especially through the amendments in 2025. Accordingly, from July 01, 2026, there are only 199 conditional business lines (requiring a business license), a decrease of 38 lines compared to the old regulations. In the article below, Viet An Law Firm will update and systematize the Conditional business lines: Vietnam’s official 2026 list.
Conditional business lines: Vietnam’s official 2026 list is prescribed in Appendix IV of the Law on Investment 2020 and through amendments in 2022, 2024, 2025, adjusted from 227 lines to 237 conditional business lines.
On the morning of December 11, 2025, the National Assembly passed the amended Law on Investment. Accordingly, the Law officially reviewed and cut 38 conditional business lines and adjusted the scope of 20 lines, in accordance with the spirit of Resolution 68-NQ/TW on improving the business environment.
Thus, from July 01, 2026, there are only 199 conditional business lines.
The conditional business lines from July 01, 2026, according to the amended Law on Investment 2025 include:
| No. | SECTORS, TRADES |
| 1 | Seal production |
| 2 | Trading in support tools (including repair) |
| 3 | Trading in various types of firecrackers, excluding explosives |
| 4 | Trading in camouflage devices and software used for recording, video recording, and positioning |
| 5 | Trading in paintball guns |
| 6 | Trading in military uniforms and equipment for the armed forces, military weapons, technical equipment, specialized military and police vehicles; components, parts, spare parts, supplies, and special equipment, and specialized technology for manufacturing them |
| 7 | Pawnshop services |
| 8 | Massage services |
| 9 | Trading in signaling devices of priority vehicles |
| 10 | Security services |
| 11 | (abolished) |
| 12 | Law practice |
| 13 | Notary practice |
| 14 | Judicial expertise practice in the fields of finance, banking, construction, antiques, relics, and copyright |
| 15 | Asset auction practice |
| 16 | Bailiff practice |
| 17 | Practice of management and liquidation of assets of enterprises and cooperatives in the process of bankruptcy resolution |
| 18 | Accounting services |
| 19 | Auditing services |
| 20 | (abolished) |
| 21 | (abolished) |
| 22 | Duty-free goods business |
| 23 | Bonded warehouse and container freight station business |
| 24 | Business of locations for customs procedures, gathering, inspection, and customs supervision |
| 25 | Securities trading |
| 26 | Business of securities registration, depository, clearing, and settlement services of the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation, listed securities trading market organization, and other types of securities |
| 27 | Insurance business |
| 28 | Reinsurance business |
| 29 | Insurance brokerage |
| 29a | (abolished) |
| 30 | Insurance agency |
| 31 | Price appraisal services |
| 32 | Lottery business |
| 33 | Prize-winning electronic games business for foreigners |
| 34 | Credit rating services |
| 35 | Casino business |
| 36 | Betting business |
| 37 | Voluntary supplementary pension fund management services |
| 38 | Petroleum trading |
| 39 | Gas trading |
| 40 | (abolished) |
| 41 | Trading in industrial explosives (including destruction activities) |
| 42 | Trading in explosive precursors |
| 43 | Business lines using industrial explosives and explosive precursors |
| 44 | Blasting services |
| 45 | Trading in chemicals, excluding chemicals prohibited under the International Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, Use and Destruction of Chemical Weapons |
| 46 | Alcohol trading |
| 47 | Trading in tobacco products, tobacco raw materials, machinery, and equipment specialized for the tobacco industry |
| 48 | Trading in food under the specialized management of the Ministry of Industry and Trade |
| 49 | Operation of Commodity Exchange |
| 50 | Electricity generation, transmission, distribution, wholesaling, and retailing |
| 51 | Rice export |
| 52 | (abolished) |
| 53 | (abolished) |
| 54 | (abolished) |
| 55 | Mineral trading |
| 56 | Trading in industrial precursors |
| 57 | Goods trading and activities directly related to goods trading of foreign service providers in Vietnam |
| 58 | Multi-level marketing business |
| 59 | E-commerce activities |
| 60 | Oil and gas activities |
| 61 | (abolished) |
| 62 | Vocational education activities |
| 63 | Vocational education quality accreditation |
| 64 | Occupational skill assessment services |
| 65 | Occupational safety technical inspection services |
| 66 | Occupational safety and hygiene training services |
| 67 | (abolished) |
| 68 | Service of sending workers abroad under contracts |
| 69 | Voluntary drug rehabilitation services, tobacco cessation, HIV/AIDS treatment, care for the elderly, people with disabilities, and children |
| 70 | (abolished) |
| 71 | Road transport business |
| 72 | (abolished) |
| 73 | Production, assembly, and import of automobiles |
| 74 | Motor vehicle inspection services |
| 75 | Automobile driving training services |
| 76 | Traffic safety verifier training services |
| 77 | Driving test services |
| 78 | Traffic safety verification services |
| 79 | Inland waterway transport business |
| 80 | (abolished) |
| 81 | Training services for crew members and drivers of inland waterway vehicles |
| 82 | Training and coaching of maritime crew members and organization of recruitment and supply of maritime crew members |
| 83 | (abolished) |
| 84 | Sea transport business |
| 85 | (abolished) |
| 86 | Import and dismantling of used seagoing ships |
| 87 | (abolished) |
| 88 | Seaport exploitation business |
| 89 | Air transport business |
| 90 | Design, production, maintenance, and testing services for aircraft, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers, and aircraft equipment and devices in Vietnam |
| 90a | Import, temporary import for re-export, temporary export for re-import of unmanned aircraft, other flying vehicles, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers, and equipment and devices of unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles |
| 90b | Trading in unmanned aircraft, other flying vehicles, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers, and equipment and devices of unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles |
| 90c | Research, manufacture, testing, repair, and maintenance of unmanned aircraft, other flying vehicles, aircraft engines, aircraft propellers, and equipment and devices of unmanned aircraft and other flying vehicles |
| 91 | Airport and airfield business |
| 92 | Aviation services at airports and airfields |
| 93 | (abolished) |
| 94 | Training and coaching services for aviation personnel |
| 95 | Railway transport business |
| 96 | Railway infrastructure business |
| 97 | (abolished) |
| 98 | (abolished) |
| 99 | Dangerous goods transport services |
| 100 | Pipeline transport business |
| 101 | Real estate business |
| 102 | Clean water (domestic water) business |
| 103 | (abolished) |
| 104 | Construction investment project management consultancy services |
| 105 | Construction survey services |
| 106 | Construction design and design verification services |
| 107 | Construction supervision consultancy services |
| 108 | Construction execution services |
| 109 | (abolished) |
| 110 | (abolished) |
| 111 | Construction inspection services |
| 112 | Specialized construction experiment services |
| 113 | (abolished) |
| 114 | (abolished) |
| 115 | Urban and rural planning consultancy services |
| 116 | Trading in white asbestos of the Serpentine group |
| 117 | Postal services |
| 118 | Telecommunications services |
| 119 | Trust services |
| 120 | Publishing house activities |
| 121 | Printing services, excluding packaging printing |
| 122 | Publication distribution services |
| 123 | Social network services |
| 124 | Online game services on telecommunications networks and the Internet |
| 125 | Pay radio and television services |
| 126 | General electronic information site establishment services |
| 127 | Processing, recycling, repairing, and renewing used information technology products under the List of used information technology products prohibited from import for foreign partners |
| 128 | Content information services on mobile telecommunications networks and the Internet |
| 129 | Domain name registration and maintenance services |
| 130 | (abolished) |
| 131 | Electronic authentication services |
| 132 | Cyber information security products and services business |
| 132a | Cyber security products and services business (excluding cyber information security products and services business and civil cryptography products and services business) |
| 133 | Imported press distribution services |
| 134 | Civil cryptography products and services business |
| 135 | Trading in jamming equipment and mobile information wave breaking devices |
| 136 | Preschool education activities |
| 137 | General education activities |
| 138 | Higher education activities |
| 139 | Activities of foreign-invested educational institutions, foreign education representative offices in Vietnam, and branches of foreign-invested educational institutions |
| 140 | Continuing education activities |
| 141 | Specialized school activities |
| 142 | Joint training activities with foreign partners |
| 143 | Education quality accreditation |
| 144 | (abolished) |
| 145 | Fishery exploitation |
| 146 | Fishery business |
| 147 | Trading in aquatic feed and animal feed |
| 148 | Testing services for aquatic feed and animal feed |
| 149 | Trading in biological preparations, microorganisms, chemicals, and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry |
| 150 | Newly building and modifying fishing vessels business |
| 151 | Fishing vessel registration |
| 152 | Training and fostering fishing vessel crew members |
| 153 | (abolished) |
| 154 | (abolished) |
| 155 | (abolished) |
| 156 | (abolished) |
| 157 | (abolished) |
| 158 | Trading in plant protection drugs |
| 159 | Treatment services for objects subject to plant quarantine |
| 160 | Testing services for plant protection drugs |
| 161 | Plant protection services |
| 162 | Trading in veterinary medicine, vaccines, biological preparations, microorganisms, and chemicals used in veterinary medicine |
| 163 | Veterinary technical services |
| 164 | Animal testing and surgery services |
| 165 | Vaccination, diagnosis, prescription, treatment, and animal health care services |
| 166 | Testing and assay services for veterinary medicine (including veterinary medicine, aquatic veterinary medicine, vaccines, biological preparations, microorganisms, chemicals used in veterinary medicine, and aquatic veterinary medicine) |
| 167 | Farm husbandry business |
| 168 | Cattle and poultry slaughtering business |
| 169 | (abolished) |
| 170 | (abolished) |
| 171 | Fertilizer trading |
| 172 | Fertilizer testing services |
| 173 | Trading in plant varieties and animal breeds |
| 174 | Trading in aquatic breeds |
| 175 | Testing services for plant varieties and animal breeds |
| 176 | Testing services for aquatic breeds |
| 177 | Testing and assay services for biological preparations, microorganisms, chemicals, and environmental treatment substances in aquaculture and animal husbandry |
| 178 | Trading in genetically modified products |
| 179 | Medical examination and treatment services |
| 180 | (abolished) |
| 181 | Pharmaceutical business |
| 182 | Cosmetic production |
| 183 | Trading in chemicals, insecticidal and germicidal preparations used in household and medical fields |
| 184 | Trading in medical equipment |
| 185 | Intellectual property assessment services (including assessment of copyright and related rights, industrial property assessment, and assessment of rights to plant varieties) |
| 186 | Radiation job performance services |
| 187 | Atomic energy application support services |
| 188 | Conformity assessment services |
| 189 | (abolished) |
| 190 | Technology assessment, valuation, and appraisal services |
| 191 | Intellectual property representation services (including industrial property representation services and representation services for rights to plant varieties) |
| 192 | Film dissemination services |
| 193 | Relic and antique assessment services |
| 194 | Services of planning, project formulation, design, construction organization, and construction supervision consultancy for projects on preservation, renovation, and restoration of monuments |
| 195 | Karaoke and discotheque services |
| 196 | Travel services |
| 197 | Sports activities of sports enterprises and professional sports clubs |
| 198 | (abolished) |
| 199 | Trading in audio and video recordings of music, dance, and stage performances |
| 200 | Accommodation services |
| 201 | Trading in relics and antiques, excluding export of relics and antiques; services of preservation, restoration, digitization, and database construction of relics and antiques |
| 202 | Import of cultural goods under the specialized management of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism |
| 203 | Museum services |
| 204 | Video game business (excluding prize-winning electronic games for foreigners and online prize-winning electronic games) |
| 205 | Land investigation and assessment consultancy services |
| 206 | Land use planning and plan formulation services |
| 207 | (abolished) |
| 208 | (abolished) |
| 209 | Land price determination services |
| 210 | Surveying and mapping services |
| 211 | Hydrometeorological forecasting and warning services |
| 212 | Groundwater drilling and groundwater exploration services |
| 213 | Water resource exploitation services |
| 214 | Services supporting decision-making on regulation and distribution of water resources; services supporting decision-making on the operation of reservoirs and inter-reservoirs |
| 215 | Mineral exploration services |
| 216 | Mineral mining |
| 217 | Hazardous waste transport and treatment services |
| 218 | Import of scrap |
| 219 | Environmental monitoring services |
| 220 | Business activities of commercial banks |
| 221 | Business activities of non-bank credit institutions |
| 222 | Business activities of cooperative banks, people’s credit funds, and microfinance institutions |
| 223 | Provision of intermediary payment services, provision of payment services not through customers’ payment accounts |
| 224 | Provision of credit information services |
| 225 | Foreign exchange business and service provision activities of organizations that are not credit institutions |
| 226 | Gold trading |
| 227 | (abolished) |
| 228 | Training and granting certificates for radio operators |
| 229 | (abolished) |
| 230 | Data intermediary products and services business |
| 231 | Data analysis and synthesis products and services business |
| 232 | Data exchange services |
| 233 | Activities providing services related to crypto assets |
| 234 | Personal data processing services |
From July 01, 2026, the following 38 conditional business lines will be officially abolished:
Abolished conditional business lines
| Abolished conditional business lines | Analysis of reasons for abolition |
| Finance, accounting, trade | |
| Business of tax procedure services | Abolished because the State shifts to a post-inspection mechanism; the service is mainly for declaration support and no longer poses high risks. |
| Business of customs procedure services | Low risk thanks to electronic customs processes and risk management application; no need for business conditions to limit participating enterprises. |
| Insurance auxiliary services | Only supportive (not insurance business), quality can be controlled by contracts and market mechanisms, conditions are not needed. |
| Commercial assessment services | Assessment responsibility is directly linked to liability for damages; civil and commercial laws are sufficient for regulation. |
| Temporary import for re-export of goods subject to special consumption tax | Activities are already controlled by customs, tax, and risk management; licenses do not increase management efficiency. |
| Temporary import for re-export of frozen food | Food safety is managed by quality standards and quarantine, no separate business conditions needed. |
| Temporary import for re-export of goods on the List of used goods | Environmental risks are controlled by technical regulations and specialized inspections, unrelated to business capacity. |
| Energy audit | Belongs to the technical field; professional standards of auditors and audit reports are fully controlled by specialized laws. |
| Money printing and minting activities | Belongs to State monopoly, no longer a “business line” to apply conditions. |
| Storage services | Currently, there is a sufficient legal framework for security and data storage; business conditions are unnecessary in the context of strong digitization. |
| Culture, society and health | |
| Employment services | Shifted to management by operational standards, contractual responsibilities, and post-inspection; no longer risks requiring market entry restrictions. |
| Cremation facility management and operation services | Safety, environment, and technical processes are already managed by specialized standards; conditions to limit business entities are not needed. |
| Cosmetic surgery services | Transferred to the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment for management according to facility licensing conditions and practicing certificates. |
| Performing arts, fashion shows, beauty contests, and modeling contest organization services | No license needed for “sectors/trades”, only management by specific events. |
| Construction, transport | |
| Automobile warranty and maintenance services | Common technical service; the market self-regulates through competition and quality assessment, no restrictive conditions needed. |
| Newly building, modifying, repairing, and restoring inland waterway vehicles services | Quality is controlled by vehicle registration and technical standards – not dependent on the enterprise’s business capacity. |
| Maritime safety assurance services | Separated into specific safety standards and technical requirements; no sector conditions needed. |
| Sea towage services | Regulated by safety standards and ship owner’s responsibility; no market entry barriers needed. |
| Newly building, modifying, and repairing seagoing ships services | Technical standards and registration are the main management tools; business conditions are no longer appropriate. |
| Flight operation assurance services | No longer in the conditional business list as it falls under the management authority of the aviation agency under specialized laws. |
| Multimodal transport services | Management mechanism by type of transport is sufficient; no separate conditions for enterprises needed. |
| Architectural services | Only requires individual practicing certificates under specialized laws. |
| Construction activities of foreign contractors | Shifted to management by capacity certification, bid dossiers, and contracts; no sector license needed. |
| Construction investment cost management services | Conditions are now applied to practicing individuals; enterprises do not need separate business conditions. |
| Apartment building operation management services | Shifted to capacity standard registration mechanism; the market is stable, no need for business conditions under the Law on Investment. |
| Agriculture – forestry, fishery | |
| Raising and growing wild flora and fauna species listed in CITES Appendices and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants, forest animals, and aquatic products | Activities are managed by CITES permits and conservation laws; setting business conditions is duplicative and unnecessary. |
| Raising common forest animals | Aiming for management by farm registration and animal origin, no conditions needed for enterprises. |
| Export, import, re-export, transit, and introduction from the sea of natural specimens of species listed in CITES Appendices and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants, forest animals, and aquatic products | Managed by CITES permits, not business conditions. |
| Export, import, re-export of specimens raised for reproduction, raised for growth, or artificially propagated of species listed in CITES Appendices and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants, forest animals, and aquatic products | Similarly, using management tools of the CITES Convention and the Law on Forestry. |
| Processing, trading, transporting, advertising, displaying, and storing specimens of flora and fauna species listed in CITES Appendices and the List of endangered, precious, and rare forest plants, forest animals, and aquatic products | Managed by origin tracing and specialized licenses; requiring business conditions exceeds management needs. |
| Trading in food under the specialized management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development | Controlled by food safety standards, facility registration, and post-inspection. |
| Animal and animal product quarantine isolation services | Technical standards, quarantine, and veterinary supervision already exist; no need for business conditions to limit the number of enterprises. |
| Technology, land | |
| Data center services | Need to encourage investment in digital infrastructure; cybersecurity is managed under the Law on Cybersecurity, no sector barriers needed. |
| Inspection, calibration, and testing services for measuring instruments and measurement standards | Activities depend on technical standards and testing laboratory capacity; business conditions are not a suitable tool. |
| Services of building information technology technical infrastructure and building software for land information systems | Managed by bidding, technical standards, information security – not based on business conditions. |
| Land database construction services | Shifted to technical standards – security – capacity in bidding; conditions removed to create equal competition. |
From the above analysis, it can be seen that the list of conditional business lines is always updated and perfected to meet management requirements and economic development practices. Viet An Law Firm always accompanies enterprises in grasping and correctly applying the latest regulations, contributing to ensuring business activities are deployed legally and effectively.
Clients having related questions or needing advice on business licenses, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best advice and support!
