Real estate broker license in Vietnam

Real estate broker license in Vietnam is a condition required for real estate brokerage business. This certification helps validate professional competence and ensures quality and ethics in important transactions such as real estate. Viet An Law will summarize the legal contents related to this license in the article below.

Legal basis

• Law on real estate business 2014;
• Decree No. 16/2022/ND-CP on penalties for administrative violations in construction;
• Circular 11/2015/TT-BXD, amended and supplemented by Circular 23/2016/TT-BXD, Circular 28/2016/TT-BXD, Circular 02/2019/TT-BXD.

What is a real estate broker?

According to the provisions of the Law on Real Estate Business, the real estate broker will perform the following tasks:

• Looking for partners who meet the customer’s conditions to participate in negotiations and sign contracts.
• An authorized representative to perform work related to the procedures of real estate purchase, sale, transfer, lease, sublease, and lease purchase.
• Provide information and support to parties in the negotiation and signing of real estate purchase and sale contracts, transfer, lease, sublease, and lease purchase.

In practice, there are two types of real estate brokerage activities: enterprises (legal entities) and independent individuals. Accordingly, a real estate broker is an intermediary in real estate trading activities between the buyer and the seller. Therefore, the law stipulates that this broker must not be a party to the above trading relationship, but only benefits based on the remuneration or commission obtained from the transaction.

What is a real estate broker license?

Real estate brokerage is one of the professions that are regulated by law as a conditional business. Accordingly, a real estate brokerage license is a mandatory condition for individuals and legal entities to be able to carry out real estate brokerage activities.

Article 62 of the Law on real estate business 2014 provides:

• For enterprises providing real estate brokerage services: there must be at least 02 people with real estate brokerage licenses.
• For individuals providing independent real estate brokerage services: must have a real estate brokerage license and register for tax payment in accordance with tax laws.

Thus, it is not necessary to work in a real estate company to have a real estate license. However, if you are a manager who operates a real estate exchange or is an employee directly involved in real estate brokerage, it is mandatory to have a real estate brokerage license.

Conditions for issuance of a real estate broker license in Vietnam

Individuals who want to be granted a real estate brokerage license must meet the following specific conditions:

• Must have full capacity for civil acts;
• Must have a high school diploma or higher;
• Passed the knowledge test on real estate brokerage.

To be eligible to take the test, candidates must also:

• Not be in a state of criminal prosecution or serving a prison sentence;
• Have submitted the application for the exam and the cost for the exam to the exam organizer in accordance with the regulations presented below.

Dossier to register for the exam and issue a real estate brokerage license

The list of documents per one dossier specified as follows:

Procedures for issuance of a real estate brokerage license

Step 1: Submit an application for registration and participate in the real estate brokerage practice exam and certification organized by the Departments of Construction of the provinces and centrally-run cities.

Before each exam, candidates directly submit 02 sets of exam registration documents as prescribed (01 set is kept at the exam organization unit, 01 set is sent to the Department of Construction for certification).

The content of the exam will include 2 blocks of knowledge:

• Basic knowledge: related to applicable law, practical knowledge of the market, investment, prevention of money laundering in real estate business.
• Professional knowledge block: knowledge related to real estate brokerage service practice skills.

Note: For candidates with a valid foreign-issued real estate brokerage license or in case of re-issuance of the license because the old license has expired, only the basic knowledge part is required, not the test part. expertise.

Step 2: Approve and announce exam results

A qualifying exam is one with the following results:

• The basic knowledge test scores from 70 points or more (100 points scale);
• The test for the professional knowledge section is 70 points or more (100 points scale).

Exam results are announced at the exam organizer and on the website of the Department of Construction.

Application for re-examination: Within 10 days from the date of notification of results.

Re-examination: Within 20 days from the date of announcement of the test results, the exam organizer will organize a re-test for candidates whose exams do not meet the requirements. Candidates who do not meet the requirements of any part of the test must retake that part. Each exam is only re-tested once, candidates do not have to pay re-test fees.

Step 3: Granting a Real estate broker license

• The Chairman of the Examination Council shall report to the Director of the Department of Construction on the process of organizing the exam and approving the exam results at the request of the exam organizing unit;
• Based on the report of the Chairman of the Examination Council and the examination results approved by the Chairman of the Examination Council, the Director of the Department of Construction approves the list of individuals who are granted licenses;
• Based on the decision approving the list of individuals to be granted licenses, the test organizing unit is responsible for transferring the photocopies of the test and their records to the Department of Construction for certification.
• Within 10 working days from the date of receipt of complete and valid dossiers, the Department of Construction shall print and sign for issuance of licenses;

Fee for granting:

The cost of granting a license is 200,000 VND (two hundred thousand VND) for a license, individuals must pay directly at the Department of Construction when receiving the license.

License payment method:

• The license is paid to the individual at the Department of Construction or the exam organization.
• In case the license holder does not come to receive it in person, it will be sent by post.

License duration: 05 years from the date of issuance.

Withdrawal of real estate brokerage license

License holders will have their licenses revoked in the following cases:

• The license holder loses civil act capacity;
• The license holder declares in the application for a license dishonestly;
• Licenses have been erased or corrected;
• The license holder lends or leases the license to others for practice;
• The license holder violates the practice principles specified in the Law on Real Estate Business and the contents stated in the license;
• The license holder violates the regulations to the point of having the license revoked in accordance with the law.

Some questions related to real estate broker license in Vietnam

Is it possible to reissue the license?

Yes, if you are:

• The license has been issued but is lost, torn, burned, destroyed due to natural disaster or other force majeure reasons;
• The license has not been revoked within the past 5 years from the date of request for re-issuance; and
• This license has never been re-issued (registration can only be re-issued once).

Procedures for re-issuance shall comply with Article 16 of Circular 11/2015/TT-BXD.

What if my license expires?

Those who have expired or nearly expired licenses if they want to re-issue their licenses, they have to take the test according to the process from the beginning, but they only have to take the basic knowledge without taking the relevant professional knowledge.

Will real estate broker practice without a license be fined?

Currently, if an enterprise or individual operates independently and practices real estate brokerage but does not have a practicing license, they will be sanctioned according to the provisions of Article 59 of Decree 16/2022/ND-CP regulating regulations on sanctioning of construction-related administrative violations:

Independent real estate brokerage services without a practicing certificate or an expired practice certificate as prescribed shall be fined from VND 40,000,000 to VND 60,000,000 and remedied by forcing the implementation of licensing procedures when providing services as prescribed.

If the enterprise employs a real estate broker but does not have a practicing license, it will be fined from VND 120,000,000 to VND 160,000,000, and be subject to the additional sanction of operation suspension business real estate brokerage services from 06 to 09 months. To overcome the consequences, the law requires enterprises to add enough people with valid real estate brokerage licenses as prescribed.

How much will the broker’s license be erased or repaired ?

Depending on the content of erasure or correction, if this content falsifies the original license issued, the license user will be administratively sanctioned according to regulations.

Also according to the provisions of Decree 16/2022/ND-CP, erasing or modifying a real estate brokerage license to falsify the license content may result in a fine ranging from VND 40,000,000 to VND 60,000,000. In addition, that party must also remedy the consequences by being forced to return the erased or corrected license to the competent agency that issued the license. Accordingly, in order to continue to practice as a real estate broker, that party must carry out procedures for a new license from the beginning.

Can I rent out my real estate broker’s license when I’m not active?

No, you can not. In case you perform the act of lending, leasing or renting, borrowing a real estate brokerage license to carry out activities related to real estate brokerage, you may be fined from 40,000,000 VND 60,000,000, and be deprived of the right to use the license from 3 to 6 months.

If you need advice on civil law, real estate law, please contact Viet An Law for the most effective support.