Circular No. 01/2011/TT-BNV guiding the format and technical presentation of administrative documents

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on Administrative Document Format and Presentation Techniques

_____________________

Pursuant to Decree No. 48/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 17, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Home Affairs;

Pursuant to Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government on archival work;

Pursuant to Decree No. 09/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 8, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government on archival work,

The Ministry of Home Affairs hereby issues guidelines on administrative document format and presentation techniques as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and Applicability

These Circulars provide guidelines on administrative document format and presentation techniques, including copies of documents; they apply to state agencies, social organizations, occupational associations, economic organizations, and units of the People's Armed Forces (hereinafter referred to collectively as agencies and organizations).

Article 2. Document Format

Document format consists of the components that make up a document, including common components applicable to all types of documents and supplementary components for specific cases or certain types of documents as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 1 of Decree No. 09/2010/NĐ-CP dated February 8, 2010 of the Government amending and supplementing Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government on archival work and as directed in these Circulars.

Article 3. Document Presentation Techniques

Document presentation techniques specified in these Circulars include paper size, layout style, page margins, placement of format components, font type, font size, font style, and other presentation details, applied to documents drafted on computers and printed on paper; documents drafted using other technical methods or means or on pre-printed forms; not applicable to books, newspapers, magazines, and other publications.

Article 4. Font Type for Document Presentation

The font used for presenting documents on computers is the Vietnamese font of the Unicode character set according to Vietnam Standard TCVN 6909:2001.

Article 5. Paper Size, Layout Style, Page Margins, and Placement

1. Paper Size

Administrative documents are presented on A4 paper size (210 mm x 297 mm).

Documents such as letters of introduction, receipt forms, sending slips, transfer slips are presented on A5 paper size (148 mm x 210 mm) or on pre-printed forms (A5 size).

2. Layout Style

Administrative documents are presented along the length of the A4 paper (portrait orientation).

In cases where the document contains tables or charts but are not made into separate appendices, the document may be presented along the width of the page (landscape orientation).

3. Page Margins for A4 Paper Size

Top margin: from 20 to 25 mm from the top edge;

Bottom margin: from 20 to 25 mm from the bottom edge;

Left margin: from 30 to 35 mm from the left edge;

Right margin: from 15 to 20 mm from the right edge.

4. Placement of Format Components on One A4 Page Follows the Layout Diagram of Format Components Attached to These Circulars (Appendix II). The placement of format components on one A5 page follows a similar diagram as provided in the above Appendix.

Chapter II

DOCUMENT FORMAT AND PRESENTATION TECHNIQUES

Article 6. National Emblem

1. Format

The national emblem is recorded on documents in two lines of text: The bottom line reads and “Independence - Freedom - Happiness”.

2. Presentation techniques

The national emblem is presented in cell number 1; it occupies approximately half the width of the page, at the top right corner.

The first line: The bottom line reads is presented in all capital letters, font size from 12 to 13, upright typeface, bold;

Second line: “Independence - Freedom - Happiness” is presented in lowercase letters, font size from 13 to 14 (if the first line is font size 12, then the second line is font size 13; if the first line is font size 13, then the second line is font size 14), upright typeface, bold; centered below the first line; the first letter of each phrase is capitalized, hyphens separate phrases, with spaces between characters; below there is a solid horizontal line, the length of which equals the length of the text line (use the Draw command, not the Underline command), specifically:

SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM
Independence - Freedom - Happiness

_______________________

The two lines of text are separated by a single line space.

Article 7. Name of the Issuing Authority

1. Format

For Ministries, agencies equivalent to Ministries, government agencies; the Office of the National Assembly; the Ethnic Council, Committees of the National Assembly or People's Councils and People's Committees at all levels; Delegations of the National Assembly of provinces and centrally governed cities; State-owned Economic Groups, General Corporation 91 do not record the supervising authority.

The name of the issuing authority includes the name of the direct supervising agency (if any) (for economic organizations, this may be the parent company) and the name of the issuing authority.

a) The name of the issuing authority must be fully recorded or abbreviated according to the provisions of the founding document, regulations on functions, tasks, powers, organizational structure, approval for operation permits, or recognition of legal personality by the competent authority, for example:

b) The name of the direct supervising agency may abbreviate common phrases such as People's Committee (PC), People's Council (PCouncil), Vietnam (VN), for example:

2. Presentation techniques

The name of the issuing authority is presented in cell number 2; it occupies approximately half the width of the page, at the top left corner.

The name of the direct supervising agency is presented in all capital letters, the same font size as the national emblem, upright typeface. If the name of the direct supervising agency is long, it can be presented in multiple lines.

The name of the issuing authority is presented in all capital letters, the same font size as the national emblem, upright typeface, bold, centered below the name of the direct supervising agency; below there is a solid horizontal line, the length of which is from one-third to one-half the length of the text line and placed symmetrically relative to the text line. In cases where the name of the issuing authority is long, it can be presented in multiple lines, for example:

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
DOCUMENTATION AND ARCHIVES DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBLE PERSONNEL, INDIVIDUAL
____

The lines of text above are separated by a single line space.

Article 8. Number and Symbol of the Document

1. Format

a) Number of the document

The number of the document is the registration number of the document at the office of the agency or organization. The number of the document is recorded using Arabic numerals, starting from number 01 on the first day of the year and ending on December 31 of the same year.

b) Symbol of the document

- The symbol of the document with the name type includes the abbreviation of the type of document according to the table of abbreviations of document types attached to this Circular (Annex I) and the abbreviation of the name of the agency, organization, or state position (applicable to the positions of President and Prime Minister) issuing the document, for example:

Government Resolution issued is recorded as follows: Number: .../NQ-CP

Prime Minister Directive issued is recorded as follows: Number: .../CT-TTg.

Decision of the Standing Committee of the People's Council issued is recorded as follows: Number: .../QD-HĐND

Report of the Committees of the People's Council is recorded as follows: Number: .../BC-HĐND

- The symbol of the circular includes the abbreviation of the name of the agency, organization, or state position issuing the circular and the abbreviation of the name of the unit (department, division, committee, section) drafting or primarily drafting the circular (if applicable), for example:

Circular of the Government drafted by the Administrative Department of the Government Office: Number: .../CP-HC.

Circular of the Ministry of Home Affairs drafted by the Cadre and Civil Servant Department of the Ministry of Home Affairs: Number: .../BNV-TCCB

Circular of the Provincial People's Council drafted by the Economic and Budget Committee: Number: .../HĐND-KTNS

Circular of the Provincial People's Committee drafted by the specialized team (or secretary) overseeing cultural-social affairs: Number: .../UBND-VX

Circular of the Provincial Department of Home Affairs drafted by the Department Office: Number: .../SNV-VP

In cases where councils and advisory boards of agencies use the agency seal to issue documents and the council or board is recorded as the "issuing authority" of the document, the number of the council or board must be taken, for example, Decision No. 01 of the Civil Service Recruitment Council of the Ministry of Home Affairs is presented as follows:

MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS
CIVIL SERVICE RECRUITMENT COUNCIL

____________

Number: 01/QĐ-HĐTTCC

Recording the symbol of the circular issued by the People's Committee at the district level or commune level includes the abbreviation of the name of the agency or organization issuing the circular and the abbreviation of the field (fields are defined in Section 2, Section 3, Chapter IV, Law on Organization of People's Councils and People's Committees 2003) being addressed in the circular.

Abbreviations of the names of agencies, organizations, and units within each agency or organization or fields (for People's Committees at the district or commune level) are specified by the agency or organization, ensuring brevity and clarity.

2. Presentation techniques

The number and symbol of the document are presented in cell number 3, centered below the name of the issuing authority.

The word "Number" is presented in lowercase letters, the symbol in uppercase letters, font size 13, upright typeface; after the word "Number" there is a colon; for numbers less than 10, a leading zero must be added; between the number and the document symbol there is a forward slash (/), between groups of abbreviated symbols there is a hyphen (-) without spaces, for example:

Number: 15/QĐ-HĐND (Decision of the Standing Committee of the People's Council);

Number: 19/HĐND-KTNS (Circular of the Standing Committee of the People's Council drafted by the Economic and Budget Committee);

Number: 23/BC-BNV (Report of the Ministry of Home Affairs);

Number: 234/SYT-VP (Circular of the Health Department drafted by the Department Office).

Article 9. Place name and date of issuance of the document

1. Format

a) The place name recorded on the document shall be the official name of the administrative unit (the specific name of the province or centrally governed city; district, town, urban area under the province; commune, ward, town) where the agency or organization has its headquarters; for administrative units named after a person's name, using numerals or historical events, the full name of the administrative unit must be recorded, specifically as follows:

- The place name recorded on the document of central agencies and organizations shall be the name of the province or centrally governed city where the agency or organization has its headquarters, for example:

Document of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, of Electricity Company 1 under Vietnam Electricity Group (headquartered in Hanoi City): Hanoi,

Document of the College of Business Management under the Ministry of Finance (headquartered in Nhu Quynh Town, My Van District, Hung Yen Province): Hung Yen,

Document of the Institute of Oceanography under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (headquartered in Nha Trang City, Khanh Hoa Province): Khanh Hoa,

Document of the Tax Department of Binh Duong Province under the General Department of Taxation (headquartered in Thu Dau Mot Town, Binh Duong Province): Binh Duong,

- The place name recorded on the document of provincial-level agencies and organizations:

+ For centrally governed cities: it shall be the name of the centrally governed city, for example:

Document of the People's Committee of Hanoi City and of departments, sectors, and agencies under the city: Hanoi, of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and of departments, sectors, and agencies under the city: Ho Chi Minh City,

+ For provinces: it shall be the name of the province, for example:

Document of the People's Committee of Hai Duong Province and of departments, sectors, and agencies under the province (headquartered in Hai Duong City, Hai Duong Province): Hai Duong, of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province and of departments, sectors, and agencies under the province (headquartered in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province): Quang Ninh, of the People's Committee of Lam Dong Province and of departments, sectors, and agencies under the province (headquartered in Da Lat City, Lam Dong Province): Lam Dong,

In case the place name recorded on the document of a city under a province whose name coincides with that of the province, the two characters "city" (TP.) shall be added, for example:

Document of the People's Committee of Ha Tinh City (Ha Tinh Province) and of offices and sectors under the city: TP. Ha Tinh,

- The place name recorded on the document of district-level agencies and organizations shall be the name of the district, town, urban area under the province, for example:

Document of the People's Committee of Soc Son District (Hanoi City) and of offices and sectors under the district: Soc Son,

Document of the People's Committee of Go Vap District (Ho Chi Minh City), of offices and sectors under the district: Go Vap,

Document of the People's Committee of Ba Ria Town (Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province) and of offices and sectors under the town: Ba Ria,

- The place name recorded on the document of People's Councils, People's Committees, and organizations at the commune level shall be the name of the commune, ward, or town, for example:

Document of the People's Committee of Kim Lien Commune (Nam Dan District, Nghe An Province): Kim Lien,

Document of the People's Committee of Dien Bien Phu Ward (Ba Dinh District, Hanoi City): Dien Bien Phu Ward,

- The place name recorded on the document of agencies, organizations, and people's armed forces units under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense shall be implemented according to the provisions of the law and specific regulations of the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of National Defense.

b) Date of issuance of the document

The date of issuance of the document is the date when the document is issued.

The date of issuance of the document must be fully written; numbers indicating day, month, and year shall use Arabic numerals; for numbers indicating days less than 10 and months January and February, a zero must be added before them, specifically:

Ho Chi Minh City, February 5, 2009

District 1, February 10, 2010

2. Presentation techniques

The place name and date of issuance of the document shall be presented on the same line with the number and symbol of the document, in cell number 4, in lowercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, italic style; the first letter of each word in the place name must be capitalized; a comma shall follow the place name; the place name and date shall be centered below the State Emblem.

Article 10. Name type and summary content of the document

1. Format

The name type of the document is the name of each type of document issued by agencies or organizations. When issuing a document, the name type must be recorded, except for circulars.

The summary content of the document is a short sentence or phrase reflecting the main content of the document.

2. Presentation techniques

The name type and summary content of various types of documents with recorded name types are presented in cell number 5a; the name type of the document (resolution, decision, plan, report, proposal, and other types of documents) is centered in uppercase letters, size 14, upright style, bold; the summary content of the document is centered directly below the name type of the document, in lowercase letters, size 14, upright style, bold; under the summary content, there is a continuous line with a length equal to one-third to one-half the width of the text line, aligned with the text line, for example:

Pursuant to …;
On the transfer of cadres

_______

The summary content of the circular is presented in cell number 5b, after the characters "V/v" in lowercase letters, size from 12 to 13, upright style; it is centered below the number and symbol of the document, with a 6pt space from the number and symbol of the document, for example:

Number: 72/VTLTNN-NVĐP

V/v inspection plan
archival work in 2009

Article 11. Content of the document

1. Format

a) The content of the document is the main component of the document.

The content of the document must meet the following basic requirements:

- Consistent with the form of the document being used;

- Consistent with the Party's policies, guidelines, and laws;

- Presented concisely, clearly, and accurately;

- Using written language, simple expressions that are easy to understand;

- Using common Vietnamese terms (avoid using local dialects and foreign terms unless absolutely necessary). For specialized terms that need clear definition, they must be explained within the document;

- Only abbreviations of commonly used terms and easily understood Vietnamese terms may be used. For terms frequently used in the document, abbreviations may be used, but the first letters of the abbreviated terms must be placed in parentheses immediately after the term;

- When citing related documents for the first time, the full name type, number, symbol, date, month, year of issuance, issuing agency or organization, and summary content of the document (for laws and ordinances, only the name type and name of the law or ordinance) must be recorded, for example: "... is stipulated in Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government on archive work"; in subsequent citations, only the name type and number, symbol of the document should be recorded;

- Capitalization in administrative documents shall be carried out according to Appendix VI - Rules for Capitalization in Administrative Documents.

b) Structure of the document

Depending on the type and content, the document may include a legal basis section, an introductory section, and may be structured into parts, chapters, sections, articles, clauses, points, or divided into larger to smaller sections in a specific sequence, specifically:

- Resolution (individual): by article, clause, point or by clause, point;

- Decision (individual): by article, clause, point; regulations (provisions) accompanying the decision: by chapter, section, article, clause, point;

- Directive (individual): by clause, point;

- Other forms of administrative documents: by part, section, clause, point or by clause, point.

For documents structured by part, chapter, section, article, these elements must have titles.

2. Presentation techniques

The content of the document is presented in cell number 6.

The content (text) is presented in lowercase letters (justified on both margins), upright font style; font size from 13 to 14 (the text within a document must be in the same font size); when starting a new line, the first character of the line must be indented from 1 cm to 1.27 cm (1 default tab); the minimum space between paragraphs is 6 pt; the minimum line spacing is either single line spacing or from 15 pt (exact line spacing) upwards; the maximum line spacing is 1.5 lines.

For documents that have legal basis for issuance, each basis must start on a new line, ending with a semicolon at the end of the line; the last basis ends with a comma.

In cases where the content of the document is structured into parts, chapters, sections, articles, clauses, and points, it shall be presented as follows:

- Parts, Chapters: The terms "Part" and "Chapter" along with their respective numbers are displayed on a separate line, centered, in lowercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright font style, bold. The numbers of parts and chapters use Roman numerals. The titles (names) of parts and chapters are displayed directly below, centered, in uppercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright font style, bold;

- Sections: The term "Section" and its number are displayed on a separate line, centered, in lowercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright font style, bold. The numbers of sections use Arabic numerals. The title of the section is displayed directly below, centered, in uppercase letters, font size from 12 to 13, upright font style, bold;

- Articles: The term "Article", the number, and the title of the article are displayed in lowercase letters, indented 1 default tab from the left margin, the number of the article uses Arabic numerals followed by a period; font size is the same as the text body (13-14), upright font style, bold;

- Clauses: The numbers of clauses within each section use Arabic numerals followed by a period, the font size of the number is the same as the text body (13-14), upright font style; if a clause has a title, the number and title of the clause are displayed on a separate line, in lowercase letters, font size the same as the text body (13-14), upright font style;

- Points: The sequence of points within each clause uses lowercase letters of the Latin alphabet in alphabetical order followed by a closing parenthesis, font size the same as the text body (13-14), upright font style.

In cases where the content of the document is divided into parts, sections, clauses, and points, it shall be presented as follows:

- Part (if applicable): The term "Part" and its number are displayed on a separate line, centered, in lowercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright font style, bold; the number of the part uses Roman numerals. The title of the part is displayed directly below, centered, in uppercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright font style, bold;

- Section: The numbers of sections use Roman numerals followed by a period and are displayed indented 1 default tab from the left margin; the title of the section is displayed on the same line as the number, in uppercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright font style, bold;

- Clause: The numbers of clauses within each section use Arabic numerals followed by a period, the font size of the number is the same as the text body (13-14), upright font style; if a clause has a title, the number and title of the clause are displayed on a separate line, in lowercase letters, font size the same as the text body (13-14), upright font style, bold;

- Points are presented as in the case where the content of the document is structured into parts, chapters, sections, articles, clauses, and points.

Article 12. Authority, position, name, and signature of the authorized person

1. Format

a) The recording of the authority of the signatory shall be carried out as follows:

- In cases where signing on behalf of a collective body, the abbreviation "TM." (representing) must be written before the name of the leadership collective or the name of the agency or organization, for example:

- In cases where signing on behalf of the head of an agency or organization, the abbreviation "KT." (signing on behalf of) must be written before the position of the head, for example:

In cases where a deputy is assigned to take charge, it shall be carried out as if the deputy signs on behalf of the head;

- In cases where signing under orders, the abbreviation "TL." (under orders) must be written before the position of the head of the agency or organization, for example:

- In cases where signing under authorization, the abbreviation "TUQ." (under authorization) must be written before the position of the head of the agency or organization, for example:

TUQ. DIRECTOR
HEAD OF THE ORGANIZATION AND PERSONNEL DEPARTMENT

b) Position of the signatory

The position recorded on the document is the official leadership position of the signatory within the agency or organization; only positions such as Minister (Minister, Director-General), Deputy Minister, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Director, Deputy Director, Acting Director (Provisional Director) should be recorded, not positions that are not defined by the State such as: permanent deputy, deputy in charge, etc.; the name of the agency or organization shall not be repeated except in joint documents issued by two or more agencies or organizations; the signing under orders and signing under authorization shall be specifically regulated by each agency or organization in writing.

The title recorded on the document issued by advisory organizations (not part of the organizational structure of the agency as stipulated in the decision on establishment; decision on functions, tasks, and organizational structure of the agency) is the leadership title of the signatory within the board or council. For boards or councils that are not allowed to use the seal of the agency or organization, only the title of the signatory within the board or council shall be recorded, not the position within the agency or organization.

The position (title) of the signatory of documents issued by State councils or steering committees where the leader of the Ministry of Construction serves as Chair or Deputy Chair, or the Chairman or Deputy Chairman of the Council shall be recorded as follows, for example:

The position (title) of the signatory of documents issued by councils or boards of the Ministry of Construction where the Deputy Minister of Construction serves as Chairman or Board Chair, and leaders of departments or bureaus under the Ministry of Construction serve as Deputy Chairman or Deputy Board Chair shall be recorded as follows, for example:

c) Name includes the surname, middle name (if any), and given name of the signatory

For administrative documents, academic titles, degrees, and other honorary titles shall not be recorded before the name of the signatory. For transaction documents; documents of educational, health, scientific organizations, or armed forces, academic titles, degrees, and military ranks may be added.

2. Presentation techniques

The authority and position of the signatory shall be presented in box number 7a; other positions of the signatory shall be presented in box number 7b; abbreviations of authority such as "TM.", "KT.", "TL.", "TUQ." or authority and position of the signatory shall be presented in uppercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright typeface, bold.

The name of the signatory of the document shall be presented in box number 7b; in lowercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright typeface, bold, centered relative to the authority and position of the signatory.

The signature of the authorized person shall be presented in box number 7c.

Article 13. Seal of agencies and organizations

1. The act of affixing seals on documents shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 2 and Clause 3, Article 26 of Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP dated April 8, 2004 of the Government on archival work and relevant laws; the act of affixing overlapping seals on specialized documents and attached annexes shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 4, Article 26 of Decree No. 110/2004/NĐ-CP.

2. The seal of agencies and organizations shall be presented in cell number 8; overlapping seals shall be affixed in the middle of the right margin of the document or annex, covering part of the pages; each seal shall be affixed to a maximum of five pages of the document.

Article 14. Recipients

1. Format

Recipients determine the agencies, organizations, units, and individuals receiving the document and bearing responsibility for reviewing, resolving, implementing, inspecting, supervising, reporting, exchanging work, being informed, and retaining the document.

Recipients must be specifically determined in the document. Based on legal regulations; based on the functions, tasks, and authorities of the agency, organization; based on the working relationship; and based on the requirements for handling the matter, the unit or individual drafting or primarily drafting the document shall propose the agencies, organizations, units, and individuals receiving the document to be decided upon by the person signing the document.

For documents sent only to specific recipients, the names of each agency, organization, or individual receiving the document must be recorded; for documents sent to one or more specific groups of recipients, the recipients shall be listed collectively, for example:

- Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, and government agencies;

- People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities;

For documents listing the type and recipients including the term "Recipients" followed by the list of agencies, organizations, units, and individuals receiving the document.

For administrative letters, the recipients include two parts:

- The first part includes the phrase "Respectfully sent to," followed by the names of the agencies, organizations, or units, and individuals directly responsible for handling the matter;

- The second part includes the phrase "Recipients," below which is the phrase "As above," followed by the names of other agencies, organizations, units, and individuals receiving the document.

2. Presentation techniques

Recipients are presented in cells number 9a and 9b.

The part of the recipients in cell number 9a is presented as follows:

- The phrase "Respectfully sent to" and the names of the agencies, organizations, or individuals receiving the document are presented in regular font, size from 13 to 14, upright style;

- After the phrase "Respectfully sent to," there is a colon; if the letter is sent to one agency, organization, or individual, the phrase "Respectfully sent to" and the name of the agency, organization, or individual are presented on the same line; if the letter is sent to two or more agencies, organizations, or individuals, it is moved to a new line; the name of each agency, organization, individual, or group of agencies, organizations, individuals is presented on a separate line, with a bullet point at the beginning of the line, a semicolon at the end of the line, and a period at the end of the last line; the bullet points are aligned under the colon.

The part of the recipients in cell number 9b (commonly applied to administrative letters and other types of documents) is presented as follows:

- The phrase "Recipients" is presented on a separate line (aligned with the line containing the phrase "powers and positions of the signatory" and close to the left margin), followed by a colon, in regular font, size 12, italic and bold;

- The list of agencies, organizations, units, and individuals receiving the document is presented in regular font, size 11, upright style; the name of each agency, organization, unit, and individual or each group of agencies, organizations, units receiving the document is presented on a separate line, with a bullet point at the beginning of the line close to the left margin, a semicolon at the end of the line; the last line includes the word "Retain" followed by a colon, then the abbreviation "VT" (Archival Office of the agency, organization), a comma, the abbreviation of the name of the unit (or department) drafting the document and the number of retained copies (only when necessary), ending with a period.

Article 15. Other components

1. Format

a) Mark indicating the level of confidentiality

The determination and stamping of the confidentiality level (Top Secret, Confidential, or Secret), and the retrieval mark for state secrets-containing documents shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 5, 6, 7, and 8 of the State Secrets Protection Ordinance 2000.

b) Mark indicating the level of urgency

Depending on the need for expedited transmission, the urgency level of the document is determined according to four levels: Urgent, Very Urgent, Extremely Urgent, and Extremely Urgent with Time Limit; when drafting urgent documents, the drafting unit or individual proposes the urgency level for the person signing the document to decide.

c) For documents with limited circulation and usage scope, guidance on circulation scope such as "RETURN AFTER MEETING (CONFERENCE)", "RETURN AFTER REVIEW", "INTERNAL CIRCULATION" shall be used.

d) For circulars, in addition to the prescribed components, the address of the agency or organization, email address (E-Mail), telephone number, Telex number, Fax number, and website address may be supplemented.

đ) For documents requiring strict control over the number of copies issued, there must be a typist's signature symbol and the number of copies issued.

e) In cases where a document has attached appendices, the document must include instructions about those appendices. Appendices of the document must have titles; if a document has two or more appendices, they must be numbered sequentially using Roman numerals.

g) Documents with two pages or more must be numbered using Arabic numerals.

2. Presentation techniques

a) Mark indicating the level of confidentiality

The confidentiality marks (TOP SECRET, CONFIDENTIAL, or SECRET) and retrieval marks are pre-engraved according to Section 2 of Circular No. 12/2002/TT-BCA dated September 13, 2002 guiding the implementation of Decree No. 33/2002/NĐ-CP of the Government detailing the enforcement of the State Secrets Protection Ordinance 2000. The confidentiality mark is stamped in box number 10a, and the retrieval mark is stamped in box number 11.

b) Mark indicating the level of urgency

The urgency marks are pre-engraved in rectangular shapes measuring 30mm x 8mm, 40mm x 8mm, and 20mm x 8mm, with the words "URGENT", "VERY URGENT", "EXTREMELY URGENT", and "EXTREMELY URGENT WITH TIME LIMIT" presented in uppercase letters, Times New Roman font size from 13 to 14, bold upright typeface, and centered within a single-lined rectangular frame. The urgency mark is stamped in box number 10b. The ink used for stamping the urgency mark is bright red.

c) Guidance on circulation scope

Guidance on circulation scope is presented in box number 11; the phrases "RETURN AFTER MEETING (CONFERENCE)", "RETURN AFTER REVIEW", "INTERNAL CIRCULATION" are balanced within a single-lined rectangular frame, in uppercase letters, Times New Roman font size 13 to 14, bold upright typeface.

d) Address of the agency or organization; email address (E-Mail); telephone number, Telex number, Fax number; website address.

These components are presented in box number 14 on the first page of the document, in lowercase letters, font size from 11 to 12, upright typeface, below a continuous horizontal line spanning the width of the presentation area.

đ) Typist's signature symbol and number of copies issued

Presented in box number 13; the signature symbol is in uppercase letters, the number of copies is in Arabic numerals, font size 11, upright typeface.

e) Document appendix

The document appendix is presented on separate pages; the word "Appendix" and the appendix number are presented as a separate line, centered, in lowercase letters, font size 14, bold upright typeface; the name of the appendix is presented centered, in uppercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, bold upright typeface.

g) Page numbering of the document

Page numbers are presented at the bottom right corner of each page (footer section) using Arabic numerals, font size 13-14, upright typeface, with the first page not numbered. Appendix page numbers are separately numbered according to each appendix.

The model characters and details of the layout of the document format components are illustrated in Appendix IV attached to this Circular.

The layout models of certain types of administrative documents are illustrated in Appendix V attached to this Circular.

Chapter III

FORM AND TECHNIQUES FOR PRESENTATION OF COPIES

Article 16. Format of Copies

The format of copies includes:

1. Copy form

"TRUE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL" or "EXTRACT" or "COPY".

2. Name of the agency or organization making the copy

3. Copy number including the registration number assigned jointly for all types of copies made by the agency or organization and the abbreviated name of the type of copy according to the Abbreviated Names Table of Document Types and Copies attached to this Circular (Annex I). The number is recorded using Arabic numerals, starting from number 01 on the first day of the year and ending on December 31 of the same year.

4. Other components of the copy format include location and date of copying; authority, position, full name, and signature of the authorized person; stamp of the agency or organization making the copy and place of receipt, carried out according to the guidance provided in Articles 9, 12, 13, and 14 of this Circular.

Article 17. Presentation Techniques

1. Position of presenting the components of the copy format (on A4 size paper)

Follow the layout diagram of the components of the copy format attached to this Circular (Annex III).

All components of the copy format are presented on the same sheet of paper, immediately following the last part of the document to be copied, below a continuous line spanning the entire width of the presentation area of the document.

2. Presentation techniques for copies

a) The phrase "TRUE COPY OF THE ORIGINAL", "EXTRACT" or "COPY" is presented in cell number 1 (Annex III) in uppercase letters, font size from 13 to 14, upright style, bold.

b) Name of the agency or organization making the copy (in cell number 2); copy number and symbol (in cell number 3); location and date of copying (in cell number 4); position, full name, and signature of the authorized person (in cells number 5a, 5b, and 5c); stamp of the agency or organization making the copy (in cell number 6); place of receipt (in cell number 7) are presented according to the guidance for presenting the components of the format in Annex III.

Sample characters and details of presenting the components of the copy format are illustrated in Annex IV; sample presentation of copies is illustrated in Annex V attached to this Circular.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 18. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect 45 days from the date of signing.

Provisions regarding the format and presentation techniques of administrative documents and copies of documents stipulated in Joint Circular No. 55/2005/TTLT-BNV-VPCP dated May 6, 2005, issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Government Office, which contradict this Circular, are abolished.

Article 19. Implementation

Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, provincial People's Committees, centrally governed cities, state-owned economic groups, and state-owned corporations (91) are responsible for organizing and implementing this Circular.

Ministries and sectors base their regulations on the format and presentation techniques of documents specified in this Circular to establish specialized document formats and presentation techniques accordingly./.