Circular No. 03/2001/TT-CC guiding the implementation of Decree No. 75/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2000 of the Government on notarization and certification.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Decree No. 75/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2000

of the Government on Notarization and Authentication

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Pursuant to Decree No. 75/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2000 of the Government on notarization and certification;

Pursuant to Directive No. 01/2001/CT-TTg dated March 5, 2001 of the Prime Minister on implementing the Government's Decree on notarization and certification;

Pursuant to Decree No. 38/CP dated June 4, 1993 of the Government on the functions, tasks, powers, and organization of the Ministry of Justice;

The Ministry of Justice hereby provides guidelines for implementing the Government's Decree on Notarization and Authentication as follows,

I. SOME ISSUES REGARDING NOTARIZATION AND AUTHENTICATION BUSINESS

1. Article 9 of Decree No. 75/2000/NĐ-CP dated December 8, 2000 of the Government on Notarization and Authentication (hereinafter referred to as the Decree) stipulates that notarization and authentication must be carried out at the office of the notary or authentication agency, except in the following cases which may be conducted outside the office:

a) Notarization and authentication of a will of a person whose life is threatened by illness, accident, or paralysis, or an elderly person who cannot travel;

b) Notarization and authentication of contracts and other transactions (hereinafter referred to as contracts and transactions) and signatures of persons under temporary detention or serving a prison sentence, persons with paralysis, elderly persons who cannot travel, or for other valid reasons unable to reach the office of the notary or authentication agency.

In all cases, the location of notarization and authentication must be recorded; in particular, if notarization and authentication are conducted outside regular working hours, the time and minutes when the person conducting the notarization or authentication signs the notarial or authenticated document must also be recorded.

2. Article 11 of the Decree stipulates that the signature of the person requesting notarization or authentication must be made in the presence of the person conducting the notarization or authentication. In cases where the authorized representative of a credit institution or enterprise has registered their sample signature with the notary or authentication agency, they may sign the contract beforehand; the person conducting the notarization or authentication must compare the signature in the contract with the sample signature before proceeding with the notarization or authentication.

3. A thumbprint can replace a signature in documents requiring notarization or authentication if the person requesting notarization or authentication is unable to sign due to disability or lack of knowledge of signing.

A thumbprint may also be made simultaneously with a signature in the following cases:

a) Notarization and authentication of a will;

b) At the request of the person requesting notarization or authentication;

c) At the request of the person conducting the notarization or authentication, upon examination of the presented documents, if it is deemed unclear about the identity of the person requesting notarization or authentication; the person requesting notarization or authentication rarely signs, or if it is deemed necessary to protect the rights of the person requesting notarization or authentication.

When making a thumbprint, the person requesting notarization or authentication must use the right index finger; if unable to make a thumbprint with the right index finger, then use the left index finger; if unable to use both index fingers, then use another finger; after making the thumbprint, clearly record which finger and hand was used.

The above guidance also applies to the thumbprint of witnesses.

4. When refusing to conduct notarization or authentication as provided for in Clause 5, Article 38 of the Decree, if requested by the person requesting notarization or authentication, the person conducting the notarization or authentication must provide a clear explanation for the refusal in writing.

5. For the acceptance of custody of a will as prescribed in Article 51 of the Decree, the notary must seal the will; the testator signs or makes a thumbprint, the notary signs and stamps the seam of the envelope containing the will. Upon accepting custody of the will, the notary must prepare a Will Custody Receipt consisting of two copies, one copy issued to the testator and one copy retained at the Notary Office.

The Will Custody Receipt must clearly state: the time and place of accepting custody of the will; the name and surname of the notary accepting custody of the will; the name, address, and identification documents of the testator; the name and address of those related to the will for notification purposes when necessary.

When there is a written request from a person related to the contents of the will or when it is known that the testator has died, the notary must summon in writing all relevant parties to announce the will being held in custody at the Notary Office.

The announcement record must clearly state: the time and place of announcing the will; the name and surname of the notary announcing the will; the name, address, and presence or absence of each heir and other persons related to the content of the will; those present have checked the seal of the will; the notary opens and reads the will aloud to those present; if there are heirs or other persons related to the content of the will who are absent, the reason for their absence must be recorded; each person present and the notary must sign the record.

6. A person who has requested notarization or authentication of a contract or transaction at a notary or authentication agency has the right to request that agency to issue a certified copy of the notarial or authenticated document. The notary or authentication agency is responsible for issuing a certified copy from the original document stored.

7. The agreement on the division of inheritance and the declaration of inheritance as prescribed in Articles 52 and 53 of the Decree must be posted. Posting is carried out by the notary or authentication agency at the People's Committee office of the commune, ward, town (hereinafter referred to as the People's Committee of the commune) where the deceased resided previously; in cases where there is no previous place of residence, posting is carried out at the People's Committee of the commune where the deceased had a temporary residence for a certain period. If the inheritance includes both immovable and movable property or only immovable property, posting shall be carried out according to the guidance provided in this point; if neither of these places can be determined, posting shall be carried out at the People's Committee of the commune where the immovable property of the deceased is located. The notary or authentication agency must send someone directly to post the notice, with the presence of a representative of the People's Committee of the commune.

In the case where the estate consists solely of movable property, if the notary office, certification body, and the place of habitual residence or temporary residence of the decedent are not located in the same province or centrally governed city, the notary office or certification body may delegate the People's Committee of the commune to post the notice according to the guidance provided in paragraph 1 of this point.

The content of the posting must clearly state: the name and surname of the decedent; the name and surname of those who have agreed or accepted the inheritance and their relationship with the decedent; the list of assets agreed upon for division or accepted; at the end of the posting, it must clearly indicate that if there are complaints or reports regarding the omission of heirs, the omission of assets, or assets not belonging to the decedent’s ownership or right of use, such complaints or reports should be submitted to the agency responsible for notarization or certification.

The People's Committee of the commune where the posting takes place shall be responsible for preserving the posting for a period of thirty days from the date of posting.

8. The original document stipulated in Clause 2, Article 57 of the Decree is the document received by the Notary Office from the person requesting notarization for translation. The translator must translate the entire content of the document handed over for translation by the Notary Office; if it is a copy or extract, it must be translated as a copy or extract; if it is a fax, it must be clearly stated as a fax. When receiving a document for translation, the Notary Office must pay attention to the cases of notarizing translations as specified in Clause 4, Article 57 of the Decree.

9. Technical errors as defined in Article 45 of the Decree are errors arising from mistakes in recording, typing, or printing in notarized documents or certified documents. To identify technical errors, the person performing notarization or certification must compare each error needing correction with the documents in the notarization file or certification file.

When correcting technical errors, the person performing notarization or certification must underline the part requiring correction, then write the corrected word, mark, or number on the margin along with their signature and stamp of the agency.

The person responsible for correcting technical errors in notarized or certified documents must be the person who performed the notarization or certification. If the person who performed the notarization or certification is no longer engaged in such work, the head of the agency must undertake the correction of technical errors.

II. SAMPLES OF NOTARIZATION AND CERTIFICATION

1. The statement of proof is a component of notarized and certified documents. The content of the statement of proof must be clear and coherent, reflecting the level of responsibility of the person performing notarization or certification for the notarization or certification; in cases where there are sample statements of proof prescribed by the Ministry of Justice, the statement of proof must follow those samples.

The statement of proof for contracts and transactions must contain all the contents as prescribed in Article 43 of the Decree.

Attached to this Circular are the following sample statements of proof:

a) Sample statement of proof for contracts and transactions;

b) Sample statement of proof for copies of documents;

c) Sample statement of proof for translated documents;

d) Sample statement of proof for signatures.

2. For each instance of notarization or certification of contracts and transactions, the person requesting notarization or certification must fill out a Request Form for Notarization or Certification.

In cases where the request for notarization or certification cannot be completed on the same day, the person performing notarization or certification must issue a Booking Slip for the person requesting notarization or certification.

Attached to this Circular are the sample Request Forms for Notarization or Certification and Booking Slips.

3. Notarization books and certification books are used to record notarizations and certifications carried out at notary offices and certification bodies. Notarization books and certification books are state archival materials and must be made on high-quality paper and securely preserved for a long time at the agency that has conducted the notarization or certification.

Notarization books and certification books must record the opening date and closing date.

For certification books of the People's Committee of the commune, after closing the book, the People's Committee of the commune must send a copy of these certification books to the People's Committee of the district, town, city under provincial jurisdiction (hereinafter referred to as the People's Committee of the district) for storage. This copy must be stamped with a cross-stamp and signed by the Chairman of the People's Committee of the commune.

Attached to this Circular are the following sample notarization books and certification books:

a) Notarization book for contracts and transactions; Notarization book for copies of documents; Notarization book for translated documents; Notarization book for signatures;

b) Certification book for contracts and transactions; Certification book for copies of documents; Certification book for signatures; Certification book for wills and renunciations of inheritance.

The Ministry of Justice guides the uniform use and issuance of notarization books for Notary Offices throughout the country.

According to the guidance of the Ministry of Justice, the People's Committee of the province or centrally governed city (hereinafter referred to as the People's Committee of the province) issues certification books to the People's Committees of the district and commune within its jurisdiction.

III. SOME ISSUES REGARDING THE ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF NOTARIZATION AND CERTIFICATION

1. The proposal document of the Director of the Department of Justice regarding the appointment of notaries as prescribed in point a, Clause 2, Article 31 of the Decree must clearly state: the need for notarization in the locality and the necessity of appointing a notary; the full name, date of birth, workplace, and current position of the proposed person; confirmation of the time spent working in the field of law and an evaluation of their work performance.

2. Clause 2, Article 22 of the Decree stipulates that the Head of the Department of Justice shall perform certification tasks within the authority of the People's Committee of the district under the delegation of the Chairman of the People's Committee of the district. When performing certification, the Head of the Department of Justice signs the certification document in the capacity of "delegated authority" and stamps the seal of the People's Committee of the district.

In areas with many requests for certification, the Head of the Department of Justice may propose in writing to the Chairman of the People's Committee of the district to delegate the Deputy Head of the Department of Justice to perform certification. When performing certification, the Deputy Head of the Department of Justice signs the certification document in the capacity of "delegated authority," states their position, and stamps the seal of the People's Committee of the district.

Only after registering their signature at the Department of Justice can the Heads and Deputy Heads of the Department of Justice perform certification.

3. In cases where they directly oversee Judicial Affairs, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level shall perform notarization.

If assigned to oversee Judicial Affairs, the Vice-Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level shall perform notarization. When performing notarization, the Vice-Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level shall record their position on the notarized document.

Only after registering their signature with the Department of Justice, the Chairman or Vice-Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level responsible for Judicial Affairs may perform notarization.

4. The recognition of a translator as a collaborator of the Notary Office shall be carried out as follows: the translator submits a request to become a collaborator, accompanied by a resume with a photograph attached according to the prescribed model for civil servants and public officials; a copy of the graduation certificate from a university specializing in foreign languages or another university.

Translators who are collaborators of the Notary Office under Decree No. 45/HĐBT dated February 27, 1991 of the Council of Ministers on the organization and operation of State Notarization, and Decree No. 31/CP dated May 18, 1996 of the Government on the organization and operation of State Notarization, continue to be recognized as collaborators of the Notary Office in accordance with the guidelines set forth in this Circular.

A translator who is a collaborator of the Notary Office must sign a translation contract with the Director of the Notary Office, wherein they commit to accurately translating and adhering to the translation regulations of the Notary Office.

5. Notary Offices, People's Committees at all levels, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must strictly implement the reporting and statistical data system regarding notarization and certification on a six-monthly and annual basis as stipulated in Clause 3 Article 18, Point d Clause 1 Article 19, Point d Clause 1 Article 20, and Point g Clause 1 Article 28 of the Decree.

The report must fully reflect the organizational structure, material facilities, working tools, and results of notarization and certification activities at the Notary Office and in their locality, while clearly stating any difficulties and issues arising, along with recommendations (if any).

Attached to the report shall be a statistical table of notarization and certification data (annexed hereto). Statistical data accompanying the six-month report shall cover from January 1 to June 30; statistical data accompanying the annual report shall cover from January 1 to December 31 of that year.

The deadline for submitting reports shall be implemented as follows:

a) For Notary Offices, the mid-year report shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice, the Provincial People's Committee, and the Director of the Department of Justice before July 5; the annual report shall be submitted before January 5 of the following year.

b) For Commune People's Committees, the mid-year report shall be submitted to the District People's Committee (through the Judicial Office) before July 5 each year; the annual report shall be submitted before January 5 of the following year.

c) For District People's Committees, the mid-year report shall be submitted to the Department of Justice before July 15; the annual report shall be submitted before January 15 of the following year.

d) For Provincial People's Committees, the mid-year report shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice before July 25; the annual report shall be submitted before January 25 of the following year.

đ) For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the mid-year report shall be submitted to the Ministry of Justice before July 25; the annual report shall be submitted before January 25 of the following year.

6. The inspection regime for compliance with laws in notarization and certification activities must be conducted regularly and annually as stipulated in Clause 5 Article 17, Point c Clause 1 Article 19, and Point b Clause 1 Article 20 of the Decree.

The person conducting the inspection shall be responsible for inspecting according to the content approved by the competent authority; upon completion of the inspection, they must submit a report on the inspection results and bear responsibility for that report.

Inspections and audits shall be conducted when there are complaints or denunciations, and shall be resolved in accordance with the law on complaints and denunciations.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

1. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2001.

2. During implementation, if there are any difficulties or new issues arise, relevant agencies, Provincial People's Committees, Departments of Justice, and Notary Offices shall send letters to the Ministry of Justice for guidance./.