Circular No. 03/2011/TT-BXD guiding the activities of inspection, appraisal, and certification of structural safety and quality compliance for construction projects.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for inspection, appraisal, and certification of compliance with load-bearing safety conditions,

certification of quality conformity of construction works

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Pursuant to Decree No. 17/2008/NĐ-CP dated February 4, 2008 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP dated December 16, 2004 of the Government on construction work quality management and Decree No. 49/2008/NĐ-CP dated April 18, 2008 of the Government amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 209/2004/NĐ-CP;

Pursuant to Decree No. 12/2009/NĐ-CP dated February 12, 2009 of the Government on project management for construction works

The Ministry of Construction provides guidelines for inspection, appraisal, and certification of compliance with load-bearing safety conditions, certification of quality conformity of construction works as follows:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

Thông tư này quy định chi tiết khoản 4 Điều 38 Luật Thủy sản số 18/2017/QH14 đã được sửa đổi, bổ sung tại điểm c khoản 21 Điều 14 Luật số 146/2025/QH15.

This Circular guides the activities of inspection, appraisal, and certification of compliance with load-bearing safety conditions, certification of quality conformity of construction works.

Thông tư này áp dụng đối với tổ chức, cá nhân có liên quan đến hoạt động kinh doanh đối tượng thủy sản nuôi chủ lực trên lãnh thổ Việt Nam.

This Circular applies to organizations and individuals, both domestic and foreign, related to the activities of inspection, appraisal, and certification of compliance with load-bearing safety conditions, certification of quality conformity of construction works within the territory of Vietnam.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. Inspection of construction work quality (hereinafter referred to as inspection) is an activity of checking and determining the quality of construction products, parts of construction works, or construction works against design requirements and technical standards through testing combined with visual examination and evaluation.

2. Appraisal of construction work quality (hereinafter referred to as appraisal) is an inspection activity organized and implemented by state management agencies or authorized bodies, or requested and required to be carried out.

3. Certification of quality conformity (hereinafter referred to as quality conformity certification) is the evaluation and confirmation that the quality of construction works or parts of construction works meets design requirements, technical standards, and applicable technical requirements for the works.

4. Certification of compliance with load-bearing safety conditions (hereinafter referred to as load-bearing safety certification).

Article 3. Cases for conducting inspection and appraisal

1. Cases requiring inspection:

a) When construction works suffer accidents or have defects in quality;

b) When there are disputes over the quality of construction works;

c) Periodic inspection of construction works during their use;

d) Renovation, upgrading, or extending the service life of construction works;

đ) Re-inspection of construction work quality when there is doubt about the quality;

e) Other cases as prescribed by relevant laws.

2. Cases for conducting appraisal:

a) When there is a decision to request an appraisal from judicial authorities or persons conducting litigation proceedings (judicial construction appraisal);

b) When there is a request from state management agencies on construction or other state management agencies as prescribed by law (collectively referred to as state management agencies).

Article 4. Cases for conducting load-bearing safety certification and quality conformity certification

1. Mandatory inspection and certification of load-bearing safety before putting into use for construction works or parts thereof that may cause disasters when accidents occur, including:

a) Apartment buildings from Class II and above; individual houses as stipulated in Clause 2, Article 43 of Decree No. 71/2010/NĐ-CP dated June 23, 2010 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of the Law on Housing.

b) Public works:

- Kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools with a scale of four floors or more or a total floor area for a single project of 500m² /second or more;

- Health stations, maternity homes, convalescent homes, rehabilitation centers, orthopedic centers, nursing homes, disease prevention centers, and other medical facilities with a scale of four floors or more or a total floor area for a single project of 500m² /second or more;

- Universities, colleges, vocational high schools, technical training schools, specialized schools, and other types of schools from Class II and above;

- General hospitals, specialized hospitals from central to local levels, multi-specialty clinics, regional specialty clinics from Class II and above;

- Conference centers, theaters, cultural houses, clubs, cinemas, circuses from Class II and above;

- Shopping centers, supermarkets, markets, shops, restaurants from Class II and above;

- Sports stadiums, sports halls, training grounds from Class II and above;

- Administrative offices of state agencies, public institutions, enterprises, political social organizations, and other organizations from Class II and above;

- Airports, seaports, railway stations, bus terminals from Class II and above;

- Post offices from Class II and above;

- Multi-purpose buildings, hotels, dormitories, other buildings, guesthouses from Class II and above;

- Amusement parks, entertainment venues from Class II and above;

- Museums, libraries, exhibition halls, display houses, and similar functioned works from Class I and above;

- Telecommunication towers, broadcasting towers, television towers located in residential areas from Class I and above.

c) Oil and gas industrial works from Class II and above including:

- Offshore exploration and production platforms;

- Petroleum refining plants;

- Gas processing plants;

- Gasoline storage tanks;

- Liquefied gas storage tanks;

- Pipeline systems for gas and oil transportation.

d) Water conservancy dams, hydropower dams, reservoirs from Class II and above;

đ) Infrastructure works:

- High-speed railways, elevated railways;

- Parking garages for cars and motorcycles from Class II and above;

- Subway works;

- Highway bridges, railway bridges from Class I and above;

- Road tunnels, railway tunnels, pedestrian tunnels from Class I and above;

- Cable car systems for people transport.

e) Other works as prescribed by relevant laws.

2. Quality conformity certification:

a) At the request of state management agencies on construction for the benefit of the community;

b) At the request of the Project Owner, owner, manager, user of the works, or other organizations and individuals related to the works for their own interests (interests of individuals purchasing, leasing, owning the works or organizations selling insurance for the works ...);

c) Quality conformity certification may include one, several, or all requirements regarding load-bearing safety, safe use, operation, and other necessary contents for the works or parts of the works.

3. For construction works that are subject to inspection or acceptance organized by the State Council for Construction Works Inspection, there shall be no need for force-bearing safety certification or quality conformity certification, except in cases with specific requirements.

Article 5. Announcing information on testing organizations, force-bearing safety certification organizations, quality conformity certification organizations, and specialized judicial appraisal organizations in construction

1. Testing organizations meeting the conditions stipulated in Article 7 of this Circular and force-bearing safety certification organizations, quality conformity certification organizations (collectively referred to as certification organizations) meeting the conditions stipulated in Article 10 of this Circular may register to be announced on the electronic information website of the Ministry of Construction.

2. Specialized judicial appraisal organizations in construction as prescribed in Circular No. 35/2009/TT-BXD dated October 5, 2009 of the Ministry of Construction guiding judicial appraisals in construction shall be announced on the electronic information website of the Ministry of Construction.

3. The registration procedure to be announced shall follow the announcement regulation of the Ministry of Construction published on this information website.

Article 6. Selection of testing organizations and certification organizations

1. The selection of testing organizations or certification organizations must comply with the following principles:

a) Adhering to the requirements of the law on bidding;

b) Meeting the requirements regarding the capacity of testing organizations as stipulated in Article 7 or certification organizations as stipulated in Article 10 of this Circular;

c) Ensuring the requirement of independence and objectivity:

In cases where forensic appraisal, force-bearing safety certification, and testing are carried out according to point a, b, d Clause 1 Article 3, and quality conformity certification is carried out according to point a Clause 2 Article 4 of this Circular, the organization conducting the testing and certification must be an organization not involved in surveying, designing, constructing, supplying materials and equipment for installation in the project, managing the project, and supervising construction for the very object of the tested and certified project.

2. Priority should be given to selecting testing organizations and certification organizations that have been announced according to Article 5 of this Circular when implementing forensic appraisal and quality conformity certification as required by state management agencies and force-bearing safety certification.

Chapter II

TESTING AND APPRAISAL

Article 7. Requirements for the capacity of testing organizations

1. Regarding legal entity: it is an organization established in accordance with the law, having functions to operate in the field of testing.

2. Regarding quality management system:

a) Having points of contact to monitor and inspect testing activities according to contracts;

b) Having plans and methods to control quality ensuring testing work including:

- Testing procedures for each object;

- Methods to control data collected for testing purposes;

- Plans to organize experiments and test quality;

- Internal control procedures at each stage of testing and final acceptance before announcing results.

c) Procedures for establishing and managing related files and documents during testing; issuing documents during testing; notification documents of testing results; response documents to complaints from relevant parties about testing results.

3. Regarding capacity conditions:

a) Regarding capacity: having sufficient human resources and material facilities, equipment to perform activities related to testing services, including:

- At least three individuals with a bachelor's degree or higher in relevant fields suitable for testing work, possessing testing expertise, and having indefinite-term labor contracts. The person in charge of organizing testing work must have at least ten years of experience working in the construction sector and the ability to lead one of the design, construction supervision areas appropriate to the type, level of the project and the assigned testing content;

- Having a specialized construction laboratory recognized according to regulations and having the capability to conduct tests serving testing work.

b) Regarding experience:

- In case of testing construction works or components: having conducted testing on at least one similar construction work of the same type and level or two similar construction works of lower levels adjacent to the tested object;

- In case of testing to determine mechanical, physical, chemical indicators of construction parts, products, or building materials (testing concrete strength of structures; testing density, waterproofing of materials; testing to determine cement additives...), then they must have previously performed similar testing work.

Article 8. Procedures for inspection, appraisal, and the content of the inspection outline

1. In cases where an appraisal is conducted at the request of judicial authorities or prosecutors, the appraisal shall be carried out in accordance with the regulations on judicial construction appraisal.

2. For other inspection and supervision cases, the implementation procedures include the following main steps:

a) The inspection organization prepares an inspection outline to submit for review and approval by the entity or individual requesting the inspection.

b) The inspection organization conducts the inspection in accordance with the approved outline.

c) The inspection organization prepares an evaluation report and conclusion based on the inspection requirements stipulated in the contract and sends it to the entity or individual requesting the inspection.

In cases where an appraisal is conducted at the request of state management agencies, the entity or individual requesting the inspection submits the evaluation report and conclusion to such agency. The state management agency receives the inspection result report and sends a receipt form according to the model specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular to the requesting entity or individual within one day from the date of receiving the report (the time of receiving the report is calculated based on the postmark of the issuing place).

3. The inspection outline includes the following main contents:

a) Purpose of the inspection, inspection requirements, content of the inspection process and inspection methods;

b) Technical standards applied in the implementation of inspection;

c) List of personnel and individuals assigned to lead the inspection, information about the capabilities of those involved in the inspection;

d) Main equipment and laboratories used for inspection;

d) Costs of implementation, estimated completion time for the inspection;

e) Other conditions for conducting the inspection.

Article 9. Inspection Costs

1. Inspection costs are determined by preparing a budget in accordance with the regulations on investment cost management and consistent with the workload of the approved outline.

2. Inspection costs include some or all of the following costs:

a) Costs of preparing the inspection outline;

b) Costs of surveying the current status of the project, project components, or building sections;

c) Costs of sample testing, testing costs;

d) Costs of researching files and documents;

d) Calculation costs, review costs, evaluation costs, report preparation, and conclusion costs;

e) Transportation costs;

g) Other necessary costs as prescribed.

Chapter III

SAFETY LOAD CERTIFICATION, QUALITY COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATION

Article 10. Requirements for the Competence of Certification Organizations

1. Regarding legal entity: It is an organization established in accordance with the law, having functions to operate in the certification field;

2. Regarding quality management system:

a) Having oversight and inspection mechanisms for certification activities according to contracts;

b) Having quality control plans and assurance measures including:

- Certification processes for each subject;

- Methods for collecting data to serve certification purposes;

- Plans for organizing experiments and certifying quality;

- Internal control processes at each stage during certification and final acceptance before public announcement.

b) Procedures for establishing and managing relevant files and documents during certification; issuance of documents during the certification process; notification documents of certification results; response documents to complaints from related parties regarding certification results.

3. Regarding capacity conditions:

a) Regarding capability: Having sufficient human resources and material facilities to carry out activities related to certification services, including at least three individuals with university degrees or higher in relevant fields suitable for certification work, possessing certification expertise, and having indefinite-term employment contracts. The person leading the certification work must have at least ten years of experience working in the construction field and the ability to lead one of the design, construction supervision, or building quality inspection areas corresponding to the type and level of certified projects;

b) Regarding experience:

- For Class I and special class projects: Having conducted certification for at least one project of the same type and level or two projects of the same type and adjacent lower levels compared to the certified project;

- For projects from Class II downwards: Having conducted certification for at least one project of the same type and level or the leader of the certification organization must have designed, supervised construction, or inspected quality for at least three equivalent-level projects.

Article 11. Procedure and Content of Inspection and Certification

1. The procedure for inspection and certification includes the following main steps:

a) The certification organization prepares a certification outline according to the inspection and certification content stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article for the investor and owner to review and approve. Depending on the type and scale of the project, when preparing the outline, the certification organization forecasts the appropriate number of inspections to ensure quality control and evaluation throughout the construction process.

b) The certification organization conducts inspections and certifications strictly in accordance with the approved outline. Certification must be carried out from the start of the project's construction.

After each inspection round, the certification organization must submit a written report on observations and evaluations regarding the quality and quality management work inspected to the investor and related parties. During the inspection, if there are doubts about matters related to the certification content, the certification organization requests clarification from relevant parties; in necessary cases, it requests the investor to organize re-inspection and testing.

c) The certification organization issues a certificate in accordance with Article 12 of this Circular before the investor and owner put the project into operation. For projects that implement force safety certification and quality compliance certification according to the requirements of the local state management agency for construction, the investor and owner are responsible for submitting one certificate along with the inspection result report and completion acceptance record of the certified project or component to the agency for inspection and management. This certificate serves as the basis for the investor and owner to put the project into use.

The local state management agency for construction receives the certificate and sends an acceptance receipt according to the model specified in Appendix 1 of this Circular to the investor and owner within one day from the date of receiving the certificate (the time of receiving the certificate is calculated based on the postmark of the issuing place).

2. Content of Inspection and Certification:

a) Quality Management Work Inspection:

- Compliance with legal regulations on the qualifications of entities involved in construction projects;

- Procedures and processes for establishing and approving investment projects and implementing investment projects;

- Procedures and processes for reviewing, approving, and accepting survey and design documents;

- Quality certificates for materials, supplies, equipment; material test results, inspection and re-inspection test results (if applicable); acceptance records for works, stages, and completed projects;

b) Design Technical Documentation Inspection:

- Checking and evaluating the consistency of the construction survey results report with survey standards and tasks;

- Checking and evaluating the consistency of technical design (in three-step design) or construction drawing design (in two-step or one-step design) with design requirements, geological conditions, technical standards applied to the project.

c) Construction Quality Inspection:

- Inspecting the construction drawings of the project approved by the investor;

- Directly inspecting and evaluating the quality of materials, supplies, equipment, prefabricated products used in the project;

- Inspecting the construction quality of project components and sub-projects, evaluating the consistency of quality with approved designs and applied technical standards;

- Inspecting the construction quality of the project's infrastructure systems, evaluating the consistency of quality with approved designs and applied technical standards;

- Witnessing load testing and trial operation of certified projects and sub-projects;

- Inspecting measurement data and external manifestations of structures.

In the case of force safety certification, the inspection focuses only on the structural components that may cause disasters when damaged.

Article 12. Issuance of Certification

1. The certification organization issues a certificate to the investor and owner within the time limit stipulated in the contract. The content of the certificate includes:

a) Name of the certification organization;

b) Bases for conducting certification;

c) Name of the certified project or sub-project;

d) Certification content;

đ) Conclusions and evaluations;

e) Signature and seal of the legal representative of the certification organization.

2. Handling cases where certification cannot be issued due to lack of conditions:

In cases where certification cannot be issued due to lack of conditions, the certification organization is responsible for notifying the investor and owner in writing about its decision, clearly stating the reasons for not issuing the certificate. The investor and owner are responsible for reporting this matter to the local state management agency for construction for inspection and handling.

Article 13. Costs for Implementing Certification

1. The costs for certification of structural safety and certification of quality compliance according to the requirements of the state management agency shall be borne by the project investor from the consultancy fee for construction investment within the total investment cost of the construction project.

These costs shall be determined by preparing a budget estimate in accordance with regulations and shall include some or all of the following costs:

a) Cost of preparing the certification outline;

b) Cost of reviewing documentation, construction procedures, and quality management of the project;

c) Cost of calculation, inspection, and evaluation of the suitability of survey and design documentation;

d) Cost of inspecting the suitability of construction quality;

đ) Cost of sampling and testing, testing, and inspection (if necessary);

e) Cost of preparing reports and conclusions;

g) Travel and transportation costs;

h) Other necessary costs as prescribed.

2. The costs for certification of quality compliance according to the requirements of the project investor or owner shall be agreed upon by the project investor, owner, and certification organization. These costs may be determined by preparing a budget estimate in accordance with regulations.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 14. Responsibilities for Implementation

1. The Ministry of Construction shall be responsible for:

a) State management over inspection and certification activities; guiding and inspecting the implementation of this Circular throughout the country;

b) Suspending or requiring local construction management agencies to suspend inspection and certification activities when violations are detected in inspection and certification activities. In necessary cases, it may require local construction management agencies not to allow project investors or owners to put the project into operation or temporarily halt its operation when factors that do not ensure safety for the project are discovered;

c) Compiling and publishing information on inspection organizations and certification organizations; announcing forms of penalties and removal from lists of organizations violating the provisions of this Circular on the Ministry of Construction's electronic information website.

The National Construction Quality Inspection Agency under the Ministry of Construction is the focal point assisting the Ministry of Construction in implementing the above tasks.

2. People's Committees of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for:

a) Guiding and inspecting the implementation of inspections and certifications within the administrative boundaries under their management;

b) Suspending inspection and certification activities when violations are detected in inspection and certification activities; not allowing project investors or owners to put the project into operation or temporarily halting its operation when factors that do not ensure safety for the project are discovered;

c) Receiving and publishing information on inspection organizations and certification organizations operating in the area; announcing forms of penalties for organizations violating the provisions of this Circular on the local Construction Department's electronic information website and sending them to the Ministry of Construction for publication on the Ministry of Construction's electronic information website;

d) Summarizing the annual implementation situation in accordance with the provisions of this Circular and reporting to the Ministry of Construction.

The Construction Department is the focal point assisting the People's Committee of the province or centrally-administered city in implementing the above tasks.

Article 15. Handling Violations

If the project investor, owner, and inspection organizations or certification organizations violate the provisions of this Circular, in addition to being subject to administrative penalties as prescribed by law, they will also be handled as follows:

1. For project investors and owners: temporarily suspending the operation or use of the project or not being allowed to put the project into operation or use.

2. For inspection organizations and certification organizations: removing them from the list of published inspection organizations and certification organizations on the Ministry of Construction's electronic information website.

Article 16. Implementation Provisions

1. This Circular takes effect from June 1, 2011, and replaces Circular No. 16/2008/TT-BXD dated September 11, 2008, issued by the Ministry of Construction guiding the inspection and certification of sufficient conditions for ensuring structural safety and the suitability of construction project quality; Article 5, Article 6 of Circular No. 22/2009/TT-BXD dated July 6, 2009, issued by the Ministry of Construction detailing the conditions of capacity in construction activities; point b Clause 2 Article 4 and Article 8 of Circular No. 35/2009/TT-BXD.

2. Construction projects currently undergoing certification in accordance with Circular No. 16/2008/TT-BXD shall continue to be implemented in accordance with Circular No. 16/2008/TT-BXD.

During the implementation process, if difficulties or obstacles arise, it is recommended that organizations and individuals send their opinions to the Ministry of Construction for guidance and resolution./.