The Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Articles of the Notary Law No. 04/2026/QH16

LAW

AMENDING AND ENACTING SOME ARTICLES OF THE NOTARIZATION LAW BASED ON THE CONSTITUTION OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

WHICH HAS BEEN AMENDED, ENACTED ACCORDING TO RESOLUTION NO. 203/2025/QH15 BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, LAWS HAVE BEEN AMENDED AND ENACTED SOME ARTICLES OF THE NOTARIZATION LAW;

No. /QH HAS BEEN AMENDED AND ENACTED SOME ARTICLES ACCORDING TO LAW NO. 106/2025/QH15. 46/2024Article 1. Amend and Enact Some Articles of the Notarization Law15 1. Amend and enact paragraph 1 and paragraph 2 of Article 2 as follows: "1. Notarization is a public service provided by notaries from notary offices to verify the authenticity and legality of transactions (hereinafter referred to as 'transactions') that require notarization or are voluntarily requested for notarization by individuals or organizations. Diplomatic missions and consular posts of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad shall perform notarization of transactions in accordance with Article 73 of this Law. 2. A notary is a person who meets the standards prescribed by this Law, appointed by the People's Committee of the province or city (hereinafter referred to as 'provincial people's committee') to practice notarization and perform certain certification tasks in accordance with legal provisions."

2. Amend and enact Article 3 as follows: "Article 3. Transactions that require notarization 1. Transactions that require notarization are important transactions, requiring strict conditions for participation, high legal security, and are prescribed by law to be notarized. 2. The Ministry of Justice shall take the lead in coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to review, update, and publish a list of transactions that require notarization or certification on the Ministry of Justice's electronic information portal."

3. Amend and enact paragraph 6 of Article 11 as follows: "6. Recognition of equivalence for those who have been trained in notary practice abroad falls within the authority of the head of the provincial people's committee where such person resides. The Minister of Justice shall prescribe a framework training program for notaries and procedures, processes, and formalities for recognizing equivalence for those who have been trained in notary practice abroad."

4. Amend and enact paragraph 1 of Article 13 as follows: "1. Any individual who meets the standards prescribed by Article 10 of this Law and does not fall under any of the circumstances specified in paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 of Article 14 of this Law has the right to request the head of the provincial people's committee where they completed their apprenticeship for notary practice to appoint a notary."

5. Amend and enact paragraph 3 of Article 16 as follows: "3. The authority to remove a notary falls within the jurisdiction of the head of the provincial people's committee where such notary is currently practicing; in cases where the notary is no longer practicing at any notary office at the time of removal consideration, the authority to remove shall fall within the jurisdiction of the head of the provincial people's committee where the notary last practiced; in cases where a notary has been appointed but has not yet commenced practice, the authority to remove falls within the jurisdiction of the head of the provincial people's committee where such notary was appointed. The Government shall prescribe procedures, processes, and formalities for removing a notary."

6. Amend and enact paragraph 4 of Article 17 as follows: "4. The authority to reappoint a notary falls within the jurisdiction of the head of the provincial people's committee where such notary was removed; the Government shall prescribe procedures, processes, and formalities for reappointing a notary."

7. Amend and enact Article 19 as follows: "Article 19. Notary Office 1. A notary office includes a notary office and a notarial office organized and operated in accordance with this Law and other relevant legal provisions. 2. The provincial people's committee shall be responsible for formulating a management and development plan for notary offices that is consistent with the provisions of this Law, guiding documents, and local realities; reviewing and deciding on the transfer of certification authority from the head of the commune people's committee to a notary office to perform notarization in communes where a notary office has been established and meets the requirements for notarization as prescribed by the Government."

8. Amend and enact paragraph 1 of Article 23 as follows: "1. A notarial office is organized and operated in accordance with this Law and other relevant legal provisions applicable to a partnership company form. In areas where the population density is low, infrastructure and services are underdeveloped, and it is difficult to establish a notarial office in the partnership company form, a notarial office may be established in the individual enterprise form. A notarial office that has been established in the individual enterprise form and continues to operate shall continue its operations even if the commune no longer falls within the category of areas where an individual enterprise form notarial office can be established. The Government shall prescribe procedures for converting a notarial office organized and operated in the individual enterprise form into a notarial office organized and operated in the partnership company form. The provincial people's committee shall determine the list of communes that may establish a notarial office in the individual enterprise form within its jurisdiction."

9. Amend and enact point d of paragraph 2 of Article 24 as follows: "d) Not having completed the two-year period prescribed by paragraphs 6 of Article 27, 5 of Article 30, 5 of Article 31, and 4 of Article 34 of this Law."

8. Sửa đổi, bổ sung khoản 1 Điều 23 như sau: “1. Văn phòng công chứng được tổ chức và hoạt động theo quy định của Luật này và quy định khác của pháp luật có liên quan đối với loại hình công ty hợp danh. Tại các đơn vị hành chính cấp xã có mật độ dân số thấp, cơ sở hạ tầng, dịch vụ chưa phát triển và khó khăn trong việc thành lập Văn phòng công chứng theo loại hình công ty hợp danh thì được thành lập Văn phòng công chứng theo loại hình doanh nghiệp tư nhân. Đơn vị hành chính cấp xã không còn thuộc trường hợp được thành lập Văn phòng công chứng theo loại hình doanh nghiệp tư nhân thì Văn phòng công chứng được tổ chức và hoạt động theo loại hình doanh nghiệp tư nhân đã được thành lập trước đó vẫn được tiếp tục hoạt động. Chính phủ quy định việc chuyển đổi loại hình Văn phòng công chứng được tổ chức và hoạt động theo loại hình doanh nghiệp tư nhân thành Văn phòng công chứng được tổ chức và hoạt động theo loại hình công ty hợp danh. Ủy ban nhân dân cấp tỉnh quyết định danh mục đơn vị hành chính cấp xã được thành lập Văn phòng công chứng được tổ chức và hoạt động theo loại hình doanh nghiệp tư nhân tại địa phương mình.”.

9. Sửa đổi, bổ sung điểm d khoản 2 Điều 24 như sau: “d) Chưa hết thời hạn hai năm theo quy định tại khoản 6 Điều 27, khoản 5 Điều 30, khoản 5 Điều 31 và khoản 4 Điều 34 của Luật này.”.

10. Amend and supplement Clause 1 and Clause 2 of Article 26 as follows: "1. Within a period of ten days from the date of change to any of the contents specified in Clause 2 of this Law, the Notary Office must register such changes with the Department of Justice where the Notary Office has registered its operation. In the case of addition of a general partner or a notary who works under a labor contract regime at the Notary Office, the added notary may practice from the date when the Notary Office is reissued a registration certificate by the Department of Justice or the content change is recorded in the registration certificate of the Notary Office. Any change to the principal office address of the Notary Office must be consistent with the local management and development plan for notarial organizations. Any change to the name of the Notary Office must comply with the requirements specified in Clause 4 of Article 23 of this Law. 2. Where a Notary Office changes its name, principal office address, or head, it shall obtain a reissued registration certificate from the Department of Justice; where other registered contents are changed, the Department of Justice shall issue a reissued registration certificate or record such content change in the registration certificate of the Notary Office."

11. Amend and supplement certain clauses of Article 42 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Clause 1 as follows: "1. The person requesting notarization shall submit one copy of the request for notarization either online, in person, or by mail to the notarial institution. The request for notarization includes the following documents: a) Draft transaction; b) Identity documents of the person requesting notarization, including an identity card, passport, or other identification document as required by law to confirm the identity of the person requesting notarization; c) Certificate of ownership or right to use property, or judgment, decision of the court that has taken legal effect, or other decisions of a competent state authority regarding the disposition of property or substitute documents prescribed by law for property that must be registered in accordance with the law when dealing with such property; d) Other documents related to the transaction as required by law. The documents specified at points b, c and d of this clause are copies, electronic copies, or electronic originals."

b) Amend and supplement Clause 7 and add Clause 7a after Clause 7 as follows: "7. Where the person requesting notarization agrees to all contents in the draft transaction, they shall sign each page of the transaction and sign, write their full name, and affix a seal (if any) on the last page of the transaction; where finger printing is required, it shall be done in accordance with Article 50 of this Law. The notary officer requests the person requesting notarization to present the original or electronic copy of the documents specified at points b, c and d of Clause 1 of this article for verification before signing the certificate and each page of the transaction; where a notarial document refuses to accept an inheritance as provided in Article 60 of this Law, the person requesting notarization is not required to present the original or electronic copy of the documents specified at point c of Clause 1 of this article for verification before signing the certificate and each page of the transaction; for documents specified at point d of Clause 1 of this article where the person requesting notarization does not have an original or electronic copy at the time the notary officer signs the certificate, they may present a duplicate from the original register, a certified duplicate, or an electronically certified duplicate. 7a. In cases where data about the information in the components of the request for notarization specified in Clause 1 of this article is already available in a database published by the competent authority managing the database, the person requesting notarization does not need to provide documents containing such information but may access and use the data; if the person requesting notarization requests the notary officer to access and use the data, they must pay fees for accessing and using the information in the national database and other databases published according to law; the notary officer receives a request for notarization that accesses and uses information already available in the national database and other databases and examines and resolves the request for notarization without requiring verification of original documents as provided in Clause 7 of this article. The notary officer may require the person requesting notarization to supplement documents in the components of the request for notarization only when data cannot be accessed within the processing period of the request for notarization or the accessed data is incomplete or inaccurate."

12. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 43 as follows: "3. Other procedures shall be carried out in accordance with Clauses 6, 7, 7a, and 8 of Article 42 of this Law."

13. Amend and supplement Article 44 as follows: "Article 44. Notarial authority for transactions involving immovable property 1. A notary officer at a notarial institution may only notarize transactions involving immovable property within the province or city where the notarial institution is located, except in cases of testamentary disposition, refusal to accept an inheritance document, power of attorney related to the exercise of rights over immovable property, and notarization of amendments, supplements, termination, cancellation of such transactions as provided by law. 2. The Government shall specify a phased implementation schedule for the notarial authority for transactions in accordance with Clause 1 of this article throughout the country after the operation of the notary database specified in Article 66 of this Law and information in relevant databases has been made available according to law."

14. Amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 50 as follows: "4. Fingerprinting may be performed simultaneously with signing at the request of the person requesting notarization."

15. The Law amends and supplements Article 57 as follows: "Article 57. Notarization of Power of Attorney Contracts Where the Authorizing Party and the Authorized Party Cannot Both Go to a Single Notary Office 1. In cases where the authorizing party and the authorized party cannot both go to a single notary office, the authorizing party may request a notary from the notary office of their choice to certify the authorization in the power of attorney contract; the authorized party may also request a notary from the notary office of their choice to certify the acceptance of the authorization on the original copy of the power of attorney contract to confirm the acceptance of the authorization, thereby completing the notarization of the power of attorney contract. The notarized power of attorney contract shall take effect from the time it is signed and sealed by the notary of the notary office requested by both the authorizing party and the authorized party. In cases where the notarized document is an electronic notarized document, it must also bear the digital signature of the notary and the digital signatures of the relevant notary offices. 2. The notarization of amendments, supplements, or agreements to terminate a power of attorney contract in cases where the authorizing party and the authorized party cannot both go to a single notary office shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 53 of this Law and Paragraph 1 of this Article. The amended, supplemented, or terminated power of attorney contract shall take effect according to the provisions of Paragraph 1 of this Article. In cases where both parties jointly request notarization of amendments, supplements, or termination of a power of attorney contract at one of the two notary offices that have previously performed the notarization, such notary office has the responsibility to notify and send a copy of the amended, supplemented, or terminated document to the other notary office responsible for maintaining the notarial records within five working days. 3. The correction of technical errors in notarized documents as provided in Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall be carried out at one of the two notary offices that have performed the notarization, except where otherwise provided by law. Notaries shall carry out the correction of technical errors according to the provisions of Paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 52 of this Law, notify in writing those involved in the transaction and the other notary office responsible for maintaining the notarial records within five working days; if the other notary office has ceased operations, they shall notify the notary office that maintains the records of such notary office within five working days.".

16. The Law amends and supplements Article 66 as follows: "Article 66. Notarial Database 1. A notarial database includes the following data: a) Information about notaries, notary offices, and transactions that have been notarized; b) Information on the status of property transactions; c) Information on measures to prevent and warn against risks in notarial activities; d) Notarized documents and other records in the notarial file. 2. The notarial database must be updated fully, accurately, and timely and ensure security and safety according to the provisions of the law. The collection, provision of information for inclusion in the notarial database, as well as the utilization, sharing, and exploitation of the notarial database must comply with the provisions of this Law and other relevant laws on the confidentiality of notarization content, protection of personal privacy, individual secrets, and family secrets. The connection and sharing of information between the notarial database and national databases, departmental, provincial, and other databases must ensure effectiveness, security, and be in line with the functions, duties, and powers as provided by this Law and relevant laws. 3. The notarial database is centrally managed and hierarchically managed according to the responsibilities of state management over notarization by the Ministry of Justice and people's committees at provincial levels. 4. The Ministry of Justice shall be responsible for building a unified, coordinated notarial database from central to local levels in accordance with technical standards and specifications throughout the country. The Minister of Justice shall issue regulations governing the management, updating, utilization, sharing, and exploitation of the notarial database nationwide. 5. The funding for the construction, management, operation, maintenance, and upgrading of the notarial database shall be sourced from national budget and other sources in accordance with relevant laws. 6. The Government shall detail provisions of Paragraphs 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this Article.".

17. The Law amends and supplements Paragraph 3 of Article 68 as follows: "3. In cases where a competent state agency requests in writing the notarial file for purposes of supervision, inspection, investigation, prosecution, trial, or enforcement related to a notarized matter, the notary office has the responsibility to provide copies of the notarized document and other relevant documents. The verification of the copy of the notarized document against the original shall only be conducted at the notary office where the notarial file is stored, except in cases where a law enforcement agency requests the original document for purposes of verification or authentication of the document. The maximum period for providing the original document is ten working days from the date of handover. The law enforcement agency shall bear responsibility for preserving and returning the original document intact and within the stipulated time to the notary office. The handover of the original document must be documented in writing, specifying the time of return, the person responsible for the return, and the responsibilities in case of loss or damage to the original document.".

18. Certain phrases are replaced at certain points as follows:

a) Replace the phrase "People's Committee of the province, municipality directly under the Central Government (hereinafter referred to as People's Committee at provincial level)" with the phrase "People's Committee at provincial level" in Paragraph 4 of Article 8.

b) Replace the phrase "thanh tra viên chính ngành tư pháp" with "thanh tra viên chính trong lĩnh vực tư pháp" at Point a, Clause 3, Article 11; replace the phrase "thanh tra viên cao cấp ngành tư pháp" with "thanh tra viên cao cấp trong lĩnh vực tư pháp" at Point d, Clause 3, Article 11;

c) Replace the phrase "xã, phường, thị trấn" with "xã, phường, đặc khu" at Clause 3, Article 14;

d) Replace the phrase "địa bàn cấp huyện" with "địa bàn cấp xã" at Point a, Clause 2, Article 20 and Clause 1, Article 21;

d) Replace the phrase "tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc trung ương" with "tỉnh, thành phố" at Clause 4, Article 20, Clause 1, Article 29, Clause 1, Article 41 and Clause 5, Article 68.

Article 2. Enforceability

This Law shall come into force on January 1, 2027.

Article 3. Transitional Provisions

1. Notaries who have been appointed or reappointed as notaries prior to the effective date of this Law may continue to practice and perform certification duties in accordance with the provisions of the Amended and Supplemental Law on Notary No. 46/2024/QH15, which has been amended and supplemented by the Law No. 106/2025/QH15 and the provisions of this Law.

2. The appointment of notaries for individuals who have completed their probationary period in a province or municipality shall be coordinated with other provinces or municipalities under the authority of the People's Committee of the province or municipality after such coordination.

3. The removal of notaries appointed by the Minister of Justice shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Law. In cases where a notary appointed by the Minister of Justice has not yet commenced practice, the removal shall fall under the authority of the People's Committee of the province where the appointment was requested.

4. The reappointment of notaries who have been removed or dismissed prior to the effective date of this Law shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Law. In cases where a notary has been removed by the Minister of Justice, the reappointment shall fall under the authority of the People's Committee of the province where the appointment was requested; in cases where the Minister of Justice himself removes a notary, the reappointment shall fall under the authority of the People's Committee of the province where the notary last practiced.

5. Notarial databases established prior to the effective date of this Law may continue to be managed, utilized, and accessed in accordance with the provisions of the Amended and Supplemental Law on Notary No. 46/2024/QH15, which has been amended and supplemented by the Law No. 106/2025/QH15, until such time as the notarial database established in accordance with this Law is operational and all necessary data have been fully synchronized into the notarial database established in accordance with this Law. The People's Committee of the province shall be responsible for directing the updating, management, and utilization of existing notarial databases within the province during the period of establishing a notarial database in accordance with this Law; it shall also direct the integration of notarial data from the province into the national notarial database in accordance with this Law to ensure timely, secure, complete, and accurate information.

6. Within one year from the effective date of this Law, the Government shall conduct a review of provisions regarding transactions that must be notarized in laws and regulations issued prior to the effective date of this Law, and complete the amendment, supplementation, or repeal according to its authority or submit such amendments, supplements, or repeals for consideration by the competent authority where they do not meet the requirements set forth in Clause 2, Article 1 of this Law.