Circular No. 08/2023/TT-BTP guiding the probation period for notarial practice

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Notary Practice Internship

Pursuant to the Notarization Law dated June 20, 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 29/2015/NĐ-CP dated March 15, 2015 of the Government detailing and guiding the implementation of certain provisions of the Notarization Law;

Pursuant to Decree No. 98/2022/NĐ-CP dated November 29, 2022, issued by the Government, concerning the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

At the proposal of the Director of the Legal Aid Department,

The Minister of Justice issues this Circular guiding notary practice internship.

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular stipulates the internship and management of notary practice internships; inspection of internship results; handling violations, addressing complaints and denunciations regarding internships; and inspection of internship results.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to individuals undergoing notary practice internships; those participating in the examination of internship results; notaries guiding internships; organizations accepting internships; associations of notaries; state management agencies for notarization; and other relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals.

Chapter II

NOTARY PRACTICE INTERNSHIP

Article 3. Registration for Notary Practice Internship

1. The list of organizations qualified to accept internships within a province or centrally-administered city shall be published on the website of the Department of Justice by the Department of Justice. Individuals meeting the conditions for registration for internship shall independently contact an organization listed for internship.

2. The internship registration dossier includes the following documents:

a) Application for Registration for Notary Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-01a or Form TP-TSCC-01b);

b) Certificate of completion of notary training course or certificate of completion of notary refresher course or decision recognizing equivalence for individuals trained abroad (certified copy or scanned copy with original for verification);

3. An organization accepting internships assigns a qualified notary to guide the internship and confirms on the Application for Registration for Notary Practice Internship of the individual applying for internship; if it refuses to accept the internship, it must respond in writing stating the reasons or clearly record the refusal reasons on the Application for Registration for Notary Practice Internship of the individual applying for internship.

The individual accepted for internship shall submit directly or send through postal service or through the One-stop Service Center one set of internship registration dossier as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article to the Department of Justice where the organization accepting internship is located. Within seven working days from the date of receiving complete and valid dossier, the Department of Justice shall issue a Decision on Registration for Notary Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-02) and send the decision to the individual registering for internship and the organization accepting internship; if it refuses, it must respond in writing stating the reasons.

4. Individuals meeting the conditions for registration for internship who have contacted at least three organizations qualified to accept internships within a province or centrally-administered city or one organization qualified to accept internships in cases where there are three or fewer such organizations in that province or centrally-administered city and were refused acceptance for internship may submit the dossier as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article to the Department of Justice of that province or centrally-administered city to arrange for internship and register for notary practice internship.

Within ten days from the date of receiving complete and valid dossier, the Department of Justice shall examine and designate an organization to accept internship and issue a Decision on Registration for Notary Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-02) and send the decision to the individual registering for internship and the organization accepting internship; if there are no organizations qualified to accept internships in that province or centrally-administered city, it must respond in writing stating the reasons to the applicant. Individuals refused may apply for internship in another province or centrally-administered city.

In case of necessity, the Department of Justice may conduct verification to clarify the conditions for registration for internship and acceptance of internship as prescribed by the Notarization Law and this Circular; the maximum verification period is ten days and does not count towards the time for examining and designating an organization to accept internship and registering for internship.

5. Individuals falling under any of the following circumstances shall not be allowed to register for internship:

a) Individuals currently being pursued for criminal responsibility, convicted by a court judgment with legal effect about negligent crimes without having their criminal records expunged or intentional crimes;

b) Individuals currently subject to administrative measures according to laws on handling administrative violations;

c) Individuals who have lost or are restricted in civil capacity or have difficulties in understanding and controlling their actions;

d) Individuals currently serving as civil servants, public officials (except public officials working at Notary Offices), officers, professional military personnel, defense industry workers in agencies and units under the People's Army; officers, non-commissioned officers, workers in agencies and units under the Public Security Force;

đ) Civil servants dismissed, public officials dismissed from duty, or officers, professional military personnel, workers, public officials in agencies and units under the People's Army, officers, non-commissioned officers, workers, public officials in units under the Public Security Force disciplined by revocation of military rank, Public Security rank, or removal from service;

e) Individuals currently employed under labor contracts with agencies, organizations, enterprises, except those working under labor contracts at organizations accepting internships or signing labor contracts with agencies, organizations, enterprises during which they do not overlap with the working hours of the organization accepting internship.

6. Individuals registered for internship by the Department of Justice are referred to as internship candidates (hereinafter referred to as internship candidates). Internship candidates have rights and obligations as prescribed by the Notarization Law and this Circular.

Article 4. Refusal to guide probation

1. A notary assigned to guide probation must refuse to do so if they do not meet the conditions for guiding probation as prescribed by the Notarization Law or for other legitimate reasons, and must notify the notary practice organization accepting the probationer in writing within three working days from the date of assignment.

2. Within three working days from the date of receiving the notary's notification of refusal to guide probation, the notary practice organization shall consider and decide on assigning another qualified notary to guide probation, or report in writing to the Department of Justice if there is no other qualified notary available in their organization. Within seven working days from the date of receiving the notification from the notary practice organization, the Department of Justice shall designate another notary practice organization to accept the probationer; if there is no notary practice organization with the necessary qualifications, it shall notify the probationer in writing, clearly stating the reasons.

Article 5PERIOD OF PROBATION FOR THE PRACTICE OF NOTARIAL SERVICES

Article 5. Duration of Probation for Notary Practice

1. The duration of probation for notary practice (hereinafter referred to as the probation period) as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 11 of the Notarization Law shall be calculated from the effective date of the decision registering for notary practice probation.

2. In cases where the probationer changes the place of probation according to the provisions of Article 8 of this Circular, the probation period shall be calculated as the total time spent in probation at various notary practice organizations.

Article 6. Content of Probation for Notary Practice

1. The content of probation for notary practice includes:

a) Skills in receiving and categorizing notarization requests; skills in verifying the authenticity and legality of documents in the notarization request file; skills in examining and identifying subjects, civil capacity of persons participating in signing contracts and transactions;

b) Skills in interacting with notarization requesters, following the Code of Ethics for Notary Practice; skills in explaining to notarization requesters about their rights, obligations, and legitimate interests, the legal significance and consequences of notarization; skills in explaining reasons for refusing notarization requests;

c) Research and proposal skills for resolving notarization request files;

d) Drafting contract and transaction skills according to the requester's requirements; skills in verifying the authenticity and legality of draft contracts and transactions prepared by the requester; verification skills;

đ) Notarization translation skills; skills in certifying copies, verifying signatures in documents and texts;

e) Drafting affidavit skills;

g) Checking, sorting, and categorizing notarized and certified files for archiving;

h) Skills in utilizing notarization databases and applying information technology in notarization activities;

i) Management skills for notary practice organizations;

k) Other skills and tasks related to notarization as assigned by the probation guidance notary.

Article 72. The probation guidance notary shall instruct the probationer to perform the probation contents specified in Clause 1 of this Article. For those with a six-month probation period, the probation guidance notary shall consult and agree with the notary practice organization accepting the probationer on the focused probation contents and allocate time for each probation content suitable for the probationer.

Article 7. Change of Probation Guidance Notary

1. The change of probation guidance notary shall be carried out when the notary falls under any of the following circumstances:

a) Failure to fully fulfill the obligations prescribed in Article 14 of this Circular;

b) Death, loss of civil capacity, restricted civil capacity, difficulty in perception or control of behavior, or due to other objective reasons that prevent them from continuing to guide probation;

c) Being temporarily suspended from notary practice, removed from notary position, or no longer practicing at the notary practice organization accepting the probationer;

d) Being disciplined, administratively punished for violations in notary practice, or discovered to lack the necessary qualifications for guiding probation at the time of accepting probation guidance.

2. Within five working days from the date the probation guidance notary falls under any of the circumstances stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the notary practice organization accepting the probationer shall assign another qualified notary to continue guiding the probationer and notify the Department of Justice in writing; if there is no other qualified notary available, the notary practice organization shall notify the Department of Justice in writing.

Article 8. Changing the Place of Notary Training

1. The trainee may change the place of notary training in the following cases:

a) The notary practice organization accepting the trainee is suspended from operation for a period, ceases operations, or undergoes conversion or dissolution in accordance with the Notary Law and related regulatory legal documents;

b) The notary practice organization accepting the trainee no longer meets the conditions to accept trainees as stipulated by the Notary Law;

c) The supervising notary falls under the circumstances requiring a change as provided for in this Circular and the notary practice organization no longer has another qualified notary to supervise the trainee;

d) Is an employee of a Notary Office transferred to another Notary Office;

đ) Changes residence to another province or centrally governed city and wishes to change the place of training or falls under the circumstances requiring a change in the notary practice organization accepting the trainee as provided for in points a, b, and c of Clause 1 of this Article, but the locality no longer has another notary practice organization meeting the conditions to accept trainees;

2. In the case of changing the place of training within the same province or centrally governed city as provided for in points a, b, c, and d of Clause 1 of this Article, the trainee shall contact the new training place on their own or request the Department of Justice to arrange a new training place in accordance with Article 3 of this Circular.

Within three working days from the date of being accepted for training at a new notary practice organization, the trainee shall send a letter requesting a change in the place of notary training (Form TP-TSCC-03) to the Department of Justice where they have registered for training. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the request, the Department of Justice shall notify the trainee, the notary practice organization accepting the trainee, and the notary practice organization to which the trainee requests to transfer about the change in the place of training in writing; if the request is denied, it must be replied in writing stating the reasons to the person making the request.

If the trainee cannot contact the new training place on their own and requests the Department of Justice to arrange a new training place, within ten days from the date of receipt of the request for arrangement of a new training place, the Department of Justice shall examine and designate the notary practice organization to accept the trainee, notify the trainee and the notary practice organization accepting the trainee in writing; if the request is denied, it must be replied in writing stating the reasons to the person making the request.

3. In the case of changing the place of training to a notary practice organization in another province or centrally governed city as provided for in point đ of Clause 1 of this Article, the trainee shall send a letter requesting a change in the place of notary training to the Department of Justice where they have registered for training. Within five working days from the date of receipt of the request from the trainee, the Department of Justice shall issue a decision to cancel the registration for notary training (Form TP-TSCC-04), send it to the trainee and the notary practice organization accepting the trainee. The trainee shall contact the training place on their own or request the arrangement and registration for training at the Department of Justice where the notary practice organization to which they are transferring is located in accordance with Article 3 of this Circular to continue the training; the registration application file must include the cancellation decision as stipulated in this clause.

Article 9. Suspension of Notary Practice Training Period

1. The trainee may be suspended from the training period in the following cases:

a) The trainee takes maternity leave, for health reasons or for other legitimate reasons;

b) The notary practice organization accepting the trainee must suspend its operations due to force majeure events, being temporarily suspended from operating for a limited time while the trainee does not request to change the training location.

2. In the case specified in point a, Clause 1 of this Article, the trainee must notify in writing the notary practice organization where they are currently undergoing training at least five working days before the suspension date, along with documents proving the need for suspension.

The notary practice organization accepting the trainee must notify in writing the Department of Justice within five working days from the date the trainee suspends their training period, in the cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, clearly stating the reason and duration of the suspension.

3. A trainee who has a training period of twelve months can have their training suspended a maximum of two times, each time not exceeding six months; a trainee who has a training period of six months can have their training suspended a maximum of two times, each time not exceeding three months.

4. The suspension period shall not be counted towards the training period.

The training period prior to the suspension period will be counted towards the training period, except in cases where re-registration for training is required according to Clause 3, Article 10 of this Circular.

Article 10. Termination of Notary Practice Training Period, registration Re-training

1. The training period terminates when the trainee falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) Voluntarily terminating probation;

b) Is recruited as a civil servant, public official, officer, professional soldier, defense worker in an agency or unit under the People's Army; officer, non-commissioned officer, defense worker in an agency or unit under the People's Public Security;

c) Signs a labor contract with an agency, organization, enterprise, except in cases where the labor contract is signed with the notary practice organization accepting the trainee or signs a labor contract with an agency, organization, enterprise where the working hours do not overlap with the working hours of the notary practice organization accepting the trainee;

d) No longer resides in Vietnam;

đ) Loses or is restricted in capacity for civil acts; has difficulty in understanding and controlling behavior;

e) Is criminally prosecuted or convicted by a court judgment that has taken legal effect;

g) Is subject to administrative measures;

h) Does not undertake the training period within thirty days from the date the registration decision of the Department of Justice becomes effective;

i) Suspends training without falling under the prescribed cases; suspends training more than the prescribed number of times or fails to continue training after the suspension period ends according to the regulations;

k) Is terminated from training by the Department of Justice according to Clause 1, Article 30 of this Circular;

l) Falls under the circumstances that disqualify registration for notary practice training at the time of registration.

2. Within five working days from the date the trainee terminates the training period in the cases specified in points a, b, c, d, đ, e, g, h, i and l of Clause 1 of this Article, the notary practice organization accepting the trainee must report in writing to the Department of Justice, clearly stating the reason for the termination of the training period. Within five working days from the date of receiving the report from the notary practice organization, the Department of Justice issues a decision terminating the notary practice training period (Form TP-TSCC-05), sends the decision to the trainee and the notary practice organization accepting the trainee.

3. A person who has been terminated from the notary practice training period according to Clause 1 of this Article may be considered for re-registration for training when meeting the conditions for registration for training according to this Circular and falls under one of the following circumstances:

a) The reason for terminating the training period specified in points a, b, c, d, đ and h of Clause 1 of this Article no longer exists;

b) Has received a decision to terminate the investigation, terminate the case or a judgment that has taken legal effect declaring innocence; has had the criminal record expunged, except in cases where convicted of intentional crimes;

c) Has completed the execution of administrative measures according to the provisions of the law on handling administrative violations;

d) After a period of two years from the date the Department of Justice's decision on terminating the training period in the cases specified in point k, l of Clause 1 of this Article becomes effective.

4. A person who did not meet the requirements in the previous three examination periods of the training results may be considered for re-registration for training when meeting the conditions for registration for training according to this Circular.

5. Matters related to re-training, application files, and procedures for re-registering for training are carried out according to the provisions of Article 3 of this Circular.

6. The training period prior to the termination of the training period shall not be counted towards the training period.

Article 11. Training Diary and Report on the Results of Notary Practice Training

1. The trainee must establish a Notary Practice Training Diary to record daily tasks related to the training content that they have performed during the training period (Model TP-TSCC-06). The training diary must be weekly confirmed by the supervising notary and certified by the notary practice organization accepting the training upon completion of the training process.

In case the trainee changes the training location, they must establish a separate Notary Practice Training Diary for each notary practice organization where they undergo training. The confirmation by the supervising notary and the notary practice organization accepting the training shall be carried out according to the provisions of this clause.

2. The trainee must prepare a Report on the Results of Training to report on their training process and results. The Report on the Results of Training must include all required contents and meet the requirements stipulated in Model TP-TSCC-07, with comments from the supervising notary and certification by the notary practice organization accepting the training upon completion of the training process.

In case the trainee changes the training location, they must prepare one Report on the Results of Training to report on the entire training process at all organizations where they underwent training. The report must clearly state the names of the notary practice organizations where the trainee underwent training, information about the supervising notaries at each organization, and the training results at each organization. The supervising notary and the final notary practice organization where the trainee underwent training are responsible for commenting and certifying the Report on the Results of Training according to the provisions of this clause and only bear responsibility for the training of the trainee at their own organization.

Article 12. Completion of Notary Practice Training

1. Within fifteen days from the end date of the training period, the trainee must submit a written request for recognition of completion of training, along with the Report on the Results of Training and the Notary Practice Training Diary (a certified copy or a photocopy accompanied by the original for verification) to the Department of Justice where the training was registered. Within ten days from receiving the request, the Department of Justice issues a decision recognizing completion of notary practice training (Model TP-TSCC-08); if it rejects the request, it must provide a written response stating the reasons.

2. A trainee is recognized as having completed notary practice training when meeting the following conditions:

a) The trainee meets the training eligibility criteria and does not fall under any circumstances disqualifying them from registering for training;

b) The supervising notary meets the eligibility criteria for supervising training and does not fall under any circumstances requiring a change of supervising notary during the training supervision process;

c) The trainee completes the training period; submits the Report on the Results of Training and the Notary Practice Training Diary within the specified time frame, meeting the requirements set forth in this Circular and attached forms; fulfills all other obligations of a trainee.

3. If a person who has been recognized as completing training is found not to meet the conditions for such recognition, the Department of Justice will issue a decision to revoke the recognized training results. A person whose training results are revoked may re-register for training if they meet the training conditions stipulated in this Circular.

Article 13. Rights and Obligations of the Trainee

1. Probationers have the following rights:

a) To be provided with conditions by the notary practice organization to fulfill the training contents as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular;

b) To be guided by the notary in the training contents, the performance of rights and obligations of the trainee;

c) To change the guiding notary or the training location according to the provisions of Articles 7 and 8 of this Circular;

d) To be recognized as having completed the training according to the provisions of Article 12 of this Circular;

đ) To register to participate in the examination of the training results for notary practice according to the provisions of Article 17 of this Circular;

e) Other rights agreed upon with the notary practice organization or as stipulated by law.

2. Probationers have the following obligations:

a) To comply with the internal regulations and rules of the notary practice organization;

b) To fully and seriously perform the tasks within the training contents as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular according to the assignment of the guiding notary;

c) To ensure daily training time according to the working days and hours of the notary practice organization;

d) To be responsible before the guiding notary and the notary practice organization for the results and progress of the assigned tasks;

đ) To keep confidential information about the notarization content and related information known during the training period;

e) To establish a Notary Practice Training Diary, and a Report on the Results of Notary Practice Training as prescribed in Article 11 of this Circular;

g) Other obligations as prescribed by the Notary Law, this Circular, and relevant legal documents, and as agreed upon with the notary practice organization.

Article 14. Rights and Obligations of the guiding notary Article 2. General provisions on economic and technical standards guiding trainee

1. To guide the trainee on the training contents as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. To monitor and inspect the performance of the trainee's assigned tasks; to be responsible for the results and progress of the tasks that the trainee performs according to the assignment and guidance provided.

3. To confirm in the Training Diary; to comment and evaluate the training in the trainee’s Report on the Results of Training and to be responsible for the accuracy, honesty, and objectivity in confirming, commenting, and evaluating.

4. Other rights and obligations as prescribed by the Notary Law and this Circular.

Article 15. Rights and Obligations of the Notary Practice Organization Accepting the Trainee

1. To assign a qualified notary to guide the training and to be responsible for such assignment; to regularly monitor and handle promptly cases where the notary is no longer qualified to guide the training or the trainee is no longer qualified for the training.

2. To establish, manage, and use the Notary Practice Training Monitoring Book of the notary practice organization (Model TP-TSCC-09) annually.

The Training Monitoring Book must record the date of opening and closing the book and be stamped according to the legal regulations.

3. To review and decide on the notary's refusal to guide the training, the change of the guiding notary.

4. To manage the trainee during the training period at their organization; to monitor and supervise the performance of the guiding notary's responsibilities; to ensure the implementation of the trainee's rights and obligations.

5. To report in writing to the Department of Justice on the acceptance and guidance of training at their organization annually. The annual reporting period runs from January 1 to December 31 each year. Within fifteen days from the end of the year, notary practice organizations must submit reports to the Department of Justice.

The report includes the following main contents:

a) The number and basic information about the trainees, temporary suspension of training, change of training location, change of guiding notary, termination of training, cancellation of training registration;

b) Evaluation of the quality of training of the trainees;

c) Implementation of the rights and obligations of the notary practice organization, trainees, and responsibilities of the guiding notary as stipulated in this Circular;

d) Difficulties and obstacles encountered in implementing the legal regulations on training (if any) and recommendations.

6. Other rights and obligations agreed upon with the trainee, as prescribed by the Notary Law and relevant legal documents.

Chapter III

EXAMINATION OF TRAINING RESULTS FOR NOTARY PRACTICE NOTARIAL SERVICES

Article 16. Content and form of examination

1. The content of the examination includes:

a) Examination of notarization laws, certification, the Code of Ethics for Notaries, and related legal provisions concerning notarization activities;

b) Results of completing internship contents as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular.

2. The forms of examination include:

a) The first examination is a written test lasting 180 minutes.

b) The second examination is a multiple-choice test on a computer; in cases where conditions for conducting a computer-based examination have not been met, the examination will be conducted using paper-based multiple-choice questions.

The Ministry of Justice decides and announces specifically the form of the second test in the planned schedule for organizing the examination.

Article 17. Registration to participate in the examination

1. The following individuals are eligible to register to participate in the examination:

a) Individuals who have been recognized as having completed their internship according to the provisions of Article 12 of this Circular;

b) Individuals who meet the conditions to participate in the previous examination period but submitted a request to postpone participation and were granted permission by the Examination Result Review Board for Notary Internship;

c) Individuals who participated in the previous examination period but did not meet the requirements, except those who failed to meet the requirements in three consecutive examination periods without re-interning.

2. The following individuals are not eligible to register to participate in the examination:

a) Individuals who have not been recognized as having completed their notary internship;

b) Individuals who have been recognized as having completed their notary internship but had their results revoked;

c) Individuals who copied another person's Internship Result Report or engaged in fraudulent behavior to obtain registration for the examination.

3. Individuals registering to participate in the examination shall submit directly, send via postal service, or through the One-stop Public Service Center one set of examination registration application documents to the Department of Justice where they registered for internship. The documents include the following:

a) Application for Participation in the Examination of Notary Internship Results (Form TP-TSCC-10);

b) Decision recognizing completion of notary internship;

c) Report on Notary Internship Results;

d) Documents proving payment of the standard and condition assessment fee for notary practice.

The documents specified in points b, c, and d of Clause 1 of this Article must be certified copies or scanned copies accompanied by original documents for verification. Individuals whose participation in the previous examination was postponed only need to submit the Application for Participation in the Examination, clearly indicating the postponement of the previous examination.

4. Within 15 days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents, the Department of Justice shall notify in writing to the individual registering to participate in the examination about their eligibility to request the Ministry of Justice to participate in the examination; if rejected, the reasons must be clearly stated in the written notification.

5. Individuals notified by the Examination Result Review Board for Notary Internship that they meet the conditions to participate in the examination are referred to as candidates for the examination. Individuals who do not meet the conditions to participate in the examination or who meet the conditions but do not participate in the examination will not have their documents returned or refunded fees; if they wish to register for the next examination period, they must submit the required documents and fees as stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 18Responsibilities for organizing the examination

1. The Ministry of Justice organizes examination periods for notary internship results in accordance with this Circular and other relevant legal provisions.

2. The plan for organizing the examination period is announced by the Ministry of Justice to the Departments of Justice at least two months before the examination date, and published on the Ministry of Justice’s Electronic Information Portal. The Department of Justice is responsible for notifying individuals who wish to submit examination registration applications according to this Circular and the Ministry of Justice’s plan; it shall prepare a list and submit a written request to the Ministry of Justice for participation in the examination for those who meet the conditions, along with the examination registration application documents of the individuals concerned.

Article 19. Examination Council

1. The Examination Council for the probation period results of notarization practice (hereinafter referred to as the Examination Council) shall be established by the Minister of Justice. The Examination Council shall use the seal of the Ministry of Justice to perform its tasks as prescribed in this Circular. The Examination Council shall dissolve itself upon completion of its tasks.

2. The Examination Council shall consist of from seven to nine members, including the following components:

a) The leader of the Ministry of Justice shall be the Chairman of the Council;

b) The leader of the Legal Aid Department shall be the Vice-Chairman of the Council;

c) Members of the Council shall be proposed by the Director of the Legal Aid Department, including representatives of certain units under the Ministry of Justice, representatives of the Vietnam Notary Association, and representatives of certain Notary Associations.

3. The Examination Council shall have a Secretariat, a Question Setting Committee, a Supervision Committee, a Sealing Committee, a Grading Committee, and a Rechecking Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committees of the Examination Council).

4. A person who has a spouse, parent, adoptive parent, parent-in-law, child, adopted child, or full-blooded sibling or full-blooded sibling-in-law participating in the examination period shall not participate in the Examination Council and the Committees of the Examination Council.

Article 20. Tasks and Authorities of the Examination Council

1. To issue the Plan for organizing the examination period, decide on the contents regulating the Plan when necessary; issue the examination rules and related documents to the examination period.

2. To establish the Committees of the Examination Council..

3. To review and decide on the list of persons eligible to participate in the examination period, those ineligible to participate in the examination and notify the Departments of Justice where the participants have registered, while publishing on the Ministry of Justice's Electronic Information Portal at least fifteen days before the examination date; in case of necessity, verification or request for verification of information in the registration dossier may be conducted.

4. To direct the construction of examination questions; organize the examination, grading of examination scores, rechecking of examination papers, and announcing the examination results.

5. To issue certificates of successful examination results to candidates meeting the requirements.

6. To cancel examination results and revoke certificates of successful examination results when there is evidence that the candidate belongs to a situation not allowed to register for the probation period but still did so, does not meet the conditions to participate in the examination period but still registers for the examination, or engages in deceitful acts or other violations that change the probation period results, participation in the examination, and examination results.

In case a candidate belonging to one of the above situations is discovered at the time the Examination Council has dissolved, the Minister of Justice shall examine and decide to cancel the examination results and revoke the certificate of successful examination results.

7. To report and be responsible to the Minister of Justice for the organization and results of the examination period.

8. Other tasks and authorities as prescribed in this Circular.

Article 21. Tasks and Authorities of the Chairman of the Examination Council and Members of the Examination Council

1. The Chairman of the Examination Council shall have the following tasks and authorities:

a) To organize the implementation of the tasks and authorities of the Examination Council as stipulated in Article 20 of this Circular; to be responsible to the Minister of Justice for the implementation of the tasks and authorities of the Examination Council;

b) Assigning responsibilities to each member of the Inspection Council;

c) To decide on the number of members, tasks, and authorities of the Committees of the Examination Council;

d) To decide on the official examination questions to be used for each examination period;

đ) To specify and guide the method and grading scale of the examination; to direct the grading of written examination papers, compiling examination scores, and rechecking examination papers;

e) To be responsible for managing examination papers; managing examination results and other related documents in accordance with regulations;

g) To handle cases of violation of examination rules within their authority;

h) To resolve complaints and denunciations related to the examination period within their authority.

2. Other members of the Examination Council shall carry out work according to the assignment of the Chairman of the Examination Council and be responsible to the Chairman of the Examination Council.

Article 22. Supervisory Board

1. The Minister of Justice shall establish the Supervisory Board based on the proposal of the Director of the Legal Aid Department. The Supervisory Board shall consist of the Head and two members.

2. Tasks and Authorities of the Supervisory Board:

a) To supervise the organization of examinations;

b) To detect and recommend measures to address violations of examination regulations;

c) To propose the Examination Council to take measures to ensure the safe, serious, and compliant conduct of the examination period.

3. Content of supervision:

a) To supervise the implementation of examination regulations, the performance of tasks and authorities of members of the Examination Council and the Committees of the Examination Council;

b) To supervise the organization and implementation of the examination period;

c) To supervise the implementation of Examination Council regulations and the resolution of complaints and denunciations regarding examinations.

4. The Supervisory Board shall be responsible to the Minister of Justice for its supervisory activities and report to the Minister of Justice on the results of supervision after each examination period.

Article 23Rights and Obligations of Candidates Participating in Examinations

1. To attend the examination period at the time and place as announced.

2. To comply with examination rules and decisions and notifications of the Examination Council; to bear penalties for violations as prescribed by law and examination rules.

3. To be issued a Certificate of Successful Examination Results for Notarization Practice if they meet the examination requirements.

4. Other rights and obligations as prescribed in this Circular and other relevant legal normative documents.

Article 24. Grading of Examinations

1. Examination papers are graded on a scale of 100 points.

Each written examination paper is graded independently by two members of the Examination Committee according to the guidelines, answers, and grading scale determined by the Chairman of the Examination Board. The score for each examination paper is the average of the scores given by the two graders. In cases where the scores given by the two graders differ by 20 points or more, the Head of the Examination Committee will assign two other members of the Examination Committee to re-grade the examination paper; the score from this re-grading will be the official score for the examination paper.

Multiple-choice examinations are graded according to the guidelines, answers, and grading scale determined by the Chairman of the Examination Board.

2. Candidates must achieve a score of 50 points or higher on each examination paper to meet the requirements of the examination period.

3. Within twenty days from the end of the grading period, the Chairman of the Examination Board is responsible for notifying the examination results to the Department of Justice, the Vietnam Notary Association, and the local notary association where the candidates participated in the examination period, and simultaneously publishing the examination results on the Ministry of Justice's Electronic Information Portal.

Article 25. Management of Examination Papers, Examination Results, and Registration Files for Participation in Examinations AND REGISTRATION DOCUMENTS FOR PARTICIPATING IN THE EXAMINATION

1. Examination papers must be sealed immediately after the examination ends; the examination papers and scores must be sealed at the end of each working day and immediately after the coding, recording, opening, matching, and grading of written examination papers, and scoring of multiple-choice examination papers.

2. Examination papers and examination results are retained by the Ministry of Justice for a period of three years from the date of the examination. Registration files for participation in examinations are retained for a period of one year from the date of the examination.

3. When the retention period specified in Clause 2 of this Article expires, the Minister of Justice decides on the destruction of the examination papers, examination results, and registration files for participation in examinations that have been retained.

Article 26. Rechecking of Examination Papers

1. Within fifteen days from the date the examination results are published on the Ministry of Justice's Electronic Information Portal, candidates who disagree with their written examination or multiple-choice examination results on paper may submit a request for rechecking to the Chairman of the Examination Board; in cases where the multiple-choice examination is conducted on computers, there will be no rechecking of these examination papers.

2. Within fifteen days from the end of the deadline for submitting requests for rechecking, the Chairman of the Examination Board decides to establish a Rechecking Committee. The Rechecking Committee consists of a Chairperson and at least two other members. Members of the Sealing Committee and the Examination Committee cannot be members of the Rechecking Committee.

3. The regrading process is carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 24 of this Circular. The rechecking result must be approved by the Chairman of the Examination Board and is considered the final result.

Chapter IV

MANAGEMENT OF NOTARY PRACTICE TRAINING

Article 27. Duties and Authorities of the Legal Aid Bureau and Related Units under the Ministry of Justice

1. The Legal Aid Bureau of the Ministry of Justice has the following duties and authorities:

a) To provide guidance and answer questions related to the implementation of this Circular;

b) To assist the Minister of Justice in building a question bank and answer key for multiple-choice examinations and other tasks necessary to organize examinations for notary practice training results;

c) To inspect, audit, handle violations, resolve complaints and denunciations regarding notary practice training in accordance with the law;

d) To perform other duties and authorities as prescribed by the Notarization Law, this Circular, and other relevant legal normative documents.

2. The Inspectorate, the Academy of Justice, the Cadre and Civil Service Department, and related units under the Ministry of Justice shall perform their respective duties and authorities related to notary practice training and cooperate with the Legal Aid Bureau in implementing the duties and authorities stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article.

Article 28. Tasks and Authorities of the Provincial Department of Justice

1. Designate organizations practicing notarization that meet the conditions to accept trainees; review the refusal of organizations practicing notarization to accept trainees and the refusal of notaries to guide training according to regulations.

2. Register for training, cancel registration for training, change the place of training, temporarily suspend training, terminate training, and recognize completion of training according to regulations.

3. Establish and publish a list of organizations practicing notarization that meet the conditions to accept trainees in their locality on the Department of Justice's Electronic Information Portal and regularly review and update this list.

4. Maintain a Training Record Book of the Department of Justice; promptly update information about registration for training, changes in guiding notaries, changes in the place of training, temporary suspension of training, termination of training, and recognition of completion of training in the Training Record Book and the management software for organizations practicing notarization of the Ministry of Justice.

5. Monitor and manage the acceptance of trainees, guidance of training, and training according to the provisions of this Circular and related laws.

6. Inspect, audit, handle violations, and resolve complaints and denunciations regarding training in notarization practice according to the law.

7. Perform other tasks and authorities as prescribed by the Notarization Law, this Circular, and other relevant legal normative documents.

Article 29. Tasks and Authorities of of the Professional Organization of Notaries

1. Collect, reflect the thoughts, wishes, opinions, and recommendations related to training in notarization practice from trainees, guiding notaries, and organizations accepting trainees to the competent state management agency for notarization.

2. Monitor and supervise organizations accepting trainees, guiding notaries, and trainees; provide support solutions for trainees and guiding notaries when encountering difficulties; propose the competent authority to handle violations of training in notarization practice according to the law.

3. Participate in organizing the examination of training results in notarization practice at the request of the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Justice.

4. Perform other tasks and authorities as prescribed by the Notarization Law, this Circular, and other relevant legal normative documents.

Chapter V

VIOLATION HANDLING AND COMPLAINT AND DENUNCIATION RESOLUTION

Article 30. Handling Violations Related to Training in Notarization Practice

1. If a trainee violates the provisions of this Circular, has been reminded and required in writing by the organization accepting trainees to correct the violation at least three times but continues to violate, the organization accepting trainees shall request the Department of Justice to consider terminating the training in notarization practice; if the organization accepting trainees intentionally covers up and does not report to the Department of Justice, the Department of Justice will conduct inspections and audits and handle the matter according to the law.

2. A notary who refuses to guide training without a legitimate reason, violates the provisions of this Circular and related legal normative documents, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, must bear one of the forms of handling prescribed by the law.

3. An organization practicing notarization listed in the list of those meeting the conditions to accept trainees, which refuses to accept trainees without a legitimate reason, assigns a notary who does not meet the conditions to guide training, or violates other provisions of this Circular and related legal normative documents, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, must bear the form of handling prescribed by the law.

Article 31. Handling Violations Against Members of the Inspection Council, Committees of the Inspection Council, and the Supervisory Board

Members of the Inspection Council, committees of the Inspection Council, and the Supervisory Board who commit violations of this Circular and other relevant legal normative documents shall be subject to disciplinary action, administrative penalties, or criminal prosecution according to the nature and degree of the violation as prescribed by law.

Article 32. Appeals Regarding Notarial Practice Internship and Inspection of Internship Results notarization

1. The intern, notary public, and notarial practice organization have the right to appeal against administrative decisions and administrative acts regarding internship made by the Department of Justice or authorized persons of the Department of Justice if they believe that such decisions or acts infringe upon their legitimate rights and interests.

The appeal resolution shall be carried out in accordance with the law on appeals.

2. Within thirty days from the end date of the internship result inspection period, participants in the inspection have the right to appeal against decisions and actions of the Inspection Council, members of the Inspection Council, and members of committees of the Inspection Council if they believe that such decisions or actions infringe upon their legitimate rights and interests.

The Chairman of the Inspection Council is responsible for resolving appeals within thirty days from the date of receipt of the appeal.

In cases where the time limit specified in this clause has expired without resolution of the appeal or the appellant disagrees with the decision on the appeal resolution by the Chairman of the Inspection Council or the Inspection Council has been dissolved, the participant in the inspection has the right to appeal to the Minister of Justice. The time limit for resolving the appeal by the Minister of Justice is thirty days from the date of receipt of the appeal. The decision on the appeal resolution by the Minister of Justice is the final decision.

Article 33. Reporting on Notarial Practice Internship

Citizens have the right to report to competent authorities, organizations, or individuals about violations of regulations on notarial practice internship as stipulated in the Notarization Law, this Circular, and other relevant legal normative documents.

The handling of reports shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law on reporting.

Chapter VI

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 34. Forms Attached

This Circular promulgates the following forms and registers:

1a. Application for Registration of Notarial Practice Internship (Applicable in cases where the applicant has contacted for internship and been accepted by a notarial practice organization) (Form TP-TSCC-01a);

1b. Application for Registration of Notarial Practice Internship (Applicable in cases where the applicant has contacted for internship but the notarial practice organizations have refused to accept the internship) (Form TP-TSCC-01b);

2. Decision on Registration of Notarial Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-02);

3. Application for Change of Notarial Practice Internship Location (Form TP-TSCC-03);

4. Decision on Cancellation of Registration of Notarial Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-04);

5. Decision on Termination of Notarial Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-05);

6. Notarial Practice Internship Diary (Form TP-TSCC-06);

7. Report on Notarial Practice Internship Results (Form TP-TSCC-07);

8. Decision on Recognition of Completion of Notarial Practice Internship (Form TP-TSCC-08);

9. Register of Notarial Practice Internship of Notarial Practice Organizations (Form TP-TSCC-09);

10. Application for Participation in Inspection of Notarial Practice Internship Results (Form TP-TSCC-10);

11. Register of Notarial Practice Internship of the Department of Justice (Form TP-TSCC-11).

Article 35. Transitional Provisions

1. Persons who completed the internship before January 1, 2015, but were not appointed as notary publics before the effective date of this Circular shall be recognized as having completed the internship and must participate in the inspection of internship results in accordance with this Circular.

2. Persons who are currently undergoing internship under Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP dated April 15, 2015, of the Minister of Justice guiding notarial practice internship at the time this Circular takes effect shall be recognized for the time already spent interning and continue the internship in accordance with this Circular. The intern shall establish an internship diary from the time of continuing the internship in accordance with this Circular; prepare an internship result report in accordance with this Circular.

An intern who has temporarily stopped the internship the number of times prescribed by Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP shall not be allowed to temporarily stop the internship in accordance with this Circular.

3. Persons who meet the conditions for internship and have submitted internship registration applications before the effective date of this Circular shall have their internship registration and internship conducted in accordance with this Circular.

4. Persons who terminated notarial practice internship before the effective date of this Circular may re-register for internship when they meet the internship registration conditions as prescribed by this Circular.

5. Persons who completed the internship in accordance with Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP may register to participate in the inspection of internship results in accordance with this Circular. The registration dossier for participation in the inspection includes the documents specified in point a, c, and d of Clause 3, Article 17 of this Circular.

6. If an inspection participant fails to meet the requirements in the internship result inspections conducted in accordance with Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP, those failure instances will be added to the total number of failed inspection attempts under this Circular to determine whether the person needs to repeat the internship before registering for the next inspection session.

7. In cases where an intern completes the internship in accordance with Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP but it is discovered after the effective date of this Circular that they do not meet the conditions to be considered as having completed the internship under Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP, the Department of Justice shall issue a decision to revoke the internship results.

8. For examination papers and examination results of internship result inspections organized in accordance with Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP which have exceeded the retention period as prescribed by Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP, the destruction of these examination papers and examination results shall be carried out in accordance with Clause 3, Article 25 of this Circular.

The registration files for participating in the qualification examination periods organized in accordance with Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP shall be destroyed in accordance with Clause 3, Article 25 of this Circular.

9. Upon completion of the connection to the National Population Database, officials and civil servants responsible for receiving and processing administrative procedures related to notary practice training shall access information on the gender of individuals applying for notary practice training, trainees, and participants in the qualification examination for notary practice training from the National Population Database, and shall not require citizens to fill in their gender information on the forms issued together with this Circular.

Article 36. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from November 20, 2023.

Circular No. 04/2015/TT-BTP dated April 15, 2015, guiding notary practice training issued by the Minister of Justice, shall cease to be effective from the date this Circular takes effect./.