Resolution No. 111/2025/UBTVQH15 On Classification of Urban Areas

RESOLUTION

On classification of urban areas

THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

On the basis of The Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has been amended and supplemented with some articles pursuant to Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

On the basis of Law on Organization of the National Assembly No. 57/2014/QH13 has been amended and supplemented with some articles pursuant to Law No. 65/2020/QH14 and Law No. 62/2025/QH15;

On the basis of Law on Urban and Rural Planning No. 47/2024/QH15 has been amended and supplemented with some articles pursuant to Law No. 144/2025/QH15;

RESOLUTION:

PART I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Resolution stipulates the types of urban areas, principles for classifying urban areas; criteria and standards for classifying urban areas; authority to recognize types of urban areas and organization for implementation.

Article 2. Purpose and Principles of Classifying Urban Areas

1. Purpose of classifying urban areas:

a) Classification of urban areas serves as a basis for organizing, managing, and developing the national urban system, regional, provincial urban systems, administrative management of urban units; evaluating the implementation according to urban planning. Criteria and standards for classifying urban areas serve as a basis for forecasting and guiding the development of the urban system and each individual urban area;

b) Building programs and plans for urban development, organizing urban development, allocating resources, and formulating urban development policies;

c) Maintaining and developing urban technical infrastructure, social infrastructure, and urban space.

2. Principles of Classifying Urban Areas:

a) Classification of urban areas is carried out based on urban planning, the urban system oriented in the approved planning, ensuring trends in urban development that adapt to climate change, green, smart, modern, and sustainable development at different stages of economic and social development, ensuring national defense and security, particularly for border cities and special zones;

b) Classification of urban areas is conducted through assessing the current development status of urban areas according to the criteria and standards for classifying urban areas specified for each category, consistent with the two-level local government organizational model and applied regionally, by region, and by distinctive factors;

c) An urban area or new urban area meeting the criteria for a specific type of urban area shall be recognized as such; an administrative unit at the commune level that reaches the level of urban development specified shall be recognized at that level.

Article 3. Types of Urban Areas

1. Special-class urban areas are national and international comprehensive centers, having a special role, position, and conditions for economic and social development.

2. First-class urban areas are national central cities, having a role, position, and function as comprehensive centers of the nation.

3. Second-class urban areas are provincial central cities, having a role, position, and function as comprehensive centers or specialized centers of provinces, cities, or inter-provincial regions.

4. Third-class urban areas are sub-regional central cities within provinces, having a role, position, and function as comprehensive centers or specialized centers of sub-regions.

Chapter II

CRITERIA FOR CLASSIFYING URBAN AREAS

Article 4. Criteria and Standards for Classifying Urban Areas

1. Criteria for classifying urban areas include:

a) Role, position, and conditions for economic and social development;

b) Degree of urbanization;

c) Level of development of urban infrastructure and organization of urban space.

2. Specific standards for classifying urban areas for first-class urban areas are stipulated in Appendix I attached to this Resolution, for second-class and third-class urban areas in Appendix II attached to this Resolution.

3. Evaluation of classification of urban areas is conducted by comparing the actual development status of urban areas with the urban planning criteria and standards corresponding to the type of urban area.

Article 5. Classification of special-class cities and class I cities

1. The classification of special-class cities shall not be conducted for the entire city of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Cities within Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City shall be classified according to class II and class III cities as provided for in this Resolution.

2. Classification of class I cities:

a) Class I cities shall be classified based on criteria and standards set forth in Appendix I attached to this Resolution, within the scope determined in accordance with urban planning. Cities classified as class I shall be classified according to class II and class III cities as provided for in this Resolution;

b) In cases where new cities are classified as class I, a review must simultaneously ensure that subordinate class II cities meet the provisions of this Resolution.

Article 6. Classification of class II and class III cities

1. Class II and class III cities shall be classified based on criteria and standards set forth in Appendix II attached to this Resolution, within the scope determined in accordance with urban planning.

2. Classification of class II and class III cities:

a) For cities whose boundaries encompass only one administrative unit at the commune level, the classification shall be conducted across the entire city based on the criteria and standards set forth in Appendix II attached to this Resolution, corresponding to the respective city type;

b) For cities whose boundaries encompass more than one administrative unit at the commune level, the classification shall be conducted across the entire city based on the criteria and standards set forth in Table 2A of Appendix II, and each administrative unit shall be evaluated based on Table 2B of Appendix II attached to this Resolution, corresponding to the respective city type.

3. Special zones shall be classified as class II or class III cities according to urban planning.

Article 7. Evaluation of urban development levels for communes within cities and new cities

1. Communes within cities and new cities shall be evaluated for their urban development levels according to the specified levels when conducting city classifications. Communes within cities that have been recognized as a certain city type may independently conduct evaluations to achieve higher urban development levels.

2. Communes recognized for their urban development levels shall be assessed based on the levels achieved as stipulated in Table 2B of Appendix II attached to this Resolution.

Article 8. Application of criteria and standards for city classification

1. The application of criteria and standards for city classification according to economic and social regions shall be carried out as follows:

a) For cities in the Red River Delta and Southeast regions, the criteria and standards for city classification shall be implemented according to the regulations for the respective city types;

b) For cities in the Northern Midlands and Mountainous region, the minimum standard for population size shall be 60% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard for average population density per unit area shall be 50% of the prescribed level; other criteria and standards shall be implemented according to the regulations for the respective city types;

c) For cities in the North Central Coast, South Central Coast, and Central Highlands regions, for areas in the midlands, mountains, and highlands, the provisions of point b of this clause shall apply; for the remaining areas, the minimum standard for population size shall be 80% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard for average population density per unit area shall be 70% of the prescribed level; other criteria and standards shall be implemented according to the regulations for the respective city types;

d) For cities in the Mekong Delta region, the minimum standard for population size shall be 70% of the prescribed level; the minimum standard for average population density per unit area shall be 50% of the prescribed level; other criteria and standards shall be implemented according to the regulations for the respective city types.

2. The application of criteria and standards for city classification with distinctive factors shall be carried out as follows:

a) For cities with national land borders, the minimum standards for population size, average population density per unit area, and population density per unit area of urban construction land for administrative units at the commune level within the city shall be 50% of the prescribed level; the minimum standards for other criteria specified in Tables 2A and 2B of Appendix II attached to this Resolution shall be 70% of the prescribed level for the respective city types;

b) For cities designated as special zones according to urban planning, the minimum standard for the degree of urbanization specified in Tables 2A and 2B, and the role, position, and conditions for economic and social development specified in Table 2B shall be 20% of the prescribed level; the minimum standards for other criteria specified in Tables 2A and 2B of Appendix II attached to this Resolution shall be 50% of the prescribed level for the respective city types;

c) For class III cities located in administrative units at the commune level listed as mountainous areas by the competent authority, the minimum standards for population size, average population density per unit area, and population density per unit area of urban construction land for administrative units at the commune level within the city shall be 50% of the prescribed level; the minimum standards for other criteria specified in Tables 2A and 2B of Appendix II attached to this Resolution shall be 70% of the prescribed level for the respective city types;

d) For cities, new cities, and cities directly under them for the preservation and promotion of unique historical capital values and tangible cultural heritage recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the criteria for average population density per unit area and population density per unit area of urban construction land for administrative units at the commune level within the city shall not be considered; in the case of class I cities, the number of criteria to be evaluated according to the levels achieved as specified in Appendix I attached to this Resolution shall be reduced; in the case of class II and class III cities, criteria related to urban space, architecture, and landscape shall be implemented according to the regulations for the respective city types, with the minimum standards for other criteria being 50% of the prescribed level for the respective city types.

3. Only one of the provisions in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article shall be applied to assess the criteria and standards when classifying cities, new cities, and commune-level administrative units within cities, and shall be applied when the standards have not reached the minimum level as prescribed.

Article 9. Assessment of Criteria and Standards for City Classification

1. The criteria for city classification are determined by specific standards, based on whether they are met or not, or scored according to the city classification scoring framework as stipulated in this Resolution. The score of each criterion is the total score of its standards, with the maximum total score of all criteria being 100 points.

2. The quota, allocation, and method of calculating scores, as well as the methods of collecting and computing data for each standard of the criteria for city classification and urban development levels, are specified in the Appendices issued together with this Resolution.

3. Minimum Requirements:

a) A Type I city must meet at least 12 standards as prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Resolution, including: the role, position, and economic-social development conditions criterion must meet at least five standards; the degree of urbanization criterion must meet at least three standards; the infrastructure development level and urban spatial organization criterion must meet at least four standards. For a Type I city applying the special criteria and standards prescribed in Point d, Clause 2, Article 8 of this Resolution, it must meet at least ten standards as prescribed in Appendix I issued together with this Resolution, including: the role, position, and economic-social development conditions criterion must meet at least four standards; the degree of urbanization criterion must meet at least two standards; the infrastructure development level and urban spatial organization criterion must meet at least four standards;

b) Type II and Type III cities must achieve at least 75 points from the criteria specified in Table 2A and the criteria must achieve the minimum points; the average evaluation score for commune-level administrative units according to the criteria specified in Section III of Table 2B must achieve at least 48 points; there must be at least one commune-level administrative unit achieving at least 75 points and the criteria must achieve the minimum points of the corresponding city type as specified in Table 2B of Appendix II issued together with this Resolution;

c) A commune-level administrative unit is considered to have achieved the urban development level if it meets the minimum points for the criteria and the total score of the criteria achieves at least 75 points of the corresponding city type as specified in Table 2B of Appendix II issued together with this Resolution.

4. The method of calculating points for the standards is defined as follows:

a) If the data and information serve as the basis for determining that the standard has been fully met, then the standard receives full points; if it has been minimally met, it receives minimum points; if it is between the maximum and minimum levels, it receives interpolated points between the upper and lower limits; if it is below the prescribed minimum level, it does not receive any points. In cases where the standard prescribed in Point d, Clause 2, Article 8 of this Resolution is not considered, the minimum points are assigned to those standards. In cases where the standard has not reached the minimum level as prescribed in Appendix II issued together with this Resolution but is subject to a percentage reduction of the minimum level of the standards as prescribed in Article 8 of this Resolution, the minimum point level is calculated for that standard;

b) When applying the city classification prescribed in Clause 2, Article 8 of this Resolution, if the standard has a unit of measurement as a project, facility, or program (collectively referred to as a project), and the minimum requirement is one project, then the minimum point is awarded for that standard when there is one project; in cases where the minimum requirement is two projects or more, the number of projects used to calculate the minimum points is reduced accordingly and rounded off, but not less than one project.

Chapter III

AUTHORITY AND ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION FOR CITY CLASSIFICATION

Article 10. Organization of Establishing and Recognizing Types of Urban Areas, Levels of Urban Development

1. The criteria and standards for classifying urban areas and levels of urban development shall be compiled in the proposal for recognizing types of urban areas and the report on assessing levels of urban development, which shall be carried out in accordance with the following provisions:

a) The specialized agency under the People's Committee of the province shall organize the establishment of the proposal for classifying Type I urban areas; submit it to the People's Committee of the province for submission to the Ministry of Construction for review and consideration for recognition;

b) The specialized agency under the People's Committee of the province shall organize the establishment of the proposal for classifying Type II and Type III urban areas; in cases where the urban area has boundaries within only one administrative unit at the commune level, the People's Committee of the commune shall organize the establishment of the proposal for classifying the urban area. Proposals for classifying Type II and Type III urban areas must be reviewed and submitted to the People's Committee of the province for consideration and recognition;

c) The People's Committee of the commune shall organize the establishment of the report on assessing the level of urban development for administrative units at the commune level within the urban area; send it to the specialized agency under the People's Committee of the province for review and submission to the People's Committee of the province for consideration and recognition.

2. Authority to recognize types of urban areas and levels of urban development:

a) The Minister of Construction decides on the recognition of Type I urban areas;

b) The Chairman of the People's Committee of the province decides on the recognition of Type II and Type III urban areas and the level of urban development for administrative units at the commune level within the urban area.

3. Funding for establishing, reviewing proposals for recognizing types of urban areas, reports on assessing levels of urban development, and announcing types of urban areas shall be guaranteed from the state budget and mobilized from other legitimate sources.

4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on the procedures, processes for establishing, reviewing, recognizing types of urban areas and levels of urban development, and funding for implementing the contents stipulated in Clause 3 of this Article.

Article 11. Urban Development According to Criteria and Standards for Classifying Urban Areas

1. Urban development shall meet the criteria and standards for classifying urban areas according to the development orientation and be implemented synchronously from urban planning, urban development programs, urban development plans, and the organization of implementing mechanisms, policies, tasks, and solutions for urban development.

2. Based on the criteria and standards for classifying urban areas and levels of urban development as prescribed in this Resolution, People's Committees at all levels shall implement the following provisions:

a) Develop or supplement and adjust urban development programs for provinces and cities and urban development plans for administrative units at the commune level within urban areas; allocate funds to develop urban development programs and urban development plans in the area;

b) Determine the contents related to investment in technical infrastructure, social infrastructure, and urban space, architecture, and landscape to complete the criteria and standards for classifying urban areas;

c) Determine the requirements, contents, tasks, and solutions for organizing urban development in line with the orientation of climate change-adaptive, green, smart, modern, and sustainable urban development;

d) Assign agencies and units to fulfill the responsibilities of the People's Committee of the province in completing urban infrastructure standards, especially health, education, training, and cultural facilities at the urban level, and agencies and units to fulfill the responsibilities of the People's Committee of the commune in completing the criteria and standards for assessing the level of urban development for administrative units at the commune level within the urban area.

3. The Government shall provide detailed regulations on this Article.

Article 12. Digital Transformation in Urban Classification

1. The Ministry of Construction shall organize and implement uniformly nationwide the digital transformation in urban classification and synchronize it with scientific and technological development activities, innovation, and digital transformation.

2. People's Committees at all levels:

a) Shall fulfill their responsibilities in the construction, management, exploitation, and updating of databases to serve urban management and development requirements;

b) Shall develop phased plans for digital transformation to monitor, evaluate, and announce urban classification criteria and standards.

Article 13. Responsibilities for Implementing Urban Classification

1. People's Committees at all levels shall be responsible for:

a) Organizing the formulation of urban development programs, urban development plans, comprehensive urban infrastructure investment and construction, periodically reviewing and assessing urban quality, publicly announcing urban development indicators to be achieved at each stage;

b) The provincial People's Committee shall announce the list of urban areas of type II and III, wards reaching the specified level of urban development for administrative units within urban areas of type II and III according to Article 15 of this Resolution; Article 15 of this Resolution;

c) People's Committees at all levels shall be responsible for reviewing urban classification criteria and standards for cases that continue, establish, adjust, organize the implementation of urban development programs, plans, and related master plans and plans to ensure compliance with this Resolution.

2. The Ministry of Construction shall be responsible for:

a) Periodically organizing the synthesis and assessment of urban classification situations and national urban system development, reporting to the Prime Minister;

b) Fulfilling other tasks assigned by the Government and the Prime Minister.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

Article 14. Effective Date

1. This Resolution shall take effect from January 1, 2026.

2. Resolution No. 1210/2016/UBTVQH13 dated May 25, 2016 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on urban classification, which has been amended and supplemented by Resolution No. 26/2022/UBTVQH15 dated September 21, 2022 of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, shall cease to be effective from the date this Resolution takes effect.

Article 15. Transitional Provisions

The transition of urban classification results before the date this Resolution takes effect shall be implemented as follows:

1. The cities of Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, and Can Tho shall continue to be classified as urban areas of type I according to this Resolution;

2. Urban areas of type I, except for the cases stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, urban areas of type II and III, Thu Duc City, and the area of wards within districts before restructuring shall be classified as urban areas of type II according to this Resolution;

3. Urban areas of type IV and V, towns, and market towns before restructuring that have not been recognized as urban types shall be classified as urban areas of type III according to this Resolution;

4. Wards within urban areas of any type shall be determined to have reached the level of urban development for administrative units within those urban areas;

5. Wards within urban areas of type I and II, and wards within districts that were restructured by July 1, 2025 and have implemented mergers or boundary adjustments with rural administrative units shall be determined to have reached the level of urban development for administrative units within urban areas of type III.

This Resolution was adopted by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Session 52, on December 24, 2025.