Decree No. 196/2025/ND-CP Amending and supplementing some articles of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP dated December 5, 2011 of the Government on consular certification and legalization

DECREE

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CPdated December 5, 2011 of the Government onconsular certification and legalization

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Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization on February 18, 2025;

Pursuant to the Law on Overseas Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on June 18, 2009; the Law amending and supplementing certain Articles of the Law on Overseas Representative Offices of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on November 21, 2017;

At the proposal of the Minister of Foreign Affairs;

The Government issues this Decree amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP dated December 5, 2011 of the Government on consular certification and legalization.

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP dated December 5, 2011 of the Government on consular certification and legalization

1. Supplement Clause 3 to Article 2 as follows:

"3. 'Electronic version of document' means an electronic document issued, established, or promulgated by an agency or organization in accordance with the laws on archiving work or the result of processing an electronic administrative procedure by an authorized agency in accordance with the laws on administrative procedures in the electronic environment, or an electronic notarized document in accordance with the laws on notarization, or other types of documents and materials expressed and created in the form of electronic data with an electronic signature of the agency, organization, or person authorized under the law."

2. Amend and supplement Clause 1 of Article 4 as follows:

"1. Documents and materials of Vietnam subject to consular certification upon request or application of individuals or organizations.”

3. Amending and supplementing Clause 1, Clause 2 of Article 5 as follows:

"1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the authority to conduct consular certification and legalization within the country and to delegate such authority according to the law (hereinafter referred to as the Authorized Agency within the Country).

2. Diplomatic missions, consular offices, or other agencies entrusted to perform consular functions abroad (hereinafter referred to as the Overseas Mission) have the authority to conduct consular certification and legalization outside the country."

4. Amending and supplementing Clause 2 of Article 6 as follows:

"2. Agencies, organizations, and individuals may choose to submit applications directly to the authorized agency for consular certification and legalization, send through postal services, or submit online in accordance with Article 15a of this Decree."

5. Amending and supplementing Article 7 as follows:

"Article 7. Language and location for consular certification and legalization

1. The languages used for consular certification and legalization shall be as follows:

a) At the competent authority within the country: Vietnamese and English;

b) At the representative office: Vietnamese and English. The representative office may use the official language of the country where the documents are used to replace English.

2. The location for consular certification and legalization is the office of the Authorized Agency within the Country and the Overseas Mission."

6. AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING ARTICLE 8 AS FOLLOWS:

“Article 8. Fees for Consular Certification and Legalization

1. The person requesting consular certification and legalization must pay fees according to the laws on fees and charges at the time of submitting the application.

2. In cases where applications and results are submitted and received through postal services, the applicant for consular certification and legalization must pay postal fees."

7. Amending and supplementing Article 9 as follows:

“Article 9. Documents and Materials Exempt from Legalization

1. Documents and materials exempt from legalization under international treaties to which Vietnam and the relevant foreign countries are parties, or based on the principle of reciprocity.

2. Documents and materials transferred directly or through diplomatic channels between the competent authorities of Vietnam and the competent authorities of foreign countries.

3. Documents and materials exempt from legalization according to Vietnamese law.

4. Documents and materials from foreign countries that the competent state agency of Vietnam does not require to be legalized based on the self-determination of the authenticity of these documents and materials by that agency."

8. Amending and supplementing Article 10 as follows:

"Article 10. Documents and materials not subject to consular certification and legalization

1. Documents and materials that have been altered, erased but not corrected according to the law.

2. Counterfeit documents and materials according to the conclusion of the competent authority or those established, issued, certified incorrectly or beyond authority, determined to be forged according to the response or verification results of the issuing, certifying agency or the higher-level state management agency of the issuing, certifying agency.

3. Documents and materials with signatures or seals that are not original signatures or seals for non-electronic documents, except in cases where they comply with relevant legal provisions.

4. Documents and materials containing content that infringes upon the interests of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

5. Electronic versions of documents without digital signatures of the agency or authorized person, not ensuring the integrity of the data, authenticity, and non-repudiation according to the regulations on electronic transactions, digital signatures, and electronic documents."

9. Supplementing Article 10a after Article 10 as follows:

“Article 10.a Returning files in case of unsuccessful verification

1. After 15 days from the date of sending the request for verification and not receiving a reply, the authorized agency for consular certification and legalization shall urge the agency requested for verification. After 30 days from the date of sending the verification request as stipulated in Clause 6 of Article 11, Clause 4 of Article 13, Clause 5 of Article 14, Clause 5 of Article 15, Point d of Clause 3 of Article 15a of this Decree and not receiving a reply, the authorized agency for consular certification and legalization shall notify the applicant about the verification process and return the file.

2. If a reply to the verification is received after the deadline specified in Clause 1 of this Article and the file has been returned, the authorized agency for consular certification and legalization shall notify the applicant to resubmit the file in accordance with Chapter II of this Decree."

10. Amending and supplementing the title of Section 1, Chapter II as follows:

“Section 1

PROCEDURES AND REQUIREMENTS FOR DIRECT CONSENSUS OR THROUGH POSTAL SERVICES"

11. Amending the name of Article 11, amending and supplementing Points b, c, d of Clause 1 and Clauses 4, 5 of Article 11 as follows:

a) Amending the name of Article 11 as follows:

“Article 11. Procedures for Consular Authentication at Competent Authorities in Vietnam”

b) Amending and supplementing Points b, c, d of Clause 1 of Article 11 as follows:

"b) For direct submission: present the original or copy of the Identity Card/Citizen Identification Card/Citizen Certificate or Passport, valid travel documents/international travel documents or present the electronic ID.

c) For submission through postal services: submit one copy of the Identity Card/Citizen Identification Card/Citizen Certificate or Passport, valid travel documents/international travel documents. Copies of the documents mentioned in this clause are photocopies of the originals and do not need to be certified.

d) Documents and materials to be certified, accompanied by one copy of these documents and materials to be kept at the Authorized Agency within the Country."

c) Amending and supplementing Clauses 4, 5 of Article 11 as follows:

"4. Consular certification as provided in Clause 3 of this Article applies to documents and materials issued by Party and State agencies with authority and other organizations authorized to provide public services such as issuance, notarization, certification."

5. The processing time is one working day from the date of receipt of a complete and valid file for cases where the number of documents and materials ranges from one to four. For cases where the number of documents and materials ranges from five to nine, the processing time shall not exceed two working days. In cases where the number of documents and materials is ten or more, the processing time may be longer but shall not exceed four working days.

12. Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 12 as follows:

“3. The file, procedures, and processing time shall be governed by Clauses 1, 2, and 5 of Article 11 of this Decree. In cases stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 10a of this Decree, if the applicant has submitted the file in accordance with Article 11 of this Decree and requests the certification procedure to be carried out, they are not required to resubmit the file..”

13. Amend the name of Article 13 and amend and supplement Points b, c, d of Clause 1, Clause 2, and Clause 4 of Article 13 as follows:

a) Amend the name of Article 13 as follows:

“Article 13. Procedures for consular certification at the representative office”

b) Amend and supplement Points b, c, d of Clause 1 of Article 13 as follows:

“b) In cases where the file is submitted directly: present the original or a copy of the Citizen Identity Card/Citizen Card/Certificate of Identity or Passport, travel documents/international travel documents still in effect, or present the Electronic Identity Card or other identity documents according to the laws of the locality;

c) In cases where the file is submitted through postal services: submit one copy of the Citizen Identity Card/Citizen Card/Certificate of Identity or Passport, travel documents/international travel documents still in effect, or other identity documents according to the laws of the locality. Copies of the documents mentioned in this clause are photocopies of the originals and do not require authentication;

d) Documents and materials requested to be certified consular, which have been certified by the competent authority in the country according to Clause 11 of this Decree or documents and materials issued, granted, confirmed by the Vietnamese representative agency in another country, accompanied by one copy of these documents and materials to be kept at the representative agency.”

c) Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 13 as follows:

“2. The representative agency carries out consular certification based on comparing the stamp, signature, and title in the consular certification of the competent authority in the country or the stamp, signature, and title of the Vietnamese representative agency in another country on the documents and materials with the sample stamps, signatures, and titles announced by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam or the verification results according to Clause 4 of this Article.”

d) Amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 13 as follows:

“4. In cases requiring verification of the authenticity of the stamp, signature, and title on the documents and materials requested to be consular certified, immediately upon receiving the file, the representative agency issues a written request to the competent authority in the country or the representative agency in another country to verify. Within two working days from the date of receipt of the request, the agency requested to verify must respond in writing to the representative agency. Upon receiving the response, the representative agency processes and informs the result to the person requesting consular certification.”

14. Amend the title of Section 2, Chapter II as follows:

“Section 2

PROCEDURES AND LEGALIZATION OF CONSULAR AUTHENTICATION OR THROUGH POSTAL SERVICES”

15. Amend the name of Article 14 and amend and supplement Points b, c, d, e of Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 14 as follows:

a) Amend the name of Article 14 as follows:

“Article 14. Procedures for consular legalization at domestic competent authorities”

b) Amend and supplement Points b, c, d of Clause 1 of Article 14 as follows:

"b) For direct submission: present the original or copy of the Identity Card/Citizen Identification Card/Citizen Certificate or Passport, valid travel documents/international travel documents or present the electronic ID.

c) For submission through postal services: submit one copy of the Identity Card/Citizen Identification Card/Citizen Certificate or Passport, valid travel documents/international travel documents. Copies of the documents mentioned in this clause are photocopies of the originals and do not need to be certified.

d) Documents and materials requested to be consular legalized, which have been certified by foreign diplomatic agencies, consular agencies, or other agencies authorized to perform consular functions of foreign countries;

c) Amend and supplement Point e of Clause 1 of Article 14 as follows:

“e) One copy of the documents and materials mentioned in Point d to be kept at the competent authority in the country.”

d) Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 14 as follows:

“3. The competent authority in the country carries out consular legalization based on comparing the stamp, signature, and title in the certification of the foreign competent authority on the documents and materials with the sample stamps, signatures, and titles officially announced by that country to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

16. Amend and supplement Points b, c, d, e of Clause 1 and Clause 3 of Article 15 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement Points b, c, d of Clause 1 of Article 15 as follows:

“b) In cases where the file is submitted directly: present the original or a copy of the Citizen Identity Card/Citizen Card/Certificate of Identity or Passport, travel documents/international travel documents still in effect, or present the Electronic Identity Card or other identity documents according to the laws of the locality;

c) In cases where the file is submitted through postal services: submit one copy of the Citizen Identity Card/Citizen Card/Certificate of Identity or Passport, travel documents/international travel documents still in effect, or other identity documents according to the laws of the locality. Copies of the documents mentioned in this clause are photocopies of the originals and do not require authentication;

d) Documents and materials requested to be consular legalized, which have been certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or other competent authorities of foreign countries or foreign representative agencies where the representative agency is located or concurrently serves;

b) Amend and supplement Point e of Clause 1 of Article 15 as follows:

“e) One copy of the documents and materials mentioned in Point d to be kept at the representative agency.”

c) Amend and supplement Clause 3 of Article 15 as follows:

“3. The representative agency carries out consular legalization based on comparing the stamp, signature, and title in the certification of the foreign competent authority with the sample stamps, signatures, and titles officially announced to the representative agency.”

17. Supplement Section 2a after Section 2 of Chapter II and supplement Article 15a after Article 15 as follows:

a) Supplement Section 2a after Section 2 of Chapter II as follows:

“Section 2a

PROCEDURES AND FORMALITIES FOR NOTARIZATION AND LEGALIZATION OF DOCUMENTS, ELECTRONIC LEGALIZATION”

b) Supplement Article 15a following Article 15 as follows:

“Article 15a. Receiving and processing requests for consular certification and consular legalization on the electronic environment

1. The person requesting consular certification and consular legalization submits an online application as follows:

a) Log in to the National Public Service Portal account with an electronic identity account in accordance with the laws on electronic identification and authentication; provide information according to the interactive electronic form, upload the electronic version of the paper documents and materials for notarization and legalization.

b) For applications for legalization of documents, the applicant must also upload the electronic version of the translation of the documents and materials to be legalized into Vietnamese or English if such documents and materials are not originally in these languages.

2. After completing the submission of the application, the applicant will be issued a unique administrative procedure file number for tracking, checking the progress of the application processing or accessing to complete the application upon request from the competent authority for notarization and legalization. The applicant is responsible for retaining and ensuring the confidentiality of the administrative procedure file number.

3. On the same working day, upon receipt of online applications for notarization and legalization, the competent authority for notarization and legalization shall immediately check the accuracy and completeness of the application.

a) If the application is incomplete or non-compliant, the applicant is required to supplement and complete the necessary documents according to the Supplement and Completion Application Form;

b) In cases where the application is complete as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article and does not fall under the provisions of Articles 9 and 10 of this Decree, the authority shall immediately notify the applicant of the payment of fees through email or send a text message to the applicant's mobile phone or use the notification function of the National Public Service Portal as prescribed in point b of this clause.

c) The application will only be officially accepted for processing and issuance of the Application Receipt and Result Notification as prescribed in point b of this clause after it has been completed, supplemented, ensured to be complete and appropriate, and the fee has been paid as prescribed.

The processing time limit is as prescribed in Clause 5 of Article 11 of this Decree and starts from the date of issuance of the Receipt and Result Delivery Notice or sending a result delivery notice message to the applicant.

d) In cases where the electronic version of the documents and materials falls under the provisions of Articles 9 and 10 of this Decree, the receiving authority will refuse to accept the application, clearly stating the reasons on the Refusal to Process Application Form sent to the applicant as prescribed in point b of this clause.

đ) In cases where verification or clarification is required due to other reasons, preventing the timely delivery of results as scheduled, the receiving authority will issue an Apology Note and reschedule the result delivery date as prescribed in point b of this clause. The receiving authority will implement the verification process in accordance with the relevant provisions of Clause 6 of Article 11, Clause 4 of Article 13, Clause 5 of Article 14, and Clause 5 of Article 15 of this Decree.

4. The certification and legalization of electronic versions of documents and materials are carried out based on:

a) Verify the authenticity of the electronic signature of the competent authority or organization of Vietnam on the electronic version of the documents and materials for notarization in accordance with the laws related to electronic transactions, digital signatures, and digital certificates; or

b) Verify the authenticity of the electronic signature of the diplomatic mission, consular office, or other entity authorized to perform consular functions of foreign countries in Vietnam officially notified and introduced through diplomatic channels on the electronic version of the documents and materials for legalization at the competent domestic authority, or verify the authenticity of the electronic signature of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or another competent authority of the foreign country where the diplomatic mission or concurrently accredited mission is officially notified and introduced through diplomatic channels on the electronic version of the documents and materials for legalization at the foreign diplomatic mission; or

c) The verification result of the competent authority or organization of Vietnam confirming the authenticity of the digital signature on the electronic version of the documents and materials proposed for notarization or the response of the competent authority of the foreign country confirming the authenticity of the digital signature on the electronic version of the documents and materials proposed for legalization.

5. Applicants for notarization and legalization of documents in the electronic environment will receive the result as an electronic document with an electronic certification stamp and digital signature of the competent authority for notarization and legalization sent via email, the electronic data management system of the organization or individual concerned, or delivered to a digital device through a suitable method ensuring security and confidentiality of information.

6. The digital signature of the competent authority or person authorized to certify consular certification or legalization shall be implemented in accordance with the legal provisions on specialized digital signatures for official duties.

7. Model Application Receipt and Result Notification, Request for Supplement and Completion of Application, Refusal to Process Application Form, Apology Note and Rescheduled Delivery Date of Results shall be implemented in accordance with the laws on the implementation of the single window mechanism in administrative procedures.

18. Amend and supplement point b of Clause 3, Clause 4 of Article 17 and supplement Clause 5 after Clause 4 of Article 17 as follows:

a) Amend and supplement point b of Clause 3 of Article 17 as follows:

“b) Retain for a period of two years for notarization and legalization applications that do not fall within the scope specified in point a of Clause 2 of this Article.”

b) Amend and supplement Clause 4 of Article 17 as follows:

“4. The competent authority for notarization and legalization shall be responsible for providing information related to the notarization and legalization when requested in writing by a competent state agency for supervision, inspection, audit, investigation, prosecution, trial, and enforcement.”

c) Supplement Clause 5 after Clause 4 of Article 17 as follows:

“5. The storage of electronic records of notarization and legalization procedures shall be carried out in accordance with the laws on the storage of electronic administrative procedure records.”

19. Supplement points e, g, h after point đ of Clause 2 of Article 18 as follows:

“e) Train and instruct the staff of the specialized agencies under the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-administered cities to ensure they have the necessary conditions to handle notarization and legalization of documents and materials upon receipt of delegated tasks..

g) Issue, guide the use and manage the templates of books, documents, and the introduction of seals, signatures, and titles serving the work of notarization and legalization.

h) Manage, connect, share consular legalization data with the National Public Service Portal, central-level and provincial administrative information systems to utilize the results of consular legalization for related administrative procedures of individuals and organizations..”

20. Amend and supplement Clause 2 of Article 20 as follows:

“2. Timely notify the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the stamp samples, signature samples, and titles, as well as the duration of authorization of agencies, organizations, and authorized persons for issuing, notarizing, certifying, and attesting documents and materials, and immediately notify any changes; annually review the stamp samples, signature samples, and titles of agencies and organizations to inform the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”

21. Amend and supplement Point a of Clause 1 of Article 21 as follows:

“a) Be responsible under the law for the purpose of use and the content, authenticity, and legality of such documents and materials.”

Article 2. Replace and abolish certain provisions of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP dated December 5, 2011 of the Government on certification and legalization of consular documents.

1. Replace the phrase "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" with the phrase "Authorized domestic agency" in Clause 2, Clause 6 of Article 11, Article 12, Clause 2, Clause 5 of Article 14.

2. Abolish the provision at Article 19 of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP.

Article 3. Effective date and transitional provisions

1. This Decree takes effect from August 3, 2025.

2. The provisions on electronic consular certification and legalization shall apply from January 1, 2026.

3. In cases where individuals or organizations have submitted applications for consular certification and legalization before this Decree takes effect, the provisions of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP dated December 5, 2011 of the Government on consular certification and legalization shall continue to apply.

4. Local diplomatic agencies authorized to receive applications for consular certification and legalization according to Article 5 of Decree No. 111/2011/NĐ-CP dated December 5, 2011 of the Government on consular certification and legalization shall continue to perform their functions and tasks until there are regulations on the delegation of authority as stipulated in Clause 3 of Article 1 of this Decree.

5. The Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chairpersons of provincial People's Committees directly under the Central Government, and relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for implementing this Decree.