ESTABLISHING A VIETNAM COMPANY IN 2026

13 March, 2026 5 Views

Table of Contents

Establishing a Vietnam company in 2026 is one of the matters receiving significant attention as the Government has recently issued Decree No. 168/2025/ND-CP on business registration 2025 (effective from July 1, 2025). Within the development trend of the digital economy, where the business environment is constantly expanding and bringing numerous market development opportunities for enterprises, clearly understanding the necessary conditions, dossiers, and procedures before establishing an Enterprise is an inevitability. This article will provide detailed information and the most updated regulations when establishing a Vietnam Company in 2026.

Basic conditions to be met when establishing a Vietnam company in 2026

To establish a company, you need to ensure satisfaction of the conditions below:

Legal representative and owner: Must be an individual at least 18 years of age, possessing full civil act capacity and not falling within the categories prohibited from enterprise management (Article 17 of the Law on Enterprises 2020); the owner may concurrently serve as the owner and the legal representative, or may authorize another person.
Company name: Must include 2 components: [Enterprise type] + [Proper name] written in Vietnamese characters, the letters F, J, Z, W, numerals, and symbols.
- Note: The company name must not be identical to or cause confusion with other enterprises, must not use words or phrases that violate ethics or fine traditions and customs, or the names of state agencies, political organizations, or socio-political organizations.
Company headquarters: * The headquarters of the enterprise must be located within the territory of Vietnam, serve as the contact address of the enterprise, and be determined according to the boundaries of administrative units; it must have a phone number, fax number, and email (if any).
- According to new regulations effective from July 1, 2025, the headquarters address is determined based on 3 levels of administrative units, including: (1) House number/street name (or village/hamlet/neighborhood), (2) Commune/Ward/Township, (3) Province/City directly under the Central Government. Headquarters must not be located in apartment buildings or collective housing intended only for living purposes, as this violates the Law on Housing and the Law on Enterprises.
Company type: Currently, there are 05 types of enterprises including: (1) Single-member Limited Liability Company; (2) Multi-member Limited Liability Company (with 2 or more members); (3) Joint Stock Company; (4) Partnership; (5) Sole Proprietorship. Each type of enterprise has different advantages and disadvantages which depend on the needs and capabilities of the individual or organization to select the appropriate establishment model.
Business lines: * Enterprises are free to conduct business in lines that are not prohibited by law, and those lines must be within the Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification attached as an Appendix to Decision 36/2025/QD-TTg (Decision effective from November 15, 2025).
- For conditional business lines, the enterprise must ensure fulfillment of the conditions for each specific line as prescribed by law.
Charter capital: The law does not have specific regulations regarding minimum or maximum capital when registering the establishment of a joint stock company, partnership, or limited liability company, etc., except for business lines that require legal capital.

Dossiers to be prepared when registering the establishment of a Vietnam company in 2026

According to the provisions of Articles 21, 22, 23, 24 of Decree 01/2021/ND-CP, the dossier for business registration includes:

For Sole Proprietorships:

Application for business registration.
Copies of the individual’s legal documents for the owner of the sole proprietorship.

For Partnerships:

Application for business registration.
Company Charter.
List of members.
Copies of the following documents: Legal documents of the company members, the authorized representative, and the document appointing the authorized representative.
Investment Registration Certificate in case the enterprise is established or participated in establishment by foreign investors or foreign-invested economic organizations.

For Joint Stock Companies:

Application for business registration.
Company Charter.
List of founding shareholders and list of shareholders being foreign investors.
Copies of the following documents: Legal documents of the legal representative of the enterprise;
Legal documents of founding shareholders, shareholders being foreign investors; legal documents of the authorized representative of founding shareholders, and organizational foreign investment shareholders, and the document appointing the authorized representative.
Investment Registration Certificate if the enterprise is established or participated in establishment by foreign investors or foreign-invested economic organizations.

For Multi-member Limited Liability Companies:

Application for business registration.
Company Charter.
List of members.
Copies of the following documents: Legal documents of the legal representative of the enterprise;
Legal documents of company members, legal documents of the authorized representative of members, and the document appointing the authorized representative.
Investment Registration Certificate if the enterprise is established or participated in establishment by foreign investors or foreign-invested economic organizations.

For Single-member Limited Liability Companies:

Application for business registration.
Company Charter.
Copies of the following documents: Legal documents of the legal representative of the enterprise;
Legal documents of the company owner;
Legal documents of the authorized representative and the document appointing the authorized representative;
Investment Registration Certificate if the enterprise is established or participated in establishment by foreign investors or foreign-invested economic organizations.

Instructions on specific sequences and procedures for establishing a Vietnam company

To help organizations and individuals wishing to establish an enterprise understand the implementation process, below is the specific sequence and procedure for establishing a company in Vietnam in 2026 according to current legal regulations. Based on Articles 32, 33, 34 of Decree 01/2021/ND-CP, the process of establishing a Vietnam company in 2026 consists of the following stages:

Stage 1: Prepare a complete dossier for company registration (Specific regulations for each type of Company)

Application for business registration.
Draft of the company charter.
List of founding shareholders or members.
Authentication documents of members and the legal representative.
Valid personal authentication documents of the authorized representative and the legal representative.
Document confirming legal capital.
Copies of practice certificates and ID cards of persons possessing practice certificates for enterprises conducting business lines that require practice certificates.

Stage 2: Submit the dossier to the competent authority (Directly or Online) Enterprises may choose one of the two forms of dossier submission:

Submit the dossier directly or send it via postal service to the receiving agency: Business Registration Office under the Department of Planning and Investment where your company’s headquarters is located.
Submit the dossier Online on the National Business Registration Portal.

Within a period of 3 – 5 working days from the time of receiving the complete dossier, the Department of Planning and Investment will complete the review process and return the result to the enterprise. In case the enterprise submits the dossier online, the enterprise can receive information via Email or look up the result directly on the system. Note: If the dossier is valid, the Business Registration Agency will consider and issue the Certificate of Business Registration. If the dossier is invalid, the Business Registration Agency will notify in writing the contents needing amendment and return the dossier for the enterprise to supplement information within 30 days from the date the notice was sent.

Stage 3: Public Announcement After receiving the Certificate of Business Registration, the enterprise needs to prepare the announcement content according to the form in Decree 01/2021/ND-CP, including basic information such as name, tax code, address, business lines, and legal representative. The dossier is submitted on the National Business Registration Portal (dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn) and will be published within 1–3 working days if valid. The publication fee is currently approximately 100,000 VND according to Circular 47/2019/TT-BTC. Additionally, the enterprise may post the announcement in newspapers for 3 consecutive issues if desired.

Stage 4: Create the Corporate Seal The enterprise proceeds to create the corporate seal. First, it is necessary to design the seal pattern – which can be self-designed or supported by a seal engraving unit. Subsequently, the enterprise brings a copy of the Certificate of Business Registration along with the design pattern (if any) to a facility with seal engraving functions to execute. When receiving the seal, the enterprise’s representative brings the original Certificate of Business Registration; in cases where the representative cannot directly receive it, they may legally authorize another person to receive it on their behalf.

Post-establishment stage of the company:

Submit initial tax declaration dossiers: The detailed initial tax declaration dossier includes:
- Declaration of accounting form and type of invoices used;
- Decision to appoint the director;
- Decision to appoint the accountant;
- Method for depreciation of fixed assets (FA);
- Business license tax declaration (can be submitted online);
- Registration form for exchanging information via electronic methods.
Mounting the company signboard: Pursuant to Clause 4, Article 37 of the Law on Enterprises No. 59/2020/QH14, it is stipulated: “4. The enterprise name must be mounted at the headquarters, branches, representative offices, and business locations of the enterprise. The enterprise name must be printed or written on transaction papers, dossiers, documents, and publications issued by the enterprise.” Therefore, mounting the enterprise name at the headquarters is mandatory. Usually, enterprises will mount the company signboard at the headquarters address with at least the following 3 pieces of information: Enterprise name written in Vietnamese, enterprise code, and the address of the enterprise’s headquarters.
Purchase a digital signature: According to Vietnamese law, a digital signature is a form of electronic signature with legal value equivalent to a handwritten signature and the seal of an organization or enterprise according to the provisions of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023, Decree 130/2018/ND-CP, and other relevant regulations, including Decree 23/2025/ND-CP providing for electronic signatures and trust services. Digital signatures are used for online tax declaration, electronic customs declaration, electronic banking transactions, electronic stock transactions, electronic social insurance declaration, electronic invoice signing, the national single window portal, and administrative agencies… without having to print declarations and apply the company’s red seal.
Register a bank account: Each enterprise needs at least one bank account (in the name of the enterprise) to use in cases such as: Paying business license tax, VAT, CIT… without having to go to the bank or the treasury; and to serve as valid evidence for purchase invoices of goods and services with a payment value of 20 million VND or more per transaction. When opening an account at a bank, the enterprise needs to prepare:
- Certified copy of the Certificate of Business Registration.
- Certified copy of personal authentication documents of the legal representative.
- Decision to appoint the accountant and a certified copy of the personal authentication documents of the accountant (if the company already has an accountant).
- Note: Within 10 days after registering the bank account, the enterprise must send a notice to the Department of Planning and Investment. An enterprise may have multiple accounts, but one account can only be used for one enterprise.
Issuance of electronic invoices: According to Decree 123/2020/ND-CP, all business organizations and individuals, enterprises, and household businesses… are mandatory to use electronic invoices. Enterprises must perform procedures to purchase, order printing, or self-print invoices according to Circular 39/2014/TT-BTC on invoices and documents effective from June 1, 2014. Since September 1, 2014, newly established enterprises will be registered for the VAT deduction method and are allowed to order the printing of VAT invoices for use.
Supplementing and perfecting conditions regarding licenses, certificates, and capital: For missing dossiers or documents during the business registration process, such as sub-licenses or practice certificates (for conditional business lines), the enterprise needs to quickly complete them to avoid being penalized during inspections by inspection teams. In addition, enterprise types such as limited liability companies, joint stock companies, or partnerships must fulfill their capital contribution commitments within 90 days from the date of being issued the Certificate of Business Registration.
Participating in insurance for employees and tax matters: Pursuant to Decision 772/QD-BHXH, within 30 days from the date of signing official labor contracts with employees, the enterprise must submit dossiers to participate in insurance for employees including:
- Declaration of the unit participating in and adjusting information for Social Insurance and Health Insurance;
- List of employees participating in insurance.

Latest costs for establishing a Vietnam company

The cost of establishing a company includes not only the contributed capital or initial investment capital but also various other costs. Specifically, enterprises may have to pay items such as:
- Business registration fee.
- Legal consulting service fee.
- Fee for publishing business registration content.
- Seal engraving fee.
- Company signboard making fee.
- Bank account opening fee.
- Fee for purchasing and issuing electronic invoices.
- Business license tax.
- Along with costs related to building infrastructure, renting an office, and implementing initial advertising and marketing activities.
.

Consulting support services for Vietnam company establishment procedures 2026 by BKC Law

Support services for Vietnam company establishment procedures provide comprehensive solutions for entrepreneurs and investors. We help clients clearly understand legal processes, from selecting the appropriate enterprise type, registering the company name, to applying for licenses and taxes. Our team of experts will accompany you, ensuring all procedures are performed quickly, accurately, and in compliance with legal regulations. With a team of senior lawyers with many years of experience, solid legal knowledge, and excellent bilingual consulting capabilities, BKC LAW is confident in being one of the best legal partners in the market to support clients in performing business registration activities.

To receive free legal consultation at BKC Law, you can contact our Lawyers according to the following information:

Phone: 0901 3333 41
Email: info@bkclaw.vn
District 1 Office: 9th Floor, Diamond Plaza Building, 34 Le Duan, Sai Gon Ward, Ho Chi Minh City
Binh Tan Office: 41 Ten Lua, An Lac Ward, Ho Chi Minh City