Law on Civil Status 2026, No. 03/2026/QH16

LAW

ON CIVIL STATUS

Pursuant to the Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, as amended and supplemented under Resolution No. 203/2025/QH15;

The National Assembly promulgates the Law on Civil Status.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Law provides for civil status, civil status registration, the civil status database, and state management of civil status.

Article 2. Interpretation of terms

For the purposes of this Law, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. Civil status means events and information determining the personal status of an individual from birth to death as prescribed in Article 4 of this Law.

2. Civil status registration means the act whereby a competent state authority certifies, records, and updates an individual’s civil status events and information in the civil status register and the civil status database.

3. Civil status registration authority means the commune-level People’s Committee; diplomatic missions and consular missions of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam abroad (hereinafter referred to as the Representative mission).

4. Civil status management authority includes the central state authority responsible for civil status management and local state authorities responsible for civil status management.

5. Civil status database means a collection of an individual’s electronic civil status data arranged and organized for access, exploitation, sharing, management, and updating through electronic means, with continuity.

6. Civil status register includes paper-based civil status register and electronic civil status register permanently archived for the purpose of certifying, recording, or updating civil status events and information prescribed in Article 4 of this Law.

7. Civil status documents means legal instruments issued by competent state authorities in the settlement of administrative procedures in the field of civil status, including the birth certificate, marriage certificate, death certificate, and civil status certification document.

8. Birth certificate means the first civil status document issued by the civil status registration authority upon birth registration of an individual; the contents of the birth certificate include the basic information prescribed in clause 4 Article 15 of this Law.

9. Marriage certificate means the civil status document issued by the civil status registration authority to the male and female parties upon marriage registration; the contents of the marriage certificate include the basic information prescribed in clause 2 Article 16 of this Law.

10. Death certificate means the civil status document issued by the civil status registration authority upon death registration of an individual; the contents of the death certificate include the basic information prescribed in clause 4 Article 20 of this Law.

11. Civil status certification document means a civil status document issued by a competent state authority to certify an individual’s civil status events and information that have been registered, except for the cases prescribed in clauses 8, 9, and 10 of this Article.

12. Persons performing civil status duties include persons performing civil status duties at commune-level People’s Committees; persons assigned to perform civil status duties at provincial-level state authorities responsible for civil status management; diplomatic officers and consular officers assigned to perform civil status duties at Representative missions.

Article 3. Principles of civil status registration and the exploitation and sharing of civil status data

1. Respect for and assurance of the personal rights of individuals.

2. All civil status events of an individual must be registered fully, promptly, truthfully, objectively, and accurately; where the conditions for civil status registration as prescribed by law are not met, the head of the civil status registration authority shall refuse in writing and clearly state the reasons.

3. For civil status registration matter for which the law on civil status does not prescribe a time limit for settlement, it shall be resolved within 24 hours from the time of receipt of a complete and valid dossier.

4. A civil status event or information of an individual shall be registered once by a competent Vietnamese civil status registration authority, except for re-registration of marriage. The civil status registration authority shall be responsible for ensuring that an individual’s civil status events and information are not registered in duplication.

5. Assurance of publicity and transparency in civil status registration procedures.

6. Enhancement of proactive civil status registration and interconnection of civil status registration procedures with related procedures, ensuring that citizens provide information only once.

7. Civil status registration authorities shall be responsible for proactively exploiting electronic data and searching information in relevant databases, in accordance with the level of database responsiveness; shall not request the submission, presentation, or uploading of documents constituting components of the dossier, except where information cannot be exploited or the exploited information is incomplete or inaccurate.

8. The collection, processing, storage, sharing, and exploitation of civil status data must ensure safety, confidentiality, proper purpose, and compliance with the law on data and the law on personal data protection.

Article 4. Contents of civil status registration

1. Certification of the following events and information:

a) Birth registration;

b) Marriage registration;

c) Guardianship; supervision of guardianship;

d) Recognition of parent-child relationship;

dd) Change of civil status information;

e) Marital status;

g) Death registration.

2. Updating the civil status register and the civil status database on the basis of legally effective judgments and decisions of courts, and decisions and civil status documents issued or certified by competent state authorities in respect of the following changes to an individual’s information:

a) Information on civil status and nationality;

b) Determination of parent-child relationship;

c) Re-determination of sex;

d) Adoption and termination of adoption;

dd) Divorce, annulment of unlawful marriage, recognition of marriage;

e) Recognition of guardianship;

g) Declaration or cancellation of a declaration that a person is missing, deceased, has lost civil act capacity, has limited civil act capacity, or experiences difficulties in cognition and behavioral control.

3. Recording in the civil status register civil status events and information of Vietnamese citizens that have been resolved by competent foreign authorities.

4. Certification or recording in the civil status register of other civil status events and information in accordance with the provisions of law.

Article 5. Rights and obligations of individuals in civil status registration

1. Vietnamese citizens, persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined but who are residing in Vietnam, stateless persons, and foreign nationals shall have the rights and obligations to register civil status in accordance with the provisions of this Law, except where an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member provides otherwise.

2. Vietnamese citizens shall be responsible for carrying out procedures for recording in the civil status register civil status events and information that have been resolved by competent foreign authorities.

3. Minors, adults who have lost civil act capacity, and persons having difficulties in cognition and behavioral control shall register civil status through lawful representatives.

Article 6. State policies on civil status registration and management

1. The State shall adopt comprehensive policies and measures to create favorable conditions for individuals to exercise rights and perform obligations in civil status registration.

2. The State shall ensure budget, physical facilities, investment in digital transformation, and the development of information technology for civil status registration and management activities.

3. The State shall prioritize the development of human resources, ensure the stability of job positions, provide training and professional development, enhance capacity, and establish appropriate remuneration policies for persons performing civil status duties to improve the professionalism, stability, and quality of civil status registration and management.

Article 7. Responsibilities of state authorities in relation to civil status

1. The Government shall uniformly perform state management of civil status throughout the country.

2. The Ministry of Justice shall serve as the focal agency assisting the Government in uniformly performing state management of civil status.

3. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible for performing state management of civil status at Representative missions.

4. The Supreme People’s Court shall be responsible for updating and sharing information on changes in an individual’s civil status with the civil status database; coordinating in the performance of other tasks related to civil status affairs.

5. Relevant ministries and sectors shall be responsible for ensuring the connection and sharing of data under management authority with the civil status database in accordance with the provisions of law; ensuring information security and safety within the civil status database; and coordinating in the performance of other tasks related to civil status affairs.

6. People’s Committees at all levels shall be responsible for state management of civil status in localities in accordance with the law.

Article 8. Competence in civil status registration

1. Commune-level People’s Committees, irrespective of an individual’s place of residence, shall register the civil status events and information prescribed in Article 4 of this Law.

2. The Chairperson of the commune-level People’s Committee shall have the authority to sign civil status documents. Based on the actual circumstances of the locality, the Chairperson of the commune-level People’s Committee may authorize the signing of civil status documents in accordance with regulations, except for the following types of civil status documents:

a) Birth Certificates;

b) Marriage Certificates;

c) Civil status documents in cases of civil status registration involving foreign elements.

3. Representative missions shall register the civil status events and information prescribed in Article 4 of this Law for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad.

4. Civil status registration authorities and civil status management authorities maintaining paper-based civil status registers shall be responsible for updating paper-based civil status registers with changes to an individual’s information as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 4 of this Law.

Article 9. Legal validity of civil status documents, civil status information, and electronic civil status data

1. Civil status documents, civil status information contained in civil status registers and the civil status database shall serve as the basis for adjustment of information in an individual’s other documents, records, and databases.

2. Birth registration information constitutes the original civil status information of an individual. All information contained in an individual’s other records, documents, and databases concerning surname, middle name, given name; date of birth; place of birth; sex; ethnicity; nationality; personal identification number; native place; and parent-child relationship must be consistent with such person’s birth registration information.

Where information contained in an individual’s other records, documents, and databases is inconsistent with birth registration information, the head of the authority or organization responsible for managing records or databases or issuing documents shall be responsible for proactively coordinating with the civil status registration authority and the civil status management authority to examine and make adjustments to ensure accurate information.

3. Electronic civil status data, including electronic versions of civil status documents and data contained in the civil status database that meet the requirements of the law on electronic transactions, shall have the same validity as paper-based civil status documents in the conduct of administrative procedures and other transactions.

Article 10. Methods for requesting and receiving results of civil status registration

1. A person requesting civil status registration shall have the right to choose to submit the dossier online, send the dossier through postal services, or submit the dossier directly to the competent civil status registration authority or civil status management authority.

2. Procedures for birth registration, marriage registration, and death registration shall result in both paper-based and electronic versions.

For other civil status registration procedures, the results shall be provided in electronic form; paper-based results shall be issued only upon request of the person registering civil status.

3. A person registering civil status may choose to receive paper-based results via postal services or directly at the civil status registration authority or civil status management authority, except that, in the case of marriage registration, the Marriage certificate shall be received directly at the civil status registration authority.

Article 11. Consular legalization and translation into Vietnamese of documents issued, notarized, or certified by competent foreign authorities

1. Documents issued, notarized, or certified by competent foreign authorities and used for civil status registration in Vietnam must undergo consular legalization, except where consular legalization is exempted under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member or under the provisions of law.

2. Foreign-language documents used for civil status registration in Vietnam must be translated into Vietnamese, and the translator’s signature must be authenticated in accordance with the provisions of law.

3. Documents issued, notarized, or certified by competent authorities of neighboring countries in border areas shall be exempt from consular legalization when used for civil status registration in border areas.

Article 12. Civil status fees and charges

1. A person requesting civil status registration shall pay civil status registration fees in accordance with the law on fees and charges.

2. Agencies, organizations, and individuals exploiting and using the civil status database shall pay fees in accordance with the law on fees and charges.

Article 13. Prohibited acts

1. Providing false information or documents; producing or using forged documents, or using another person’s documents for civil status registration.

2. Threatening, coercing, or obstructing the exercise of rights and performance of obligations relating to civil status registration.

3. Abusing position or authority to cause inconvenience or delay in civil status registration; refusing civil status registration without legitimate reasons; unlawfully interfering in civil status registration activities.

4. Making false declarations or giving false testimony for the purpose of civil status registration.

5. Forging, unlawfully altering, or falsifying the contents of civil status documents.

6. Offering bribes, bribing, or promising material or non-material benefits to obtain civil status registration.

7. Taking advantage of civil status registration or evading obligations of civil status registration for profiteering purposes, enjoyment of preferential State policies, or obtaining illicit gains in any form.

8. A person who has authority to decide on civil status registration carrying out civil status registration for himself or herself.

9. Accessing, altering, deleting, destroying, disseminating, or conducting other unlawful activities related to the processing of data in civil status registers and the civil status database; taking advantage of data processing or data administration to exploit, share, purchase, sell, exchange, appropriate, intentionally disclose, or cause the loss of personal data contained in civil status registers and the civil status database; using another person’s personal data, or allowing another person to use one’s personal data, for acts contrary to the provisions of law.

Article 14. Handling of violations in civil status registration and management activities

Agencies, organizations, and individuals committing acts in violation of the law on civil status may, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, be subject to administrative sanctions, disciplinary measures, or criminal prosecution in accordance with the provisions of law.

Civil status documents and civil status registration contents issued, registered, or certified as a result of acts violating the law on civil status must be corrected, remedied, or revoked and annulled.

Chapter II

CIVIL STATUS REGISTRATION

Section 1

CIVIL STATUS REGISTRATION AT COMMUNE-LEVEL PEOPLE’S COMMITTEES

Article 15. Birth Registration

1. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out birth registration in the following cases:

a) Children born in Vietnam;

b) Children born abroad who have not yet been registered for birth, return to reside in Vietnam, and have at least one parent who is a Vietnamese citizen;

c) Vietnamese citizens, overseas Vietnamese, and persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam, who were born in Vietnam but have not yet been registered for birth and already possess dossiers or documents issued or certified by competent Vietnamese authorities.

2. Commune-level People’s Committees, at the option of the person requesting birth registration, shall be responsible for proactively carrying out birth registration for children where data from medical examination and treatment establishments are automatically connected and shared with the electronic civil status registration and management system, and where all of the following conditions are satisfied:

a) The child is born at a medical examination and treatment establishment;

b) The person requesting birth registration has provided complete birth registration information as prescribed.

3. Where a child born in Vietnam is not registered for birth in accordance with clause 2 of this Article, within 60 days from the date of the child’s birth, the father or mother shall be responsible for registering the birth of the child; where the father or mother is unable to register the birth of the child, the paternal grandfather, paternal grandmother, maternal grandfather, maternal grandmother, biological brother, biological sister, paternal uncle, paternal aunt, maternal uncle, maternal aunt, or an individual or organization currently caring for the child shall be responsible for registering the child’s birth.

4. The contents of birth registration shall include:

a) Information of the person whose birth is registered: surname, middle name (if any), and given name; sex; date, month, and year of birth; personal identification number; place of birth; native place; ethnicity; nationality.

The determination of the surname, middle name (if any), given name, ethnicity, and nationality of the person whose birth is registered shall comply with the provisions of civil law and the law on Vietnamese nationality.

The native place of an individual shall be determined according to the native place of the father or mother as agreed upon by the parents at the time of birth registration; where the parents fail to reach agreement, it shall be determined according to customary practice;

b) Information of the father and mother of the person whose birth is registered: surname, middle name (if any), and given name; date, month, and year of birth; personal identification number (if any); ethnicity; nationality; place of residence. Where the father and mother of the person whose birth is registered cannot yet be identified, the information concerning the father and mother shall be left blank.

Article 16. Marriage registration

1. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out marriage registration in the following cases:

a) Marriage registration between Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam;

b) Marriage registration between a Vietnamese citizen residing in Vietnam and a foreign national, a Vietnamese citizen residing abroad, or a person of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who is residing in Vietnam;

c) Marriage registration for persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam, and foreign nationals permanently residing in Vietnam.

2. The contents of marriage registration shall include:

a) Surname, middle name (if any), and given name; date, month, and year of birth; ethnicity; nationality; place of residence; personal identification number; and information of identity documents of the male and female parties;

b) Date, month, and year of marriage registration; date, month, and year of establishment of the marital relationship.

3. The male and female parties must be present at the civil status registration authority to sign the marriage registration register and the Marriage Certificate.

Article 17. Registration of guardianship, termination of guardianship, change of guardian, supervision of guardianship, and termination of supervision of guardianship

1. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out the registration of guardianship, termination of guardianship, and change of guardian in the following cases:

a) Between Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam;

b) Between Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam and foreign nationals residing in Vietnam;

c) Between Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam and persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam;

d) Between persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam;

dd) Between juridical persons and Vietnamese citizens residing in Vietnam, foreign nationals residing in Vietnam, or persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam.

2. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out the registration of supervision of guardianship and termination of supervision of guardianship in relation to the management of the property of the ward.

3. The contents of registration of guardianship and supervision of guardianship shall include:

a) Information of the ward: surname, middle name (if any), and given name; date, month, and year of birth; sex; ethnicity; nationality; place of residence; personal identification number (if any);

b) Information of the guardian and the supervisor of guardianship: surname, middle name (if any), and given name; date, month, and year of birth; sex; ethnicity; nationality; place of residence; information of identity documents.

4. The guardian must be present at the civil status registration authority to sign the guardianship registration book.

Article 18. Registration of recognition of parent and child relationship

Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out the registration of recognition of parent and child relationship in the following cases:

1. Between Vietnamese citizens, where at least one party resides in Vietnam;

2. Between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreign national, where at least one party resides in Vietnam;

3. Between a Vietnamese citizen and a person of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who is residing in Vietnam;

4. Between persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam;

5. Between a person of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who is residing in Vietnam and a foreign national;

6. Between foreign nationals, where at least one party permanently resides in Vietnam.

Article 19. Change of civil status information

1. A change of civil status information means the recording by a competent civil status registration authority of changes in an individual’s personal status information where there are legitimate grounds, and the conditions are met in accordance with this Law, civil law, and other relevant laws.

2. The scope of changes to civil status information includes:

a) Change of an individual’s surname, middle name, or given name in birth registration information where sufficient grounds and conditions are met in accordance with civil law;

b) Change of information on native place in the birth registration information of an adult upon his or her request, or in the birth registration information of a minor child upon the request of the biological father or biological mother;

c) Change of information concerning parents, ethnicity, or native place in an individual’s birth registration information upon adoption or termination of adoption;

d) Re-determination of ethnicity in accordance with civil law; re-determination of the ethnicity of an abandoned child after the biological father and biological mother have been identified;

dd) Correction of registered civil status information due to errors or inaccurate information inconsistent with actual circumstances;

e) Supplementation of missing civil status information in the originals of civil status documents, paper-based civil status registers, or the civil status database;

g) Adjustment of an individual’s registered civil status information where the individual himself or herself, or such individual’s parent or spouse, has undergone a change of civil status information;

h) Other cases as prescribed by law.

3. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out changes of civil status information in the following cases:

a) Registration of changes of civil status information for Vietnamese citizens who have registered civil status in Vietnam, Vietnamese citizens residing abroad who have registered civil status in Vietnam, and who still retain the originals of civil status documents or have information contained in paper-based civil status registers or the civil status database;

b) Registration of changes of civil status information prescribed at Points b, c, dd, e, and g clause 2 of this Article for foreign nationals and persons of Vietnamese origin whose nationality has not yet been determined and who are residing in Vietnam, and who have registered civil status with competent Vietnamese authorities, still retain the originals of civil status documents, or have information contained in paper-based civil status registers or the civil status database.

Article 20. Death registration

1. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out death registration in the following cases:

a) Individuals who die within the country;

b) Vietnamese citizens who die abroad and whose bodies, remains, or ashes have been brought back to Vietnam but whose death has not yet been registered at a Representative mission or a competent foreign authority.

2. The commune-level People’s Committee of the place of the deceased person’s last residence shall be responsible for proactively carrying out death registration where data from medical examination and treatment establishments are automatically connected and shared with the electronic civil status registration and management system, and where all the following conditions are met:

a) The individual dies at a medical examination and treatment establishment;

b) The person requesting registration has provided complete death registration information as prescribed.

3. Where an individual who dies within Vietnam is not registered for death in accordance with Clause 2 of this Article, within 15 days from the date of death, the spouse, child, father, mother, or another relative of the deceased in accordance with the law on marriage and family shall be responsible for registering the death; where the deceased has no relative, a representative of the relevant agency, organization, or individual shall be responsible for registering the death.

4. The contents of death registration shall include:

a) Information of the deceased person: surname, middle name (if any), and given name; date, month, and year of birth; sex; personal identification number or information of identity documents; ethnicity; nationality; last place of residence (if any);

b) Information concerning the death event: time of death; place of death; cause of death; document evidencing the death event (if any).

Article 21. Recording in the civil status register civil status events and information of Vietnamese citizens resolved by competent foreign authorities

1. Civil status events and information of Vietnamese citizens that have been registered or certified by competent foreign authorities and are not contrary to the provisions of Vietnamese law shall be recorded in the civil status register, including:

a) Birth registration of Vietnamese citizens;

b) Birth registration of children having mother or father who is a Vietnamese citizen and the other parent who is a foreign citizen, where the father and mother agree to choose Vietnamese nationality at the time of recording the birth registration in the civil status register in accordance with the law on Vietnamese nationality;

c) Marriage registration; death registration; guardianship; determination of parent-child relationship; adoption; change of civil status information;

d) Divorce; annulment of unlawful marriage; annulment of registration or certification contents prescribed at points a, b, and c of this clause.

2. Commune-level People’s Committees shall carry out the recording in the civil status register of the civil status events and information prescribed in clause 1 of this Article upon receipt of valid papers and documents issued or certified by competent foreign authorities.

Section 2

CIVIL STATUS REGISTRATION AT REPRESENTATIVE MISSIONS

Article 22. Civil status registration for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad

1. Representative missions shall have the authority to register the civil status events and information prescribed in Article 4 of this Law for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad, provided that registration is not contrary to the law of the host country and international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

2. The Minister of Foreign Affairs shall provide guidance on civil status registration and management at Representative missions.

Article 23. Persons performing civil status duties at Representative missions

1. Representative missions shall assign diplomatic officers and consular officers to carry out civil status registration for Vietnamese citizens residing abroad.

2. Diplomatic officers and consular officers must receive professional training in civil status affairs prior to performing civil status registration duties.

Chapter III

CIVIL STATUS DATABASE

Article 24. Establishment and management of the civil status database

1. The civil status database is a national database, established in a centralized and uniform manner from the central level to local levels and managed by the Ministry of Justice.

2. The establishment of the civil status database must ensure expandability, upgrading, development, interconnection, and sharing with other databases; ensure the right of agencies, organizations, and individuals to exploit information in accordance with the provisions of law; and ensure the complete storage of an individual’s civil status information throughout all instances of collection, updating, and adjustment in the database.

3. The civil status database shall be ensured information security and safety and personal data protection; only competent agencies, organizations, and individuals shall be permitted access to and exploitation in accordance with the provisions of law.

Article 25. Information contained in the civil status database

1. Information contained in the civil status database includes scanned copies or photographed copies of pages of paper-based civil status registers and corresponding civil status documents in respect of digitized, standardized, and collected civil status information in accordance with regulations, and an individual’s civil status information established and updated upon civil status registration, including the following information fields:

a) Surname, middle name, and given name;

b) Date, month, and year of birth;

c) Place of birth;

d) Sex;

dd) Personal identification number;

e) Ethnicity;

g) Nationality;

h) Native place;

i) Place of residence;

k) Information of identity documents (type of document, document number, issuing authority, date of issuance);

l) Time of death, place of death, and cause of death in respect of death registration;

m) Information concerning changes in personal status (missing status, deceased status, loss or limitation of civil act capacity, difficulties in cognition and behavioral control);

n) Surname, middle name, and given name; date, month, and year of birth; personal identification number; ethnicity; nationality; place of residence; and information of identity documents (type of document, document number, issuing authority, date of issuance) of the father, mother, spouse, guardian, ward, supervisor of guardianship, and person requesting civil status registration;

o) Information concerning the registration authority, registration date and time, registration number, surname, middle name, and given name, and title/position of the person carrying out registration and the person signing the civil status documents.

2. The information contained in the civil status database as prescribed in clause 1 of this Article shall be established from the following sources:

a) An individual’s registered civil status information and electronic versions of civil status documents;

b) Civil status information digitized and standardized from paper-based civil status registers;

c) Civil status information collected from lawfully issued civil status documents;

d) Information connected and shared from national databases and other specialized databases;

dd) Civil status information shared, converted, and standardized from civil status software systems previously established.

3. Information contained in the civil status database, paper-based civil status registers, and civil status documents must be consistent with one another. Individuals shall have the right to request competent authorities to adjust civil status information where errors are discovered in registered contents.

Where information contained in the civil status database differs from information contained in paper-based civil status registers, adjustments must be made to ensure consistency with the paper-based civil status registers.

Where information contained in civil status documents is inconsistent with information contained in the civil status database or paper-based civil status registers, adjustments must be made to ensure consistency with the civil status database and paper-based civil status registers, except where the data are determined to contain errors or have not yet been updated.

Article 26. Exploitation of information in the civil status database

1. An individual shall have the right to exploit his or her own information contained in the civil status database.

2. Competent state authorities shall have the right to exploit information contained in the civil status database in accordance with the functions and duties of such authorities.

3. Agencies, organizations, and individuals not falling within the cases prescribed in clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, when exploiting information contained in the civil status database, must obtain the consent of the individual who is the subject of the information to be exploited, except where otherwise provided by law.

In cases of exploitation of information concerning minors, persons who have lost civil act capacity, or persons having difficulties in cognition and behavioral control, the consent of lawful representatives shall be required.

In cases of exploitation of information concerning persons declared missing or deceased, the consent of such person’s spouse or adult child shall be required; where these persons do not exist, the exploitation of information shall require the consent of the father or mother of the person declared missing or deceased.

4. Persons who have lost civil act capacity, persons having difficulties in cognition and behavioral control, and persons under 15 years of age shall exploit their own information through lawful representatives.

5. The exploitation of information contained in the civil status database must ensure the protection of personal data in accordance with the law on personal data protection.

Article 27. Protection of the civil status database

Civil status database management authorities, civil status registration authorities, and civil status management authorities, within the scope of their respective functions and duties, shall have the following responsibilities:

1. Ensuring the safety of equipment used for the collection, storage, transmission, processing, and exchange of civil status information;

2. Protecting personal data and the security of civil status information on computer networks; ensuring the safety of information stored in the database; preventing and combating acts of unauthorized access, unauthorized use, or damage to the civil status database.

Chapter IV

IMPLEMENTATION PROVISIONS

Article 28. Validity of paper-based civil status registers established and civil status documents issued prior to the effective date of this Law

1. Paper-based civil status registers established prior to the effective date of this Law shall remain valid as a basis for proving an individual’s civil status events and information, for use in searching and issuance of civil status documents, and shall be updated in accordance with clause 4 Article 8 of this Law.

2. Civil status documents issued to individuals in accordance with the law on civil status prior to the effective date of this Law shall remain valid for use.

Article 29. Effect

1. This Law takes effect on March 01, 2027. Proactive birth registration and death registration shall be implemented in accordance with the Government’s roadmap, ensuring uniform nationwide implementation no later than January 01, 2031.

2. The Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13 ceases to have effect from the effective date of this Law.

3. Where other laws or resolutions of the National Assembly contain provisions on civil status or civil status registration inconsistent with the provisions of this Law, the provisions of this Law shall prevail.

4. The Government shall provide detailed regulations and implementation measures for the following matters:

a) Review and strengthening of civil status personnel; prescribing conditions and standards applicable to persons performing civil status duties to ensure the performance of duties and powers assigned under this Law;

b) Providing detailed regulations for Article 7, Article 8, Article 9, Article 10, clause 3 Article 11, Article 14, and Articles 15 through 27 of this Law;

c) Updating, collecting, and cleansing historical civil status data and civil status data digitized previously; methods, order, and procedures for exploiting and using information contained in the civil status database for the issuance of copies of civil status documents, certification of civil status information, certification of marital status, and re-registration of marriage;

d) Specific measures for organizing and guiding the implementation of this Law.

Article 30. Transitional Provision

Civil status registration dossiers received prior to the effective date of this Law but not yet resolved shall continue to be resolved in accordance with the law on civil status in force at the time of receipt.

This Law was passed by the XVI National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at its 1st Session on April 23, 2026.