Certified Copies and Translations of Foreign Documents in Vietnam (2026)

Foreigners who need certified copies or translations in Vietnam can have copies, signatures and translators’ signatures certified at any commune-level People’s Committee or at a notary office (Decree 280/2025/ND-CP, effective 1 November 2025). Documents issued abroad usually have to be consular-legalised first. The Department of Justice does not certify documents itself but manages and publishes the lists of notaries and approved translators.

Contents

Who can certify

The chair or vice-chair of a commune People’s Committee: copies (including copies of foreign documents), signatures and translators’ signatures.
Notary offices: copies, signatures and translators’ signatures.
Vietnamese embassies and consulates abroad.

Copies and signatures can be certified at any commune; land and housing transactions must be certified where the property is located.

Translating foreign documents

Translations are made by translator collaborators of the commune or notary office; the Department of Justice approves and publishes these lists.
A translator who is not a collaborator must sign in front of the certifying officer, with ID, the original and the translation.
End-to-end service: notarised translation.

Consular legalisation

Documents issued abroad for use in Vietnam (degrees, foreign criminal records, marriage papers…) usually require consular legalisation, unless exempt under a treaty. They are then translated and the translator’s signature certified.

Notarisation under the 2024 Law on Notarisation

Since 1 July 2025, foreigners can request notarisation of contracts and transactions (powers of attorney, sales…) and can submit online where the notary office supports it. Bring your passport and related papers.