Cases of criminal record expungement as stipulated by the Criminal Code of Vietnam

Hello, Lawnet would like to answer as follows:

1. How many cases of criminal record expungement are there according to the law in Vietnam?

According to Articles 70, 71, and 72 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015 (amended by the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2017), the cases eligible for expungement are as follows:

Cases of automatic expungement

- Automatic expungement applies to individuals convicted of offenses not specified in Chapters XIII and XXVI of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015, provided that they have completed the principal penalty, the probation period of a suspended sentence, or the statute of limitations for enforcing the judgment and meet the conditions stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 70 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015.

- Convicted individuals are automatically eligible for expungement if, since completing the principal penalty or the probation period of a suspended sentence, they have completed additional penalties, other decisions of the judgment, and have not committed a new offense within the following timeframes:

+ 1 year for those subject to a warning, fine, community sentence, or imprisonment with a suspended sentence;

+ 2 years for those sentenced to imprisonment up to 5 years;

+ 3 years for those sentenced to imprisonment between 5 and 15 years;

+ 5 years for those sentenced to imprisonment over 15 years, life imprisonment, or death penalty but have had their sentence reduced.

Note: For convicted individuals serving additional penalties such as probation, residence ban, or deprivation of certain civil rights with a duration longer than those specified in Clauses a, b, and c of Clauses 2 of Article 70 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015, the automatic expungement period will end when they have completed the additional penalties.

- Convicted individuals are automatically eligible for expungement if, since the statute of limitations for enforcing the judgment expired, they have not committed a new offense within the timeframe stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 70 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015.

- The judicial record database management agency is responsible for updating information about the criminal records of convicted individuals and, upon request, issuing a judicial record certificate indicating no criminal record if the conditions stipulated in Clauses 2 or 3 of Article 70 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015 are met.

Cases of expungement by court decision

- Expungement by court decision applies to individuals convicted of offenses specified in Chapters XIII and XXVI of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015. The court decides on the expungement based on the nature of the committed crime, the behavior of the convicted individual regarding law compliance and work attitude, and the conditions stipulated in Clause 2 of Article 71 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015.

- Convicted individuals are eligible for expungement by court decision if, since completing the principal penalty or the probation period of a suspended sentence, they have adhered to additional penalties, other decisions of the judgment, and have not committed a new crime within the following timeframes:

+ 1 year for those subject to a warning or community sentence, or imprisonment with a suspended sentence;

+ 3 years for those sentenced to imprisonment up to 5 years;

+ 5 years for those sentenced to imprisonment between 5 and 15 years;

+ 7 years for those sentenced to imprisonment over 15 years, life imprisonment, or death penalty but have had their sentence reduced.

Note: For convicted individuals serving additional penalties such as probation, residence ban, or deprivation of certain civil rights with a duration longer than those specified in Clauses a and b of Clauses 2 of Article 71 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015, the court shall decide on the expungement from the time they have completed the additional penalties.

- Individuals whose first expungement request was denied by the court can only reapply for expungement 1 year from the date of the initial denial; if denied a second time or more, they can only reapply 2 years from the date of the latest denial.

Expungement in special cases

In cases where the convicted individual shows clear signs of progress and has made meritorious contributions, as recommended by the agency, organization where they work, or the local government where they reside, the court shall decide on the expungement if they have met at least one-third of the timeframe stipulated in Clauses 2 of Article 70 and Clauses 2 of Article 71 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015.

Thus, according to the regulations, there are 3 cases eligible for expungement, including:

- Cases of automatic expungement;

- Cases of expungement by court decision;

- Expungement in special cases;

Additionally, individuals whose records have been expunged are considered as having no previous convictions. Individuals convicted of unintentional offenses of less serious or serious crimes and those exempted from penalties are not considered to have a criminal record. (According to the provisions of Article 69 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015)

2. How is the duration for criminal record expungement calculated accordign to the law in Vietnam?

According to Article 73 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015, the calculation of the timeframe for expungement is as follows:

- The timeframe for expungement stipulated in Articles 70 and 71 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015 is based on the principal penalty pronounced.

- Individuals who have not yet had their records expunged and committed a new offense, and are convicted by a final judgment, will have their old expungement timeframe recalculated from the date of completion of the principal penalty or probation period of the new judgment or from the date the new judgment ceases to be enforceable.

- Individuals convicted of multiple offenses, with at least one offense automatically eligible for expungement and another eligible for expungement by court decision, will have their expungement based on the timeframe stipulated in Article 71 of the Criminal Code of Vietnam 2015, with the court deciding on the expungement.

- Individuals exempted from serving the remaining part of their penalty are considered to have completed their penalty.

Thus, the timeframe for expungement is based on the principal penalty pronounced, combined with considering cases of new offenses, multiple offenses, and exemption from serving the penalty.

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