What are regulations on application and procedures for advertising license in 2024 in Vietnam?

Lawnet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is an advertising license?

According to Clause 1, Article 2 of the Advertising Law 2012, advertising is the use of means to introduce to the public products, goods, and services for profit; products and services not for profit; organizations and individuals doing business in the products, goods, and services being introduced, excluding news; social policies; and personal information.

At the same time, when businesses or individuals have the need to advertise, they must obtain an advertising license from the competent authority. An advertising license is a legal document indicating the legality of the advertising activity and specific content for each product/service provided by the manufacturer, distributor, or supplier.

The cases in which an advertising license must be obtained include:

- Medicines;

- Cosmetics;

- Chemicals and insecticidal, germicidal preparations;

- Milk and other nutritional products for children;

- Food, additives;

- Medical examination and treatment services;

- Medical equipment;

- Plant protection materials and drugs, plant protection drug ingredients;

- Veterinary drugs and materials;

- Fertilizers, biological preparations for crop cultivation, animal feed.

2. Conditions for issuing an advertising license in Vietnam

To be issued an advertising license, the following conditions specified in Article 20 of the Advertising Law 2012 must be met:

- Advertising for goods, services, and business activities must have a business registration certificate.

- Advertising for specific products, goods, and services must have documents certifying the conformity with standards and regulations as per the law.

- Advertising for assets where the law requires ownership or usage certificates must have ownership or usage certificates for the assets.

3. Dossier and procedures for applying for an advertising license in Vietnam

To apply for an advertising license, you need to prepare the documents and dossiers as per Clause 3 of Article 31 of the Advertising Law 2012 as follows:

- For dossiers applying for a billboard construction permit:

+ Application form for the permit;

+ Copy of the business registration certificate of the enterprise applying for the permit;

+ Copy of the land use rights certificate/lease agreement/consensual document/winning bid notice, etc.

- For dossiers applying for an advertising license for special products and services:

+ Application form for the permit;

+ Copy of the business registration certificate of the enterprise applying for the permit;

+ Content proposal for advertising certification;

+ Samples of product labels, relevant dossiers, and documents for each product and service.

The procedure for applying for an advertising license is as follows:

Step 1: Individuals and organizations prepare a complete dossier as prescribed by law.

Step 2: Individuals and organizations submit the dossier to the competent authority.

Different industries will have different responsible agencies. The specific competent authorities for reviewing and issuing advertising licenses are as follows:

- Drug Administration of Vietnam issues permits for advertising related to medicines;

- Department of Food Safety issues permits for advertising related to milk and child nutrition;

- Administration of Medical Examination and Treatment reviews dossiers for permits for medical examination and treatment services using modern medicine methods at establishments licensed by the Minister of Health;

- Department of Traditional Medicine Management issues permits for advertising traditional medicine examination and treatment services at establishments licensed by the Minister of Health;

- Department of Health Environment Management issues permits for advertising chemicals and insecticidal, germicidal preparations used in households and medical fields;

- Department of Medical Equipment and Construction Management issues permits for advertising medical equipment.

Step 3: Process the dossier and notify the result.

After receiving the application dossier for an advertising license from the business, within 5-10 working days, the competent authority will handle the dossier and return the result. In case of disapproval or request for adjustments, the authority will provide reasons in writing.

Sincerely!

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