Is it permitted to use a birth certificate for boarding a flight when personal identity documents are lost?
At Clause 2 and Clause 5, Section I, Appendix XIV issued together with Circular 13/2019/TT-BGTVT stipulating documents related to personal identification, tickets, and boarding passes as follows:
...
- Passengers aged 14 years and older when completing procedures to board flights on domestic routes must present:
b) For passengers holding Vietnamese nationality, one of the following documents must be presented: passport or laissez-passer, separate visa, permanent residence card, temporary residence card, identity card, citizen identification card; identification or certification issued by the People's Public Security, People's Army; Member of Parliament Card; Communist Party membership card; Press card; motorbike or car driving license; ...Certificate with a photo, with overlapping stamp and only valid within 30 days from the date of certification); certification from a competent authority confirming the passenger has just completed serving a sentence.
- Documents used by passengers when boarding a flight as stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this Appendix must meet the following conditions:
a) Must be the original and still valid for use;
b) Regarding the birth certificate, it must be the original or a certified copy as per the law;
c) Papers stipulated in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 of this Appendix are not accepted if they do not have photos or the photos are not in accordance with legal regulations, except for birth certificates, delivery record certificates, and documents from competent authorities verifying escort purposes.
=> Therefore, the use of birth certificates for air travel only applies to individuals under 14 years old. For those aged 14 years and older, in cases where there is no ID card, Citizen ID card, or other personal identification documents, a driving license or a certificate with a photo for personal identification can be used to board a flight. Birth certificates cannot be used.
Respectfully.









