What is a "Red Book" in Vietnam?

When conducting civil transactions related to land, the participants often encounter the use of "sổ đỏ" (Red Book). "sổ đỏ" is a common term used in daily life. The "sổ đỏ" is a form issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam, with a red cover, recording land use rights (which can be homestead land, agricultural production land, garden, pond, forest land, etc.). In cases where it is issued for homestead land and there is a house on the land, the house portion will be recorded as "Property attached to the land."

In legal terminology, the "sổ đỏ" is the certificate of land use rights. Previously, the Land Law 2003 stipulated: “The certificate of land use rights is a certificate issued by competent State agencies to land users to protect the lawful rights and interests of land users.”

However, according to the current land law, the certificate of land use rights has been changed to the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets. Clause 16, Article 3 of the Land Law 2013 stipulates:

"The certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets is a legal document for the State to confirm the lawful land use rights, ownership of houses, and ownership of other assets attached to land for land users, house owners, and owners of other assets attached to land."

According to the provisions of Article 99 of the Land Law 2013, the State issues certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets for the following cases:

- a) Persons who are using land with eligible conditions for issuance of certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets as prescribed in Articles 100, 101, and 102 of the Land Law 2013;

- b) Persons who are allocated land or leased land by the State after the effective date of this Law;

- c) Persons who are transferred, receive inheritance, receive gifts of land use rights, contribute capital by land use rights; persons who acquire land use rights when handling a mortgage contract by land use rights to recover debts;

- d) Persons who have the right to use land following the successful dispute settlement by mediation; by judgments or decisions of the People's Court, execution decisions of the enforcement agency, or decisions on dispute resolution, complaints, and denunciations of land by competent State agencies that have been enforced;

- dd) Persons winning the auction for land use rights;

- e) Persons using land in industrial parks, industrial clusters, export processing zones, high-tech parks, economic zones;

- g) Persons buying houses, other properties attached to land;

- h) Persons to whom the State liquidates, equitizes houses attached to homestead land; persons buying houses owned by the State;

- i) Persons using land for subdivision or land consolidation; groups of land users or members of households, married couples, organizations using land for separation and consolidation of existing land use rights;

- k) Persons using land requesting reissuance or replacement of the lost Certificate.

Additionally, according to Article 19 of Decree No. 43/2014/ND-CP, cases not eligible for issuance of Certificates of Land Use Rights and other assets attached to land include:

1. Organizations, community groups allocated land by the State for management in cases stipulated in Article 8 of the Land Law.
2. Persons managing and using agricultural land within the communal, ward, commune-level town's public land fund.
3. Persons renting or subleasing land from land users, except for renting or subleasing land from infrastructure-building investors in industrial parks, industrial clusters, export processing zones, high-tech parks, economic zones.
4. Persons receiving contracted land in agricultural and forestry farms, agricultural and forestry enterprises, protective forest management boards, special-use forest management boards.
5. Persons using land who are ineligible for issuance of certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets.
6. Persons using land eligible for issuance of certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets but have received notices or decisions on land acquisition by competent state agencies.
7. Organizations, commune-level People's Committees allocated land by the State without land use fees for public works construction, including transportation roads, water supply works, oil and gas pipelines; electricity transmission lines, pipelines for communication; outdoor entertainment areas; cemeteries, and burial grounds not for business purposes.

However, it is important to distinguish between the "sổ đỏ" and the "so hong" (Pink Book). Previously, the "so hong" was a form issued by the Ministry of Construction, with a pink cover, recording the ownership of houses and the use of homestead land, and therefore, called “Certificate of Ownership of Houses and Use of Homestead Land.”

Currently, in practice, three types of certificates are in use and circulation: certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses, and certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets. All three types of certificates have legal value in civil transactions.

To unify into a single certificate form, the Government of Vietnam issued Decree No. 88/2009/ND-CP, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment issued Circular No. 17/2009/TT-BTNMT on the issuance of certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets. The "sổ đỏ" and "so hong" will be issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in a unified form and applied nationwide for all types of land, houses, and other assets attached to land. According to the Land Law 2013, certificates issued before December 10, 2009, still have legal value, but if reissued, they will be converted to the certificate of land use rights and ownership of houses and other land-attached assets. The unified certificate form is stipulated in Circular 23/2014/TT-BTNMT.

Related documents:

Real Estate Business Law 2014

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