Requirements for recognition of foreign e-signature authentication service providers in Vietnam as of July 1, 2024

Requirements for recognition of foreign e-signature authentication service providers in Vietnam as of July 1, 2024

Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 26 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023 (taking effect on July 1, 2024), requirements for recognition of foreign e-signature authentication service providers in Vietnam include:

- Providers must be legally established and operated in country in which operation has been successfully registered; have technical audit reports of e-signature authentication service systems from auditing organizations legally operated in the country in which it is registered;

- Foreign e-signatures, and foreign e-signature certificates provided by foreign e-signature authentication service providers must satisfy technical standards and regulations on e-signatures and e-signature certificates according to regulations of Vietnamese laws or international standards that have been asserted or international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory;

- Foreign e-signature certificates granted by foreign e-signature authentication service providers are created on the basis of authenticated personal identifiable information (PII) of foreign organizations and individuals;

- Foreign e-signature authentication service providers must update current status of foreign e-signature certificates on trust service authentication systems of competent authorities of Vietnam;

- Providers must have representative offices (ROs) in Vietnam.

Requirements for recognition of foreign e-signature authentication service providers in Vietnam as of July 1, 2024 (Internet image) 

Requirements for recognition of foreign e-signatures, foreign e-signature certificates in Vietnam as of July 1, 2024

Pursuant to Clause 2, Article 26 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023, requirements for recognition of foreign e-signatures, foreign e-signature certificates in Vietnam include:

- Foreign e-signatures and foreign e-signature certificates must meet technical standards and regulations on e-signatures and e-signature certificates according to regulations of Vietnamese laws or international standards that have been asserted or international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory;

- Foreign e-signature certificates are created on the basis of personal identifiable information (PII), which has been verified, of foreign organizations and individuals.

Users of foreign e-signatures and foreign e-signature certificates recognized according to Clause 2 of this Article are foreign organizations and individuals; Vietnamese organizations and individuals wishing to enter into transactions with organizations and individuals of foreign countries in which e-signatures and e-signature certificates of Vietnamese service providers have not been recognized.

Regulations on e-signatures and e-signature certificates of foreign nationals accepted in international transactions in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 27 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023 regulating e-signatures and e-signature certificates of foreign nationals accepted in international transactions:

- E-signatures and e-signature certificates of foreign nationals are only accepted in international transactions if they belong to foreign organizations and individuals who are not present in Vietnam, and they are effective on data messages sent to Vietnamese organizations and individuals.

- Organizations and individuals shall select and take responsibility for accepting e-signatures and e-signature certificates of foreign nationals on data messages to be used in international transactions.

Mai Thanh Loi

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