Rights and obligations of authenticating persons in Vietnam

Rights and obligations of authenticating persons in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. Rights and obligations of authenticating persons in Vietnam

According to Article 9 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP, rights and obligations of authenticating persons include:

- Ensure honesty, accuracy and objectivity when authentication is carried out;

- Take legal responsibility for one’s own authentication;

- Do not authenticate contracts or signatures concerning properties or interests of their own or of their relatives (spouses, biological and adoptive parents, biological and adopted children...)

- Reject authentication in cases as defined in Articles 22, 25 and 32 hereof;

- Request relevant agencies, organizations, and individuals to provide necessary information to verify legality of the papers and documents submitted for authentication.

- Document, impound and transfer to competent state agencies for handling any paper or document (submitted for authentication) that is illegally issued, falsified or contain information as defined in Clause 4, Article 22 hereof.

- Instruct requesters to make supplements to the papers or documents (submitted for authentication) if necessary or instruct them to make submission to the right competent agency upon finding they go to the wrong place.

In case of rejection, authenticating persons must give proper reasons in writing to the requester.

2. Places of authentication in Vietnam

According to Article 10 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP, the places of authentication is as follows:

- Authentication is performed at the head offices of police authorities, competent agencies except authentication for testaments, contracts or signatures requested by those who are old and weak, taken into custody or detained, serving prison sentence or have other proper reasons.

- When authentication is performed, places of authentication must be specified; in case authentication is performed outside of the head office, specific time must be specified.

- Agencies or organizations that perform authentication must appoint personnel to receive requests for authentication all working days of week; publicly post work schedule, authorities, procedures, time for handling, fees and charges for authentication performed at agencies or organizations.

3. Storage 

Article 14 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP stipulates storage as follows:

- Authentication books are archives of the State which are preserved and stored permanently at agencies, organizations that perform authentication.

- For authentication of signatures and signatures of translators, agencies or organizations must hold an authenticated copy for a period of two years.

For authentication of signature of a court expert on the expert’s report by order of the court, or certification of true copies from originals, storage is not necessary.

- For authentication of contracts, the agency that performs authentication must store an original of the contract enclosed with the document; period of storage is 20 years.

- Any agency that performs authentication is not permitted to charge other fees, charges for authenticated document as defined in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 14 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP; shall be responsible for preserving and storing authentication book and authenticated document.

- Destruction of authenticated document with expired storage period shall be done under the Law on Archives

4. Authentication fees and other expenses in Vietnam

According to Article 15 of Decree 23/2015/ND-CP, authentication fees and other expenses are as follows:

- Requesters for authentication in the Justice Office, People’s Committees of communes, representative agency must pay an authentication fee according to the law provisions.

- Collection, payment, management and use of fees, charges for authentication must be done according to the law provisions.

- In case requesters request the agency that performs authentication to print, photocopy, do the typing for documents to be authenticated, additional fees must be paid for such works.

At home, level of fee collection shall be defined by People’s Committee of central-affiliated cities and provinces (hereinafter referred to as the People’s Committees of provinces) based on local reality; and abroad, level of fee collection shall be defined by head of representative agency based on real circumstances in the administrative division.

Ho Quoc Tuan

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE