There are two routes to change registered address in Vietnam. If the company really moves, it registers a change to its Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC): it passes a resolution or decision, files with the Business Registration Office of the province where the new head office will be, and gets a new certificate within 3 working days (Article 40(2) and (3) of Decree 168/2025/ND-CP). The Law on Enterprises gives the company 10 days from the date of the change to register it (Article 30(2)). If the address changes only because administrative boundaries changed, re-registration is not mandatory and no fee is payable (Article 57(2) and (3) of Decree 168). The "registered address" in English practice is the head office address (tru so chinh) written on the ERC.
Two points often slow the file. If the new address puts the company under a different tax office, the tax office transfer comes before the ERC filing (Article 40(1) of Decree 168; Article 9(2) of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC). And for a foreign-invested company, the head office on the ERC differs from the project site on the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC); in our reading, usually only a change of project site forces an IRC amendment. To change company address in Vietnam, an LLC, a joint stock company or a partnership all use Article 40; only the approving body differs.
When must you register a change of registered address in Vietnam, and when not?#
The head office address is part of the ERC (Article 28(2) of the Law on Enterprises), so a move is a registration of a change (Article 30), not a notification (Article 31), although people often call it a notice.
The exception is an address that changes through administrative reorganisation. Article 57(2) of Decree 168 says that when a change of administrative boundaries changes the address of the head office, branch, representative office or business location, the company is not required to register the change. It may send a request to the provincial registration office for an updated certificate when it needs one, or when it registers or notifies another change. Article 57(3) waives the registration fee and the publication fee for this update. Article 57(1) gives the registration office 1 working day to update and issue a new certificate; Article 57(2) sets no separate time limit, so in our reading the same period applies, and the texts do not say what the request must attach. The tax office transfer step also excludes this case (Article 9(2) of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC).
The exemption covers only a change of the province, ward or commune named in the address, while the place stays the same. Article 57(2) does not mention renamed streets or renumbered buildings, and we have not found a text that places those cases in the not-mandatory group. Ask the registration office before skipping registration: failing to register a change that must be registered may be fined (see the fines section). If the company also moves to a different location, Article 40 applies. Although not mandatory, we recommend updating when you next register another change, because contracts, invoices and bank files need an address that matches the ERC.
How do you change registered address in Vietnam, step by step?#
- Confirm the new address, then pass the resolution or decision at the right level and amend the charter, which states the head office (Article 24(2)(a)).
- If the move changes your tax office: file tax registration adjustment Form 08-MST with the current tax office and wait for its Notice on Form 09-MST (Article 9(2)(a) and Article 10(2) of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC). This step is for companies whose tax registration is linked to business registration, which need no separate tax registration (Article 6(1) of Decree 252/2026/ND-CP); a taxpayer registered directly with the tax office follows a different procedure that this guide does not cover (Article 9(2)(b)).
- File with the Business Registration Office of the province of the new address (Article 40(2)): in person, by post (Article 31), or online with an electronic identity account (Article 39 of Decree 168, as replaced by Article 9 of Decree 296/2026/ND-CP from 23 July 2026); companies in a high-tech park file with the park's management board (Article 20(1)(b)). The address change can be combined with other changes in one filing (Article 4(6)), such as our guide to changing the legal representative in Vietnam.
- Receive the new ERC. The old one ceases to be valid (Article 33(3)); the company's rights and obligations do not change (Article 40(4)), and the enterprise code stays the same (Article 29 of the Law on Enterprises). A company that has suspended business can still change head office address and must still register it under Article 30 (Article 60(7) of Decree 168, as amended by Article 11 of Decree 296/2026/ND-CP).
On timing for a change registered address in Vietnam filing: the current tax office issues Notice 09-MST within 7 working days of receiving the file; a company selected for on-site tax inspection (a high-risk taxpayer, Article 22(3)(a) of the Law on Tax Administration 108/2025/QH15) gets 2 working days' notice of the inspection, then 5 working days from the penalty decision or inspection conclusion (Article 10(2)(a) of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC). The registration office then issues the new ERC within 3 working days, and the tax office comments within 1 working day (Article 40(3)). These periods exclude the time for the resolution, the lease and any corrections.
In a change registered address in Vietnam procedure, the law does not define "the date of the change" and there is no official guidance. Unless the charter provides otherwise, a resolution takes effect from the date it is adopted or the effective date stated in it (Article 62(1); Article 152(1)). Our cautious practice: state a specific effective date, do not backdate, and count the 10 days from that date, or from the day the company actually moves if that is earlier. Because the tax step must finish first, a date far enough ahead for both steps is an option, not a rule, and the company should not move out earlier than that date.
What is the file to change registered address in Vietnam, and who approves?#
The file to change registered address in Vietnam has two documents (Article 40(2) of Decree 168): the request form for changing registered particulars, on the forms under Circular 68/2025/TT-BTC (some replaced by Circular 121/2026/TT-BTC from August 2026), and the decision of the owner (single-member LLC), the Members' Council (LLC with two or more members, partnership) or the General Meeting of Shareholders (joint stock company). The registration office may not ask for papers outside the prescribed file (Article 9(2)). Keep proof of your right to use the premises anyway, because the tax office can verify the address on the ground.
| Company type | Body | Form and majority (if the charter is silent) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-member LLC | Owner | One decision-maker; an individual owner may amend the charter | Article 40(2)(b), Decree 168; Article 76(1)(a) and (2), Law on Enterprises |
| LLC, two or more members | Members' Council | Vote at a meeting; at least 75% of the capital of members present if the resolution also amends the charter | Article 55(2)(k); Article 59(2)(a) and (3)(b) |
| Joint stock company | General Meeting of Shareholders | Vote at a meeting; more than 50% of the votes of shareholders attending and voting | Article 138(2)(dd); Article 147(2)(a); Article 148(2) |
To change head office address of an LLC or joint stock company, the law sets no separate threshold. Because the charter must state the address, the resolution usually amends the charter too, and for an LLC with two or more members our cautious reading is to apply the 75% threshold. Written opinions instead of a meeting are possible only if the charter allows them: at 65% of charter capital for an LLC with two or more members (Article 59(5)), more than 50% of the votes of all shareholders with voting rights for a joint stock company (Article 148(4); Article 149), or the rate the charter sets; the file then contains the vote-counting report or minutes in place of meeting minutes (Article 58 of Decree 168). A joint stock company that files only a board resolution risks rejection.
Two points when preparing the file (no seal is required on it and a power of attorney for the filing agent need not be notarised: Article 4(5) and Article 12):
- Old ERC or IRC copies. From 23 July 2026 the office draws on existing databases instead of copies of the ERC, tax registration certificate or IRC; if it cannot retrieve the data, the company supplies copies (Article 4(7) of Decree 168, added by Article 1(2) of Decree 296/2026/ND-CP).
- Foreign-language documents, such as a resolution by a parent company that owns the LLC, need a Vietnamese translation; from 23 July 2026 the translation needs a certified translator's signature instead of notarisation (Article 10(2) of Decree 168, amended by Article 19(1) of Decree 296/2026/ND-CP). Article 40 does not require consular legalisation; that requirement sits in the files for changes of members or owners that are foreign organisations (Articles 45 and 46).
What counts as a valid address when you change registered address in Vietnam?#
To change company address in Vietnam lawfully, Article 42 of the Law on Enterprises sets only three conditions for the new one: the head office is in Vietnam, it is the company's contact address, and it is identified by administrative boundaries; there is no area minimum and no lease form. Two checks before signing a lease:
- Apartment buildings. The Housing Law 27/2023/QH15 prohibits using an apartment for a purpose other than residence (Article 3(8)(c)) and recognises mixed-use apartment buildings (Article 2(3)), so find out whether the space is an apartment or commercial or office area under the project. Articles 40 and 42 do not bar registering an apartment address, but using an apartment as an office may be sanctioned under housing law.
- Actual operation. If the tax office finds that the company does not operate at its registered address, its status becomes "not operating at the registered address" (Article 35(3) of Decree 168). The registration office then refuses registrations, including an address change, until that status ends (Article 59(1)(c) and (2)(c)), and the tax code can be used only for transactions to terminate or restore it (Article 8(5) of Decree 252/2026/ND-CP).
Change registered address in Vietnam to another province: what is different?#
To change registered address in Vietnam across provinces, the ERC filing is still Article 40, made with the Business Registration Office of the province you move to (Article 40(2); Article 20(1)(a)). If you move the company to another province, what differs is the tax office transfer. The trigger is that the new address "changes the directly managing tax office", not that the province changes: a move across provinces usually changes it, while within a province it depends on which tax office covers the new address, so ask the current tax office before planning.
The 10-working-day mark after 09-MST. This is a trigger for an explanation request, not a mandatory filing deadline, and the text sets no sanction at this point. After 10 working days from the date of 09-MST, if the company has not filed with the registration office (or has filed but the file has not been accepted) and has not asked to cancel the move (Form 31/DKT), the new tax office asks for an explanation (Form 01/TB-BSTT-NNT). After another 10 working days in which the company still has not filed or cancelled, gives no explanation or an unacceptable one, the new tax office verifies the address: if the company operates there, it signs the verification record and must file the address change; if not, the current tax office issues a notice that it is "not operating at the registered address" (Article 10(3) of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC). So a file stuck in amendment requests is a tax risk, not only a delay.
Tax obligations left with the old office. When you move the company to another province and the directly managing tax office changes, the company continues with its former tax office (Article 7(1)(b) of Decree 252/2026/ND-CP): it files returns that fell due; pays tax, late-payment interest and fines; may ask for offsets or refunds of overpayments; may carry unabsorbed input VAT forward against tax arising after the change; and prepaid personal and corporate income tax is offset in the finalisation return at the new office. For a change of tax office within one province we found no matching provision. We found no rule requiring you to settle all tax before filing, but Article 17(4) of the Law on Tax Administration 108/2025/QH15 makes the taxpayer responsible for completing tax obligations when a change of address changes the managing tax office (except where the change is due to administrative boundaries), so do not read point (b) as releasing that duty.
Does a foreign-invested company need to amend the IRC when it changes its head office?#
When a foreign-invested company changes registered address in Vietnam, keep two parties apart: the company, as the economic organisation carrying out the project, which changes head office on the ERC, and the investor (for example a foreign shareholder or member) named on the IRC, which has its own address. Article 37 of Decree 96/2026/ND-CP lists what an IRC records: project name, investor, project code, the project site, land area, objectives, capital, duration and schedule; a company's head office is not a listed item. The IRC forms in Circular 55/2026/TT-BTC (Form I.2.6 for a new IRC, Form I.2.7 for an amended one) record, for an investor that is an organisation, its name, type, head office address, tax code and legal representative. The section on the economic organisation carrying out the project in Form I.2.7 records only its name, the number and date of its registration document and its tax code, with no head office address. So the head office of the company carrying out the project is not an item on an IRC in the new form; if an investor that is an organisation moves its own head office, the address on the IRC no longer matches, and the texts do not say clearly whether that requires an IRC amendment. IRCs issued on older forms may be laid out differently, so still check your own IRC. Under Article 33(2) of the Investment Law, an IRC is amended only when the change alters a main item recorded on it.
| Change | Procedure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Head office moves; project site unchanged | ERC change only; the IRC form does not record the head office of the economic organisation carrying out the project, and we found no text prescribing a separate IRC amendment for this (our reading) | Article 37, Decree 96/2026; Article 33(2), Investment Law; Form I.2.7, Circular 55/2026 |
| Project moves to a new site | Amend the IRC (file in Article 52(1)), 7 working days from a valid file; if the new site differs from the one in the investment policy approval, amend the approval first | Article 33(2) and (3)(b), Investment Law; Article 51(3)(c), Article 52(1), Article 56(2), Decree 96/2026/ND-CP |
| Updating the project site after administrative reorganisation | Optional, if the investor wants it: a request with an explanatory note. No policy approval: IRC amended within 3 working days. With policy approval: Article 51(3)(c) does not require amending the approval for this reason; if the investor still updates, a decision approving the amendment is issued on a short procedure (provincial People's Committee chair 2 + 3 working days, industrial-zone authority 5 working days), then the IRC is amended (if any). Approval by the Prime Minister (Article 52): we found no separate short procedure | Article 56(1), Article 53(3), Article 54(5), Article 51(3)(c) and (2), Decree 96/2026 |
| Head office moves to another province and the company holds a trading licence (goods trading) | The trading licence is reissued. Decree 342/2026 takes effect only on 18 October 2026; before then, and for files the licensing authority received before that date, Decree 09/2018/ND-CP (and Article 36 of Decree 146/2025) still applies; per secondary summaries on a legal database, Decree 09/2018 also treats moving the head office to another province as a case for reissuing the trading licence; we have not checked the underlying provision on this procedure | Article 16(1), Article 8(1), Article 44(5), Article 45(1), Decree 342/2026/ND-CP |
Two further points. First, when a stopped project cannot be traced, the investment registration authority writes to the address the investor registered with it and may terminate the project if there is no contact 12 months after operations stopped (Article 36(2)(d), Investment Law; Article 67, Decree 96/2026). That is the investor's address, not necessarily the head office of the company carrying out the project; see procedures for business suspension in Vietnam. Second, Article 44 of Decree 96/2026 only allows correcting an IRC whose data does not match the registered file, not changes arising later; we found no provision on the investor's address after a head office move, so we advise asking the registration authority.
You can see our IRC amendment service or business licences for foreign-invested companies. Background reading: the handbook entries on the investment registration certificate, the FDI company and the company charter.
What do the fee and fines look like when you change registered address in Vietnam?#
Fee. The business registration fee for amending the ERC is VND 50,000 per time and the publication fee for the registration content (Article 32 of the Law on Enterprises) is VND 100,000 per time (fee schedule to Circular 47/2019/TT-BTC). Online filings are exempt from the registration fee (Article 5(3) of Circular 47/2019) but still pay the publication fee. For paper filings, Circular 64/2025/TT-BTC halves the registration fee from 1 July 2025 to 31 December 2026, to VND 25,000; the reduction applies to the registration fee, so we count the publication fee at the full rate. The registration fee is paid with the file and not refunded if registration is refused (Article 34 of Decree 168).
Fines under Decree 122/2021/ND-CP as amended by Decree 288/2026/ND-CP (in force 21 July 2026). The amounts below are fines on organisations; an individual committing the same act is fined half (Article 4(2) of Decree 122/2021/ND-CP).
| Violation | Basis | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| Registering the change 1–10 days late | Article 44(1) | Warning |
| 11–30 days late | Article 44(2) | VND 10–20 million |
| 31–90 days late | Article 44(3) | VND 30–40 million |
| 91 days or more late | Article 44(4) | VND 50–60 million |
| Not registering the change | Article 44(5) | VND 30–70 million; compulsory registration (Article 44(7)) |
| Untrue or inaccurate change file | Article 43 | VND 30–70 million |
Because "the date of the change" is undefined, the point from which a filing counts as late also carries risk. Tax penalties for late changes to tax registration data sit in the tax penalty rules; we have not checked them here and do not state amounts.
What to update after the change of registered address in Vietnam#
- Charter, tax and social insurance. Update the charter and documents carrying the old address (Article 24(2)(a), Law on Enterprises). Receive the updated electronic tax code notice (Article 10(2)(b), Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC, 3 working days) and settle remaining filings with the former tax office (Article 7(1)(b), Decree 252/2026). The registration office shares the new ERC with the social insurance agency (Article 81(2)(b), Decree 168); confirm your employer record is updated.
- Employees. If the workplace stated in the contract changes, the party asking gives at least 3 working days' notice and an addendum is signed if both agree; if not, the existing contract continues (Article 21(1)(a), (c); Article 33, Labour Code).
- Branches, representative offices, business locations. Their addresses are separate registered items: moving the head office does not change them, the deadline is 10 days and the file is the request form only (Article 56(1), (2) and (4), Decree 168); see representative offices in Vietnam.
- Sector licences, banks, e-invoicing, contracts, website. Each licence has its own rule for a change of address; elsewhere update the address, and invoices issued after the effective date should carry the address on the new ERC. This is practice or contract terms; we have not checked sector rules or the latest invoicing decree.
Later filings, such as an increase of charter capital, go to the registration office of the new province. LexData helps foreign-invested companies work out which tax, registration and investment steps are needed when they change registered address in Vietnam, particularly when moving province.
Scope and sources: this guide covers LLCs and joint stock companies (partnerships use the same Article 40; no separate majority is given for them), not household businesses, listed companies or credit institutions. We checked the Law on Enterprises against consolidated text 67/VBHN-VPQH (August 2025); Decree 296/2026/ND-CP did not amend Article 40 or Article 57. Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC took effect on 1 July 2026 (Article 36(1)), and files submitted before then are handled under the rules at the time of filing (Article 37(1)); we read this circular from a scanned copy.
Frequently asked questions on changing a registered address in Vietnam#
How long does it take to change registered address in Vietnam? Once the file is valid, the registration office has 3 working days (Article 40(3) of Decree 168). If the new address changes the tax office, add 7 working days at the current tax office (Article 10(2)(a)(2) of Circular 90/2026/TT-BTC); a company selected for on-site inspection waits longer (Article 10(2)(a)(1)). These periods exclude the time for the resolution, the lease and any corrections.
Do we have to file if only a street name or house number changed? Article 57(2) of Decree 168 covers only an address that changes because of an administrative boundary change. We have not found a document that places street renaming or renumbering in that optional category, so ask the registration office before skipping the filing: failing to register a change that requires registration can be fined.
Does the enterprise code change when we change registered address in Vietnam? No. The company's rights and obligations do not change (Article 40(4) of Decree 168), and the enterprise code is issued once, at formation (Article 29 of the Law on Enterprises).
Can a company that has suspended business change its registered address? Yes, and it must still register the change under Article 30 of the Law on Enterprises (Article 60(7) of Decree 168, as amended by Article 11 of Decree 296/2026/ND-CP).
