Land procedure document checklists in Vietnam (2026)

Buying or selling land (notarised transfer contract)

Step 1 of a sale: both sides sign a land-use right transfer contract and have it notarised or certified (Land Law 2024 Art. 27). The land must have a certificate, no dispute, no seizure and remaining land-use term (Art. 45). Notarisation is not the transfer itself: step 2 is below.

Documents to prepare

• Land-use right certificate (red or pink book) Original
• ID cards of the sellers, including the spouse if the land is jointly owned Signed original
• ID cards of the buyers (both spouses if both will be named) Signed original
• Marriage papers: marriage certificate, or proof that the land is separate property (when the notary asks) If applicable
• Notarised power of attorney, if someone signs on another’s behalf If applicable
• Bank consent or release letter, if the land is mortgaged If applicable
• Notarisation request form (filled in at the office); draft contract if the parties wrote one Signed original

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Where to file

A notary office (contracts on land are normally notarised by an office based in the province where the land is), or certification at the commune or ward People’s Committee.

Time limit

Usually the same day, at most 2 working days; complex contracts no more than 10 working days (Notarization Law 2024). Verification time is not counted.

Taxes and fees

The notary fee follows the contract value: notary fee calculator. The 2% income tax and 0.5% registration fee are paid at the transfer step: land sale tax calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• Bring the original certificate and papers for everyone who must sign. One name on the certificate does not prove separate property; a missing spouse signature is a common reason for refusal.
• Write the real agreed price. The 2% tax is on the transfer price; an understated price can be reassessed and puts both sides at risk in a dispute.
• Mortgaged land: agree how the loan is repaid and the certificate released before signing, with the bank involved.

Not paid a deposit yet? Checklist before paying a land deposit.

Registering the transfer (changing the name on the certificate)

Step 2: file the change registration so the office records the buyer on the certificate or issues a new one. It must be filed within 30 days of the contract taking effect (Land Law 2024 Art. 133(3)); late filing can be fined.

Documents to prepare

• Application for registration of changes (the province’s form, downloadable on the Public Service Portal) Signed original
• Notarised or certified transfer contract Signed original
• The land certificate already issued Original
• Seller’s personal income tax return Signed original
• Buyer’s registration-fee return (form 01/LPTB) Signed original
• Proof of exemption from tax or fee, if you claim one If applicable
• Authorisation, if someone else files for you If applicable

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Where to file

In Lam Dong: a Public Administration Service Centre (provincial, or commune or ward) or a Land Registration Office branch; by post or online on the National Public Service Portal. Other provinces follow their own decision.

Time limit

Lam Dong: no more than 8 working days from a complete dossier (10 more in disadvantaged communes), not counting the tax notice and the time you take to pay.

Taxes and fees

2% personal income tax on the transfer price (seller, unless exempt), 0.5% registration fee (buyer), and the provincial dossier-appraisal and certificate fees. Work it out first: transfer costs calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• Names, ID numbers, parcel number and area in the contract must match the certificate; one wrong character means amending the contract.
• Pay by the date on the tax notice and keep the receipt; the file only moves on after payment.
• If you filed copies, bring the originals when you collect the new certificate.

Splitting or merging land parcels

A split must meet the province’s minimum area and frontage (Land Law 2024 Art. 220) and keep access to a public road. From 1 January 2026 access may cross a neighbouring parcel if its owner agrees in writing, and merged parcels need not share the same use or term (Resolution 254/2025/QH15 Art. 11(3)).

Documents to prepare

• Application to split or merge (the province’s form) Signed original
• Split or merge drawing made by a licensed survey unit Signed original
• Land certificate of the parcel Original
• Written consent of the neighbouring owner, if access crosses their land If applicable
• Sale or gift contract for the split-off part, if you split to sell or give If applicable
• Authorisation, if someone else files for you If applicable

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Where to file

In Lam Dong: a Public Administration Service Centre or a Land Registration Office branch; by post or on the National Public Service Portal.

Time limit

Lam Dong: no more than 12 working days (10 more in disadvantaged communes), survey time excluded. Split plus transfer together: no more than the two time limits added up.

Taxes and fees

Survey and drawing (the surveyor’s price), plus provincial appraisal and certificate fees. Splitting to sell or give adds that deal’s taxes: land sale tax calculator · gift and inheritance tax calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• Read the province’s minimum-size decision before hiring a surveyor: every new parcel, including the remainder, must meet both area and frontage.
• The drawing must come from a survey unit; a map screenshot or a hand sketch is not accepted.
• Land under dispute, seizure or a recovery notice cannot be split yet.

To try a split first: parcel area from the certificate’s corner coordinates.

Converting land to residential use

Converting farmland or other non-residential land to residential use needs permission (Land Law 2024 Art. 121) and must fit the land-use plan in force. For individuals, the commune or ward People’s Committee decides. From 1 January 2026 converting part of a parcel does not require splitting it (Resolution 254/2025/QH15).

Documents to prepare

• Application for change of land use (the province’s form) Signed original
• Land certificate of the parcel (it will be updated or reissued) Original
• Survey extract of the part to convert, if only part is converted and the office asks If applicable
• Proof that garden or pond land belongs to the same residential plot, if you claim the reduced levy If applicable
• Authorisation, if someone else files for you If applicable

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Where to file

The Public Administration Service Centre of the commune or ward where the land is (the commune People’s Committee decides, Decree 151/2025/ND-CP); by post or on the National Public Service Portal.

Time limit

Set by the province (Lam Dong: Annex II of Decision 40/2026/QD-UBND; check the days on the commune’s procedure page). Time to assess and pay the land levy is not counted.

Taxes and fees

The main cost is the land-use levy, based on the land price table, area and origin (Decree 50/2026/ND-CP); registration, appraisal and certificate fees may apply. Work it out first: land-use conversion calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• Check the land-use plan at the parcel before filing: not fitting the plan is a common reason for refusal.
• Do not build before the conversion decision and the levy are done.
• Garden or pond land qualifies for the reduced levy only with proof it belongs to the residential plot; the land type on the certificate alone is not enough.

Quick check: check zoning with the certificate’s coordinates.

Getting a land certificate for the first time

Land in use but without a certificate: register it, then apply for the certificate. Conditions depend on whether you have land-right papers, when use began and whether there were violations (Land Law 2024 Arts. 137–140). Registration does not guarantee a certificate.

Documents to prepare

• Land and attached-assets registration form (Lam Dong: Form 15, Decision 40/2026) Signed original
• Land-right papers if any: allocation papers, past sale papers, documents listed in Land Law Art. 137 If applicable
• Signed purchase papers, if you bought the land without registering If applicable
• Floor plan of the house or building, if registering it too If applicable
• Cadastral survey extract of the parcel, if available If applicable
• Statement of household members sharing the right, if household land If applicable
• Receipts for land payments or taxes made before; exemption papers if any If applicable
• Penalty decision and proof of compliance, if there was a violation If applicable

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Where to file

In Lam Dong, individuals file at a Public Administration Service Centre; the commune or ward verifies the origin and posts a public notice. Post and the National Public Service Portal also work.

Time limit

Lam Dong: registration up to 17 working days, certificate up to 3 more (10 extra in disadvantaged communes). Notice periods, surveys, violation handling and the financial obligations are not counted.

Taxes and fees

A land-use levy may apply depending on origin and when use began (Decree 50/2026/ND-CP), plus the 0.5% registration fee, appraisal and certificate fees and survey costs. Estimate the fees: tax and fee calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• State the true origin and the year use began, with evidence (old land-tax receipts, informal sale papers); this decides both eligibility and the levy.
• Be there for the survey and agree the boundary with neighbours; a boundary dispute stops the file.
• List everyone who shares the land (spouse, household members) to avoid a correction later.

Giving land as a gift (to a child or relative)

A gift needs a notarised or certified gift contract, then a change registration like a sale (Land Law 2024 Arts. 27, 45, 133). Spouses, parents and children (biological, adopted, in-law), grandparents and grandchildren, and full siblings are exempt from income tax and the registration fee if the relationship is proven.

Documents to prepare

• Land certificate of the parcel Original
• ID cards of the giver (both spouses if jointly owned) and the receiver Signed original
• Proof of relationship for the exemption: birth, marriage or adoption certificates (grandparent to grandchild needs papers linking both generations) Copy
• Notarised or certified gift contract Signed original
• Application for registration of changes (the province’s form) Signed original
• Income-tax and registration-fee returns (claim the exemption on them if eligible) Signed original

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Where to file

Notarise at a notary office or certify at the commune or ward People’s Committee; register the change as in the transfer section.

Time limit

Notarisation: usually up to 2 working days. Registration in Lam Dong: up to 8 working days (10 more in disadvantaged communes). File within 30 days of the contract taking effect.

Taxes and fees

If exempt: no income tax or registration fee, but notary, appraisal and certificate fees remain. If not exempt: 10% income tax on the value above VND 20 million per receipt, and the 0.5% registration fee. Calculate: gift and inheritance tax calculator · notary fee calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• Even when exempt you file the returns and relationship proof; a missing link in the chain (e.g. grandparent to grandchild) is a common reason for a returned file.
• Aunts, uncles and nephews or nieces, and cousins, are not in the exempt group.
• If the land is jointly owned by a couple, both sign the gift contract.

Inheriting land (declaring and dividing the estate)

Heirs sign an estate declaration or division at a notary office (or rely on a court judgment), then register the change. Registration is due within 30 days of the estate being divided (Land Law 2024 Art. 133(3)). Land without a certificate can still be inherited: the heirs then apply for a certificate for the first time.

Documents to prepare

• Death certificate or death-registration extract of the deceased Copy
• The will, if there is one If applicable
• Proof of relationship: birth and marriage certificates; death certificates of heirs who died earlier (inheritance by representation) Copy
• The deceased’s land certificate, if issued Original
• ID cards of every heir Signed original
• Notarised refusal of inheritance or power of attorney, if an heir declines or cannot attend If applicable
• Notarised estate declaration or division, or the court judgment Signed original
• Change-registration form and tax and fee returns (claim the exemption if eligible) Signed original

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Where to file

An estate division involving land is notarised in the province where the land is; the notary posts a notice at the commune or ward People’s Committee. Then register the change as in the transfer section.

Time limit

A 15-day public notice comes before notarisation (Decree 104/2025/ND-CP) and is not counted in the notary’s time limit. Registration in Lam Dong: up to 8 working days (10 more in disadvantaged communes).

Taxes and fees

The same exempt relationships as gifts (spouses, parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, full siblings). Otherwise: 10% tax on the value above VND 20 million and the 0.5% registration fee. The notary fee follows the estate value. Calculate: gift and inheritance tax calculator.

Avoid a returned file

• Every heir of the same rank must attend or give a refusal or power of attorney; one missing heir blocks notarisation.
• Separate the surviving spouse’s share of joint property before dividing the estate.
• The limitation period to claim division of real estate is 30 years from the opening of the inheritance (Civil Code 2015 Art. 623).