eSignature Legality in Vietnam

E-Signature Legality Summary

This guide explains the electronic-signature framework in Vietnam, including the governing laws, legal effect, accepted signature methods, validity requirements, exclusions and practical business uses.

Applicable Laws

Law on Electronic Transactions No. 20/2023/QH15 and its implementing rules

Legal Status

Electronic records and signatures receive legal recognition in Vietnam under Law on Electronic Transactions No. 20/2023/QH15 and its implementing rules. The signing process must also satisfy every document-specific rule on identity, evidence, delivery, retention, witnessing, notarization, registration or filing.

Regulatory Authority

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) supervises certification authorities, and the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), Vietnam supervises electronic-contract certification services.

Legal Recognition (Effect)

The legal effect of an electronic signature is assessed under Law on Electronic Transactions No. 20/2023/QH15 and its implementing rules. The assessment covers signer intent, reliable attribution, integrity of the signed record and compliance with every prescribed form for the document or transaction.

Accepted Types of Electronic Signatures

Electronic signature types recognized in Vietnam include: (General) Electronic Signature, Specialized Electronic Signature (AES), and Digital Signature.

Article 22 of LET 2023

• Categorized by scope of use, divided into three types:

1. Specialized electronic signature

3. Specialized digital signature for official use

II. Categorized by requirements, divided into three types:

3. Digital signature (based on digital certificates)

Use the signature method and assurance level defined by the governing law for the relevant document and transaction. The implementation review should distinguish:

• an electronic action that records the signer's intent, such as typing a name or selecting an agreement control;
• a process that adds verified identity, exclusive control and tamper-evident evidence; and
• a certificate-based or regulated signature where the law or receiving authority prescribes that method.

Legal Requirements for Electronic Signatures

Categorized by requirements, divided into three types:

1. (General) Electronic signature

• Specialized electronic signature Must identify the signer and confirm the signer's consent to the data message; The data used to create the specialized electronic signature must only accompany the approved data message; The data used to create the specialized electronic signature must be under the sole control of the signer at the time of signing;

• Digital signature Must identify the signer and confirm the signer's consent to the data message; The data used to create the specialized digital signature must only accompany the approved data message; The data used to create the specialized digital signature must be under the sole control of the signer at the time of signing; Any alteration to the data message after signing is detectable; It must be protected by a digital signature certificate suitable for each type of digital signature; The signature creation device must ensure that the data used to create the digital signature is confidential, unique, anti-counterfeit, used only once, and does not alter the data to be signed.

Limitations and Exceptions

According to the Vietnam Law on Electronic Transactions (2015 revised version)

Documents related to marriage and family: Marriage registration applications, divorce agreements.

Documents related to child adoption.

Documents related to real estate rights: Contracts for the transfer of ownership or use rights of real estate (land, houses) (such as sales contracts, gift contracts, mortgage contracts).

Initial registration applications for land use rights.

Documents related to inheritance: Wills. Declarations of waiver of inheritance.

Bills of exchange and other negotiable instruments.

Official documents that the law requires to be issued in the form of a handwritten signature or seal, and such law does not provide for the allowed use of electronic signatures.

Industry Applications and Typical Use Cases

• E-contracts 1.Valid, see Chapter IV of LET 2023.

2.There are separate requirements for e-contract authentication services in the field of e-commerce, see Article 28 of LET 2023, Article 63 of Decree No. 52/2013/NĐ-CP, and Decree No. 85/2021/NĐ-CP; relevant licenses are the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Common use scenarios: B2B and contracts: Accelerated popularization in supply chains, service agreements, and human resources documents (electronic labor contracts, NDAs, etc.) to improve efficiency, but have not yet fully replaced paper documents. E-commerce: Used for standard agreements between platforms and merchants, but not commonly used in general consumer retail transactions.

II. Transactions related to state agencies, see Chapter V of LET 2023 E-government: A 'digital pass' for all online government services such as online tax payment, customs declaration, social insurance processing, enterprise registration, and permit applications. Banking and Finance: Corporate Online Banking: A mandatory security tool for operations such as payments and transfers. Personal Online Banking: Used as a high-level security verification for key operations such as large-value transactions.