Vietnam's Participation in Hague Apostille Convention

Vietnam's accession to the Hague Apostille Convention will take effect as from 11 September 2026.  

On 23 July2026 the Government issued Decree No. 293/2026/ND-CP to provide guidance on the implementation of the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirements on Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention) (“Decree 293”). 

Decree 293 applies to public documents issued by countries that are parties to the Apostille Convention and that have been provided with valid Apostille certificates.  

They include: 

1.   Court and judicial documents; 

2.   Administrative documents; 

3.  Notarized documents; and 

4.  Official certificates attached to privately signed documents. 

It should be noted that the Apostille Convention shall not apply if  a contracting State objects to Vietnam’s accession or Vietnam objects to that contracting State. 

With few exceptions provided under Decree 293, public documents from a contracting State that has Apostille relationship with Vietnam and bear valid Apostille certificates will generally no longer require consular legalization.  

However,  public documents intended for use in Vietnam must still be  translated into Vietnamese and notarized or certified in accordance with Vietnamese requirements. 

The application of electronic Apostille certification shall also be applied subject to the guidelines from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Decree 293 shall take effect as from 11 September 2026.