The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents Takes Effect in Vietnam from 11 September 2026

The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the “Apostille Convention” or the “Convention”) has taken effect in Vietnam from 11 September 2026.

Accordingly, from 11 September 2026, the abolition of the legalisation requirement for foreign public documents has taken effect with respect to the Contracting States of the Apostille Convention that have not objected to Vietnam’s accession to the Convention. As of the present time, three Contracting States — the Federal Republic of Germany, the Republic of Austria and the Czech Republic — have objected to Vietnam’s accession to the Convention, and public documents exchanged between Vietnam and these countries must therefore still go through the consular legalisation procedure.

With respect to Thailand, the Convention will take effect from 28 February 2027. Accordingly, from now until before 28 February 2027, public documents exchanged between Vietnam and Thailand must still go through the consular legalisation procedure.

In addition, please note the territorial scope: some Contracting States apply the Convention to their territories, each of which has its own competent authority for issuance. It is therefore necessary to correctly identify the specific territory where the document was issued, not merely the country. This Convention also does not apply to Greenland (part of the Kingdom of Denmark).

In Vietnam, the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (in the North) and the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ho Chi Minh City (in the South) are the two agencies under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs designated as the competent authorities for issuing Vietnam’s Apostille certificates, and serve as the focal points for providing guidance on, and verifying, Apostille certificates/foreign documents and related materials where there are grounds for suspicion.

The methods for verifying the Apostille certificates of Contracting States will be updated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its dedicated website on the Apostille Convention at apostille.lanhsuvietnam.gov.vn.

The abolition of the legalisation requirement for foreign public documents significantly reduces the time, effort and cost for intellectual property (IP) right holders, particularly in procedures for the enforcement of IP rights in Vietnam.

Should you require further assistance regarding the above matters, please feel free to contact us at the following e-mail address: hanoi@duongtran.vn.