Vietnam Police Clearance Certificate Guide for Foreigners

A Vietnam police clearance certificate can be an important part of a foreign employee’s work-permit file or an overseas immigration application. Choosing the correct certificate and submission route at the outset helps avoid repeat applications and delays to your hiring plans.

This guide explains who can apply for a Vietnam police clearance certificate, the required documents, government fees, processing times and how to apply. For the wider employment process, see InCorp’s work permit guide.

What Is a Vietnam Police Clearance Certificate?

Known locally as a Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp, it records an individual’s criminal-record status. The document supports a particular administrative purpose; it does not itself authorize employment or residence.

Vietnam’s revised law allows Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who currently reside or previously resided in Vietnam, aged 16 or over, to request their own certificate.

Which Certificate Type Do You Need?

Certificate	Criminal-record coverage	Practical decision
No. 1	Records un-expunged convictions; excludes expunged convictions.	Confirm that this is the type required for the lawful administrative purpose.
No. 2	Includes expunged and unexpunged convictions.	Check the destination’s instructions and the legal basis for requesting it.

What Employers Should Check?

The government states that organizations and individuals may not demand Certificate No. 2. Requests for criminal-record information or the other certificate must fall within the stated legal exceptions. A blanket background-check policy is therefore not a substitute for checking the legal basis for a particular role.

Limit access to criminal-record information to staff who need it for the relevant purpose. InCorp’s personal data protection services can help businesses assess how sensitive employee information is handled.

Where Foreigners Should Apply?

Start with the competent police authority. Current foreign residents generally work with provincial police; former residents applying from abroad should check the central Ministry of Public Security route. Confirm jurisdiction before sending original or certified documents, particularly if your address or passport has changed.

Electronic and Paper Certificates

Both formats have equal legal validity in Vietnam. Online applications produce an electronic result; eligible direct or postal applications produce a paper result. Overseas acceptance, translation and authentication requirements still need to be checked with the authority.

How to Apply for a Vietnam Police Clearance Certificate?

Step 1: Confirm the Purpose and Required Output

Ask the organization receiving the certificate to specify the certificate type, acceptable issue date, language and format. If it will be used overseas, also ask whether authentication or legalization is required and which authority must complete it. Keep the reply with your application records.

Step 2: Select a Submission Route

For eligible electronic identification users, the official online channels are the National Public Service Portal and VNeID. Locate the service labelled “Cấp Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp”, review its current instructions and confirm that it supports your circumstances. Follow the identity verification, declaration and payment prompts shown by the service.

Foreigners and applicants without electronic identification have an in-person or postal option. For a postal request, confirm how your signature must be certified and where the dossier should be sent before arranging the courier.

Step 3: Application forms

Form 02/2026/LLTP – applying for your own certificate

Form 03/2026/LLTP – applying for someone else

Documents to submit

How you apply	Documents to prepare
In person for yourself	Complete and sign Form 02/2026/LLTP.
By post for yourself	Complete Form 02/2026/LLTP and have your signature certified.
Through an authorised representative	Complete Form 03/2026/LLTP and attach a notarised or certified written authorisation. Postal applications also require signature certification.
For a parent, spouse, child or person under your guardianship	Complete Form 03/2026/LLTP, stating the relationship. A separate written authorisation is not required for these relationships.

Information to have ready

• Your full name
•  Date of birth
•  Nationality
•  Passport number
•  Passport issue date and issuing authority
•  Permanent, temporary and current addresses
•  Parents and spouse’s names
•  Contact details
•  Certificate type and preferred delivery method

Step Four: Submit Payment and Keep the Receipt

Review the declaration before submitting it. Save the application reference, payment confirmation and any receipt or appointment notice. For a postal application, retain delivery tracking as well. If the authority requests a correction, answer against the existing reference so that the updated documents can be matched to the file.

Step Five: Receive and Check the Certificate

Check your name, passport details, certificate type and issue date as soon as the result arrives. Keep the original electronic file if the result is digital. Resolve errors with the issuing office before commissioning translations or sending the document to a work-permit or overseas authority.

Government Fees and Processing Time

Fee category	Published government charge
Ordinary application	VND 200,000 per person per application
Eligible concession categories	VND 100,000 per person per application
Additional certificates in the same request	VND 5,000 each from the third certificate onward

The concession schedule covers specified students and other qualifying groups; separate statutory exemptions also apply. Check eligibility before selecting a reduced fee.

How Long Does the Process Takes

The current standard is 5 working days, with a possible extension to no more than 15 days where verification is necessary.

Applying Through a Representative

Your representative must prepare and submit:

• Completed Form 03/2026/LLTP: Include the representative’s full name, date of birth, identity or passport details, contact address, phone number and relationship to you. Enter your personal details, passport information, residence addresses, certificate type, number of copies and preferred delivery method.
• Notarised or certified written authorisation: Required when appointing someone other than your parent, spouse, child or guardian. Enter the authorisation’s signing date on the application form.
• Certified signature for postal applications: If submitting by post, the declaration must include certification of the person making the declaration’s signature.
• Proof of eligibility for a fee exemption or reduction: Include a copy of the relevant supporting document if claiming either benefit.

The representative submits the application in person or by post. In-person applications can be submitted to the competent police authority at your place of residence or the nearest competent issuing authority. Postal applications for foreigners living in Vietnam go to the issuing authority where they reside; applications for foreigners who have left Vietnam go to the Ministry of Public Security’s issuing authority.

A parent, spouse, child or guardian applying for you uses the same form and states their relationship to you. They do not need a separate written authorisation.

Using the Certificate for a Vietnam Work Permit

For a separately supplied criminal-record certificate or equivalent confirmation, the current work-permit rules require issuance no more than 6 months before the application is filed. The record may be issued by a competent Vietnamese or foreign authority, subject to the applicable dossier requirements.

You can also apply for Vietnamese police clearance and the work permit together:

• Authorise your employer to request your police clearance.
• Your employer submits both application dossiers through the National Public Service Portal.
• The portal sends the applications to the police and work-permit authorities.
• The police issue the electronic certificate and send it directly to the work-permit authority.
• Your employer receives both results electronically.

For this combined procedure, you do not obtain the certificate beforehand. The total processing period combines the police-clearance processing time and the work-permit processing time. The work-permit stage takes 10 working days after receipt of a complete dossier.

How InCorp Vietnam Can Help

Share the applicant’s residence history, intended use and filing deadline with InCorp Vietnam’s expat services team. The team can assess the application route and discuss document preparation alongside the wider immigration requirements. Businesses building a local team can coordinate this with HR and payroll services.

Contact InCorp Vietnam to discuss your police-clearance and employee relocation requirements.