CIRCULAR

ELABORATING SOME ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON CIVIL STATUS AND THE GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 123/2015/ND-CP DATED NOVEMBER 15, 2015 ON GUIDELINES FOR LAW ON CIVIL STATUS

Pursuant to the Law on Civil Status No. 60/2014/QH13 dated November 20, 2014;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 on guidelines for Law on Civil Status;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 22/2013/ND-CP dated March 13, 2013 defining functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Justice;

At the request of Director of Department of Civil Status, Nationality and Authentication;

The Minister of Justice hereby promulgates a Circular to elaborate some Articles of the Law on Civil Status and the Government’s Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 on guidelines for Law on Civil Status.

Chapter I

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Article 1. Scope

This Circular elaborates Clause 2 Article 6, Clause 2 Article 66 of the Law on Civil Status regarding authorization of civil registration; conditions and procedures for mobile birth, marriage and death registration; promulgates and provides guidelines for use and management of civil status registers, birth certificates, marriage certificates, civil status extracts and other civil status forms (hereinafter referred to as “civil status documents”); provides guidelines for the Government's Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP dated November 15, 2015 elaborating some Articles of the Law on Civil Status (hereinafter referred to as “the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP”) on receipt of applications for and return of result of civil registration and birth registration for children born abroad and taken to reside in Vietnam; recording of  the birth registration granted abroad in the civil status registers; birth registration for those who have had their personal documents; documents used as the basis for birth re-registration; evidence proving father and child or mother and child relationship; simultaneous processing of the applications for birth registration and for recognition of parent-child relationship.

Article 2. Authorization of civil registration

1. The person who applies for copies of civil status extracts and for registration of the vital events specified in Article 3 of the Law on Civil Status may authorize another person to do so, except for marriage registration/re-registration and registration of recognition of parent-child relationship.

2. The authorization shall be made in writing. The power of attorney shall be notarized and certified as prescribed by law. The scope of authorization may cover the entire period over which the application for civil registration is submitted and the result is returned in accordance with the procedures for civil registration.

In the cases where the authorized person is the grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, child, spouse or sibling of the authorizing person, the power of attorney is not required to be notarized and certified, but the documentary evidence for such relationship is required.

3. When submitting the application for birth registration, marriage re-registration or recognition of parent-child relationship, a party that so requests may submit the application at the competent civil registry without obtaining the other party’s power of attorney.

Article 3. Receiving applications for and returning results of civil registration

1. Upon receipt of the application, the recipient shall promptly inspect it. If the application is unsatisfactory, the recipient shall instruct the applicant to complete it as prescribed. If the application fails to be completed immediately, it is required to give the applicant written guidelines, specifying the type of additional documents and bearing the signature and full name of the recipient.

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3. In case the applicant for civil registration submits non-certified copies enclosed with originals of the documents for comparison, the recipient shall inspect, compare the copies with the originals and sign the copies, and shall not require any other copies of these documents.

If specific documents to be presented upon civil registration are prescribed by law, the recipient shall inspect presented documents, compare them with the information provided in the application form and return them to the applicant, and shall not require any other copies of these documents. The recipient may take a photocopy of the presented document or record the details of the presented document.

4. Upon returning the result of civil registration, the person returning the result shall instruct the applicant for civil registration to check the information provided in the civil status document and civil status register. If the applicant for civil registration finds the information is correct and conformable with the application for civil registration, he/she shall specify their full name in the civil status register under the guidance of the person returning the result and receive the corresponding civil status document. The applicant's signature on the application form for civil registration must be consistent with the one on the civil status documents and civil status register. Different signatures are unacceptable. In case the applicant for civil registration fails to write in his/her signature, he/she shall press his/her fingerprints.

5. Upon returning the results of marriage registration/re-registration, the male and female partners must be present. Upon returning the result of recognition of parent-child relationship, both parties must be present.

Article 4. Processing applications for civil registration in case of failure to receive verification result

1. Regarding the civil registration that requires the submission of written request for verification as prescribed by the Law on Civil Status, Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP and this Circular, if the written response to the verification is not obtained within the prescribed time limit, the civil registry shall allow the applicant for civil registration make a written commitment on the contents that need verifying. The applicant for civil registration shall be responsible for his/her committed contents.

2. In case the civil registry allows the applicant for civil registration to make a written commitment on the registered content, the civil registry shall clearly explain responsibility and legal consequences for the untruthful commitment to the applicant.

The civil registry shall refuse the application for civil registration or as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular or cancel the result of civil registration if there are grounds to believe that the committed contents are untruthful.

Article 5. Refusing applications for civil registration

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The refusal shall be made in writing. The written refusal shall clearly specify reasons for refusal and bear the signature and full name of the recipient. In case the applicant disagrees with the refusal, he/she may file a complaint as prescribed by law.

Chapter II

GUIDELINES FOR REGISTRATION OF SOME VITAL EVENTS

Section 1. BIRTH REGISTRATION AND RECORDING OF BIRTH REGISTRATION GRANTED ABROAD IN CIVIL STATUS REGISTERS

Article 6. Birth registration for children born abroad and taken to reside in Vietnam

The birth registration for a child who was born abroad and whose either parent or parents is/are both Vietnamese citizen(s) but has yet to have his/her birth registered abroad and is taken to reside in Vietnam shall be carried out according to Article 29 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP and the following instructions:

1. Documentary evidences for the child’s residence in Vietnam prescribed in Clause 2 Article 29 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP include documentary evidences for the child’s entry into Vietnam (such as passport and international travel document bearing the seal of the Immigration Department) and competent police authority’s written confirmation of the child's residence in Vietnam.

2. The child’s full name shall be determined as prescribed in Point a Clause 1 Article 4 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP.

3. The child’s nationality to be specified in the birth certificate shall be determined as prescribed by the law on nationality.

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In case a Vietnamese citizen that was born abroad and has his/her birth registered at a competent authority in a foreign country but currently resides in Vietnam wishes to apply for recording of birth registration in the civil status register, it is required to follow the instructions below, as the case may be:

1. If the birth certificate issued by a competent authority in a foreign country shows the applicant’s Vietnamese nationality, the People’s Committee of the district, urban district, town or provincial-affiliated city (hereinafter referred to as “the People’s Committee of the district”) of the area where the applicant resides shall record the birth registration in the civil status register in accordance with Section 6 Chapter III of the Law on Civil Status and grant an extract showing the birth registration that has been recorded in the civil status register.

2. If the applicant’s parent is a Vietnamese citizen and the other is a foreigner, the birth certificate and international travel document issued by a competent authority in a foreign country does not specify the applicant’s nationality and the parents have made a written agreement to select Vietnamese nationality for their child or the parents fail to reach an agreement on selection of nationality for their child, the People’s Committee of the district of the area where the applicant resides shall record the birth registration in the civil status register in accordance with Section 6 Chapter III of the Law on Civil Status and grant an extract showing the birth registration and Vietnamese nationality that has been recorded in the civil status register.

Article 8. Birth registration for those who have had their personal documents

1. If a Vietnamese citizen who resides at home and was born before January 01, 2016 is yet to have his/her birth registered but has personal documents (originals or certified copies) such as identity documents specified in Clause 1 Article 2 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP, family register,  temporary residence register and other documents issued by Vietnam’s competent authority and wishes to apply for birth registration, the People’s Committee of the commune of the area where such citizen resides shall grant birth registration.

2. If an overseas Vietnamese that is yet to have his/her birth registered has the personal documents which are provided in Clause 1 of this Article and specify his/her place of birth as Vietnam and wishes to apply for birth registration, the People’s Committee of the district of the area where such person resides shall grant birth registration.

3. The application for birth registration in the cases specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Circular includes an application form for birth registration, a written commitment on the fact that birth registration is yet to be granted and the documents prescribed in Points b and c Clause 1 Article 26 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP. The procedures for birth registration are the same as those specified in Clauses 2, 3 and 5 Article 26 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP and Clauses 3 and 4 Article 9 Article 10 of this Circular.

Article 9. Documents used as basis for birth re-registration

Documents used as basis for birth re-registration according to Article 26 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP include:

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2. An original or copy of the document used as a substitute for the birth certificate issued before 1945 in the North and before 1975 in the South.

3. If the applicant for birth re-registration does not have any documents specified in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, the following valid documents issued by a competent authority of Vietnam shall serve as the basis for determination of the re-registered contents:

a) ID card, Citizen Identity Card or passport;

b) Family register, temporary residence register, documentary evidence for his/her residence;

c) Diploma, certificates, academic transcript and academic records issued or certified by a competent training institution;

d) Other documents specifying the applicant’s full name and date of birth;

dd) Documentary evidences for parent-child relationship.

The applicant for birth re-registration shall submit all copies of the aforementioned documents (if any) and undertake that he/she submits all documents that he/she has. If the applicant makes an untruthful commitment and deliberately submits copies of documents favorable to him/her to apply for birth re-registration, the application for birth re-registration will be considered invalid.

In case the applicant is an official, public official, public employee or armed force official, a written confirmation of the head of the authority that is prescribed in Point c Clause 1 Article 26 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP is required.

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Article 10. Determination of re-registered contents

1. If the applicant for birth re-registration has the documents specified in Clause 4 Article 26 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP and Clauses 1 and 2 Article 9 of this Circular, the re-registered contents shall be determined according to such documents.

In case of any change in the information about the applicant’s parents and the applicant that is specified in the issued documents, such applicant shall provide documentary evidences for such change. If the change in information is made in adherence to regulations of law, the re-registered contents shall be determined according to the changed information. The information before the change shall be recorded in the “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the birth certificate and the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the birth register.

For example: Nguyen Van A’s birth certificate issued in 1975 specifies his father's full name as Nguyen Van B born in 1950 and holding Vietnamese nationality. But Nguyen Van B currently renounces his Vietnamese nationality, acquires German nationality and changes his full name to Nguyen Henry. Upon birth re-registration for Nguyen Van A, the applicant shall present the decision by the President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the renouncement of Vietnamese nationality and documentary evidences for German nationality and change of father’s name. The particulars concerning the father on the birth certificate shall be specified as follows:

“Họ tên cha: Nguyen Henry, sinh năm 1950, quốc tịch Đức” (“Full name of father: Nguyen Henry, born in 1950, German nationality”).

The “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the birth certificate and the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the birth register shall clearly specify: “Người cha thay đổi họ tên và quốc tịch từ Nguyễn Văn B, quốc tịch Việt Nam, thành Nguyen Henry, quốc tịch Đức” (“The father has changed his full name and nationality from Nguyen Van B and Vietnamese to Nguyen Henry and German respectively”).

2. At the time of birth re-registration, in case of any change of the administrative divisions specified in the issued documents, the changed administrative divisions shall be specified. The change of the administrative divisions shall be specified in the “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the birth certificate and the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the birth register.

For example: Nguyen Van A’s place of birth and place of origin specified in the copy of the previously issued birth certificate was “Vĩnh Thịnh, Vĩnh Lạc, Vĩnh Phú”. The district and provincial-level administrative divisions have now been changed to Vĩnh Tường and Vĩnh Phúc respectively, the changed administrative divisions - “Vĩnh Thịnh, Vĩnh Tường, Vĩnh Phúc” shall be specified.

The “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the birth certificate and the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the birth register shall clearly specify: “Nơi sinh, quê quán thay đổi từ “Vĩnh Thịnh, Vĩnh Lạc, Vĩnh Phú” thành “Vĩnh Thịnh, Vĩnh Tường, Vĩnh Phúc”. (“The place of birth and place of origin have been changed from “Vĩnh Thịnh, Vĩnh Lạc, Vĩnh Phú” to “Vĩnh Thịnh, Vĩnh Tường, Vĩnh Phúc”).

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Article 11. Evidences for parent-child relationship

The evidences for parent-child relationship specified in Clause 1 Article 25 and Clause 1 Article 44 of the Law on Civil Status include one of the following documents:

1. Certificate of father-child or mother-child relationship issued by a health agency or assessment agency or another competent authority of Vietnam or foreign country.

2. The certificate specified in Clause 1 of this Article may be replaced by letters, photos, videos, records, tools and other things proving parent-child relationship and the written commitment made by parents with the witness of at least two relatives to certify that they are that child’s parents.

The civil registry shall clearly explain the responsibility and legal consequences for giving untruthful undertakings and witness statements.

The civil registry shall refuse the application for civil registration as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular or cancel the result of civil registration if there are grounds to believe that the undertakings and witness statements are untruthful.

Article 12. Simultaneous processing of the applications for birth registration and for recognition of parent-child relationship

In case a person applies for recognition of parent-child relationship upon birth registration for children, the civil registry shall simultaneously process the application for birth registration and for recognition of parent-child relationship as follows:

1. An application includes:

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b) A certificate of live birth or an equivalent document prescribed in Clause 1 Article 16 of the Law on Civil Status;

c) Evidences for parent-child relationship prescribed in Article 11 of this Circular.

2. Other documents. Procedures for processing applications shall be carried out as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 Article 16 and Article 25 of the Law on Civil Status within the power of the People's Committee of the commune, and as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 Article 36 and Article 44 of the Law on Civil Status within the power of the People's Committee of the district.

Birth registration contents shall be determined as prescribed in Article 4 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP. The birth certificate and extract of parent and child recognition certificate shall be issued to the applicant at the same time.

Article 13. Guidelines for registration of parent-child recognition and civil supplementation in some special cases

1. In the cases where a couple cohabits, has not applied for marriage registration, gives birth and the child lives with his/her father, if the father fails to contact the child's mother upon applying for recognition of father-child relationship, it is not required to collect mother's opinions to be specified in the application form for recognition of parent-child relationship.

If the certificate of live birth and mother’s personal documents are available, the particulars concerning the mother shall be specified according to such certificate of live birth and personal documents. If the certificate of live birth and mother’s personal documents are not available, the particulars concerning the mother shall be specified according to the information provided by the father and he shall take responsibility for such information.

2. In case the child was born by the wife before applying for marriage registration and has his/her birth registered without any information about the father and the acknowledgement showing the couple is the child’s parents is available, it is not required to apply for registration of parent-child recognition but apply for civil status supplementation to add information about the father to the birth register and birth certificate of the child.

3. In case the child was born by the wife before applying for marriage registration and has yet to have his/her birth registered but the acknowledgement showing the couple is the child’s parents is available upon birth registration, the information about the father shall be immediately specified in the child's birth certificate without applying for registration of parent-child recognition.

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The civil registry shall refuse the application for civil registration or as prescribed in Article 5 of this Circular or cancel the result of civil registration if there are grounds to believe that the information provided to the civil registry is untruthful.

Section 3. MOBILE BIRTH, DEATH AND MARRIAGE REGISTRATION

Article 14. Cases in which mobile birth, death and marriage registration are granted

1. In the cases where the child’s parents fails to register their child’s birth due to their disability or illness, the child's parents are arrested, kept in temporary detention or sentenced to imprisonment and none of the child’s relative is able to register the child’s birth, the People’s Committee of the commune shall grant mobile birth registration.

In the cases where the deceased does not have any relative or the relative does not live within the same commune or the old, weak or disabled person fails to register death, the People’s Committee of the commune shall grant mobile death registration.

In the cases where the male and female partners temporarily reside within the same commune but either or both male and female partner(s) fail(s) to register marriage due to their disability or illness, the People’s Committee of the commune shall grant mobile marriage registration.

2. In addition to the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article, the People's Committee of the commune shall, according to current situation, decide to grant mobile birth, death and marriage registration.

3. The People’s Committee of the commune shall arrange time and provide funding and personnel for mobile civil registration as prescribed in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article in an appropriate manner, ensuring the people’s birth, death and marriage events are sufficiently registered and the civil status management is strengthened in the commune.

Article 15. Procedures for mobile birth and death registration

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In the location for mobile registration, the justice and civil status official shall instruct the applicant to complete the application and shall inspect the documents used as the basis for birth/death registration in accordance with regulations of the Law on Civil Status, Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP and this Circular and complete the application receipt note. The result of mobile birth/death registration shall be returned within 05 working days from the receipt of the application.

2. Within 02 working days from the receipt of the application according to Clause 1 of this Article, the justice and civil status official shall request the President of People’s Committee of the commune to sign the civil status document and record the registered contents in the corresponding civil status register.

3. Within 05 working days according to Clause 1 of this Article, the justice and civil status official shall return the civil status document and civil status register to the applicant in the location for mobile registration and instruct the applicant to sign and specify his/her full name in the civil status register as prescribed. The “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the civil status register shall clearly specify “Đăng ký lưu động” (“Mobile registration”).

4. In case the applicant is illiterate, the justice and civil status official shall directly complete the application form and then read the contents to applicant and instruct him/her to press his/her fingerprints on the application form. Upon returning the result of civil registration, the justice and civil status official shall read the information contained in the civil status document to the applicant and instruct him/her to press his/her fingerprints on the civil status register.

This Clause is also applied when carrying out the marriage registration procedures prescribed in Article 16 of this Circular.

Article 16. Procedures for mobile marriage registration

1. The commune-level justice and civil status official assigned to grant mobile marriage registration shall sufficiently prepare specimens of application forms and civil status documents and satisfy necessary conditions for mobile registration. In the location for mobile registration, the justice and civil status official shall inspect and verify the fulfillment of marriage conditions by the male and female partners, instruct the applicant to complete the application form for marriage registration, and complete the application receipt note. The result of mobile marriage registration shall be returned within 05 working days from the receipt of the application.

2. Within 05 working days according to Clause 1 of this Article, if it is considered that the male and female partners are eligible for marriage as prescribed by the Law on Marriage and Family, the justice and civil status official shall request the President of People’s Committee of the commune to sign the marriage certificate and then grant it to the partners in the location for mobile registration.

Chapter III

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Section 1. SPECIMENS OF CIVIL STATUS DOCUMENTS AND REGISTERS

Article 17. Promulgation of lists of specimens of civil status documents and registers

1. The following lists are promulgated together with this Circular:

a) List of civil status documents printed and released by the Ministry of Justice (Appendix 1);

b) List of civil status registers printed and released by the Ministry of Justice (Appendix 2);

c) List of civil status documents published on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice and printed and used by civil registries themselves (Appendix 3);

d) List of civil status registers published on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice and printed and used by the civil registries themselves (Appendix 4).

dd) List of specimens of application forms for civil registration published on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice and printed and used by the civil registries and the people themselves (Appendix 5).

2. Standards in sizes, colors and specifications of specimens of civil status documents and registers are provided in the Appendices promulgated together with this Circular.

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1. Birth certificates, marriage certificates, birth registers, marriage registers and death registers are promulgated together with the lists specified in Points a and b Clause 1 Article 17 of this Circular are printed and released by the Ministry of Justice.

The Departments of Justice of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall contact the Ministry of Finance in order to be provided with civil status documents and registers on their demand.

2. The civil registry using civil registration software and ensuring that specimens of civil status documents and registers are printed according to the standards in sizes and specifications specified in Clause 2 Article 17 of this Circular and recognized by the Ministry of Justice may provide the specimens of birth certificate and marriage certificate (according to the list specified in Point a Clause 1 Article 17).

3. Specimens of civil status extracts (originals and copies) promulgated together with the list specified in Point c Clause 1 Article 17 of this Circular and specimens of application forms for civil registration promulgated together with the list specified in Point dd Clause 1 Article 17 of this Circular are published on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice (www.moj.gov.vn). Civil registries are allowed to access the web portal and print such specimens themselves.

The applicants for civil registration shall access the web portal of the Ministry of Justice in order to print and use specimens of application forms for civil registration themselves. In case the applicants for civil registration fail to print the specimens themselves, the civil registry shall print and deliver them to the applicants for free.

4. Specimens of civil status registers promulgated together with the list specified in Point d Clause 1 Article 17 of this Circular are published on the web portal of the Ministry of Justice (www.moj.gov.vn). Civil registries are allowed to access the web portal and print such specimens themselves.

In case domestic civil registries fail to print the specimens themselves, Departments of Justice of provinces and central-affiliated cities shall print and deliver them to civil registries for free within the provinces and central-affiliated cities.

5. Civil registries shall take responsibility for the use of civil status documents and registers that are printed and released against the regulations of this Circular.

Section 2. GUIDELINES FOR RECORDING INFORMATION IN CIVIL STATUS REGISTERS AND DOCUMENTS

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1. Commune-level justice and civil status officials, civil status officials of Departments of Justice, members of diplomatic missions and consular posts (hereinafter referred to as "civil status officials”) shall record information in civil status registers and documents themselves. The information must be accurate. The words must be clear and not be abbreviated and erased, must be written in good and same type of ink. Different inks and red ink must not be used.

In case information technology is applied to print civil status documents through computers, it is required to print them in a good and black ink that should not be blurred or faded.

2. The civil status register shall be affixed with a seal on the margin of each consecutive page. Information shall be recorded in the register continuously from page to page without any page left blank.

3. The registration numbered in a year on each type of civil status register must be written in a chronological order from the beginning to the end of the year, starting from 01. In case the register has no page left blank before the end of the year, another register shall be used and the registration shall be numbered from the last registration numbered on the previous register.

For example: The first 2016 birth register has no page left blank and the last registration numbered (of the last page) is 200, the next registration numbered will be 201 upon switching to the second register.

4. The registration numbered on an individual's civil status document shall be the same as that numbered on the civil status register according to Clause 3 of this Article.

5. Columns and sections of the civil status registers and documents shall be sufficiently and accurately filled in according to the instructions specified in the civil status registers and this Circular. The date must be specified according to the solar calendar.

6. The civil status changes according to judgments or decisions by competent authorities shall be recorded in civil status registers as follows:

a) The nationality change shall be recorded in the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the birth register and of other civil status registers  which contain registered information about the person who has changed his nationality;

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c) The sex reassignment shall be recorded in the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the birth register of the person whose sex has been reassigned;

d) Child adoption and termination of child adoption shall be recorded in the child adoption register;

dd) The divorce, annulment of illegal marriages and recognition of marriages shall be recorded in the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the marriage register;

e) The recognition of guardianship shall be recorded in the guardianship register;

g) The declaration or cancellation of declaration of a person who has gone missing, has been incapacitated or has had limited legal capacity shall be recorded in the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the child’s birth register;

h) The declaration or cancellation of declaration of death of a person shall be recorded in the death register.

7. Vietnamese citizen’s vital events that have been handled by competent authorities in a foreign country shall be recorded in civil status registers as follows:

a) The birth registration shall be recorded in the birth register;

b) The marriage registration shall be recorded in the birth register;

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d) The recognition of parent-child relationship, and parent and child identification shall be recorded in the register of recognition of parent-child relationship. In case the child's birth has been registered in Vietnam, the People's Committee of the district shall request the registry that has granted birth registration to add another entry to the birth register;

dd) The child adoption shall be recorded in the child adoption register;

e) The civil status changes shall be recorded in the register of civil status change/correction/supplementation or ethnic group re-determination and added to the register of other vital events;

g) The divorce and annulment of marriages shall be recorded in the marriage note. If the marriage and the overseas marriage certificate were registered and applied for at a competent authority of Vietnam, the People’s Committee of the district shall request the registry that has granted marriage registration and issued overseas marriage certificate to add another entry to the birth register;

h) The death registration shall be recorded in the death register.

8. Each civil registry that is retaining civil status registers shall record information in civil status registers according to Clause 6 of this Article after receiving the judgment or decision.

If civil status registers are retained by a registry and also its superior registry, the civil registry that records information in civil status registers after receiving the judgment or decision shall request the remaining registry that is retaining civil status registers to record information in the civil status registers to ensure update synchronization.

9. Upon recording information in civil status registers, it is required to record it according to the information contained in the civil status document. The information that is available in the civil status register but is not available in the   civil status document shall be left blank, otherwise, the information that is available in the civil status document but is not available in the civil status register shall be specified in the “Ghi chú” (“Notes”) section of the civil status register.

In case the civil status information contained in the civil status documents and registers is yet to be identified, it is allowed to leave it blank and not allowed to put a cross or a mark.

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1. In case of any change of administrative divisions, it is required to record current administrative divisions at the time of registration.

2. Upon issuance of the copy of the civil status extract, the registered administrative divisions written on the civil status register shall be specified in the administrative division section of the copy of the civil status extract.

Article 21. Guidelines for recording information in birth certificates and birth registers

1. Full name of the person whose birth is registered must be written in capital letters and accented.

2. Date of birth of the person whose birth is registered is the calendar date, written in numbers and words.

3. The “Nơi sinh” (“Place of birth”) section shall be specified as follows:

a) In case a child was born in a hospital, maternity ward, medical station or health facility (hereinafter referred to as "the health facility"), name of such health facility and of the administrative division where the health facility is located shall be specified.

b) In case a child was born in a health facility other than that specified in Point a of this Clause, including the cases where the child was born at home, in a vehicle, on road or in another place, the “Nơi sinh” (“Place of birth”) shall be specified according to the administrative division where the child was born (specify the administrative division that has 3 levels).

c) In case the child was born abroad, the “Nơi sinh” (“Place of birth”) section shall be specified according to name of the city and the country where the child was born. In case the child was born in a federation, name of the city, the state and the federation shall be specified.

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a) In case a Vietnamese citizen resides in Vietnam, it is required to specify the place of permanent residence. In case of no place of permanent residence, specify the place of temporary residence.

b) In case a Vietnamese citizen resides abroad, specify his/her permanent or temporary address in the foreign country.

Guidelines for recording information in the “Nơi cư trú” (“Place of residence”) section shall be also applied to record information in the “Nơi cư trú” (“Place of residence”) of other civil status registers and documents.

5. The “Giấy tờ tùy thân” (“Personal documents”) of the applicant for birth registration, including the documents specified in Clause 1 Article 2 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP shall clearly specify: name and number of the documents, issuing authority and place of issue.

For example: - Giấy CMND số 030946299, Công an thành phố Hải Phòng cấp ngày 01/01/2011 (“ID card No. 030946299 issued by police authority of Hai Phong city on January 01, 2011”).

- Hộ chiếu số B234567, Cục QLXNC cấp ngày 14/02/2012 (“Passport No. B234567 issued by the Department of Immigration on February 14, 2012”).

- Thẻ căn cước công dân số 010116000099, Bộ Công an cấp ngày 01/6/2016 (“Citizen ID card No. 010116000099 issued by Ministry of Public Security on June 01, 2016”).

6. The “Nơi đăng ký khai sinh” (“Place of birth registration”) section shall specify name of the birth registry as prescribed by the Law on Civil Status. To be specific:

a) In case the birth registration is granted within the power of People’s Committee of the commune, specify the administrative divisions with 3 levels (commune, district and province).

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b) In case the birth registration is granted within the power of People’s Committee of the district, specify the administrative divisions with 2 levels (district and province).

For example: UBND huyện Kiến Thụy, thành phố Hải Phòng (“People’s Committee of Kien Thuy district, Hai Phong city”).

c) In case the birth registration is granted within the power of the overseas Vietnamese representative mission, specify name of the representative mission and the country where the representative mission is located.

For example: - Đại sứ quán Việt Nam tại CHLB Đức (“Embassy of Vietnam in the Federal Republic of Germany”).

- Tổng lãnh sự quán Việt Nam tại Osaka, Nhật Bản (“Consulate General of Vietnam in Osaka, Japan”).

7. The guidelines for specifying name of the birth registry according to Clause 6 of this Article shall be also applied to specify name of the registry of other vital events according to the Law on Civil Status and Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP. The name shall be specified consistently in the civil status register and document.

8. The “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the birth certificate shall be used to specify civil status changes, correction and supplementation and ethnic group re-determination and specify the changed civil status information according to the judgment or decision of competent authorities. Upon taking notes, it is required to clearly specify date of taking notes and changed civil status information. Name and number of documents, name of issuing authority and issuance date shall serve as the basis for taking notes.

Article 22. Guidelines for recording information in marriage certificates and marriage registers

1. Full name of wife and husband must be written in capital letters and accented.

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Regarding the marriage re-registration or marriage registration, if the date of previous marriage registration or establishment of cohabitation fails to be determined, the first day of the month and year of marriage registration or establishment of cohabitation shall be specified. In case the date and month fail to be specified, specify January 01 of the year in which the previous marriage registration was granted or the cohabitation was established.

3. The “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the marriage certificate shall be used to specify civil status changes, correction and supplementation and ethnic group re-determination and specify the changed civil status information according to the judgment or decision of competent authorities. Upon taking notes, it is required to clearly specify date of taking notes and changed civil status information. Name and number of documents, name of issuing authority and issuance date shall serve as the basis for taking notes.

The date on which the marriage relationship is recognized in the case of marriage re-registration or marriage registration specified in Clause 2 Article 44 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP or marriage re-registration specified in Article 13 of the Law on Marriage and Family shall be specified in the “Phần ghi chú những thay đổi sau này” (“Notes of later changes”) section at the back of the marriage certificate.

Article 23. Guidelines for recording information in extracts of death certificate and death registers

1. Full name of the deceased must be written in capital letters and accented.

2. The “Đã chết vào lúc” (“Has died at”) section shall be specified according to the death certificate or a document used as a substitute for the death certificate specified in Clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP. Time (hour and minute) and date (day, month and year) of death shall be written in numbers and words. In case of failure to exactly determine the time of death, leave the space blank.

3. The “Nơi chết” (“Place of death”) section shall clearly specify name of the health facility and the administrative division where the health facility is located in the case of death in a health facility.

If a person dies in a vehicle, dies from accident, dies in a prison, jail or place of execution or in an authority or the place of death fails to be identified, specify the administrative division (including 3 levels: commune, district and province) where such person dies or the body of the deceased is found.

4. The “Nguyên nhân chết” (“Cause of death”) section shall be specified according to the death certificate or a document used as a substitute for the death certificate specified in Clause 2 Article 4 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP. In case of failure to identify the cause of death, leave the space blank.

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Article 24. Guidelines for recording information in extract of certificate of civil status change/correction/supplementation or ethnic group re-determination

1. Name of the extract shall be clearly specified according to each type of civil status affairs.

For example: - “Trích lục thay đổi hộ tịch” (“Extract of certificate of civil status change”)

- “Trích lục cải chính hộ tịch” (“Extract of certificate of civil status correction”)

- “Trích lục bổ sung hộ tịch” (“Extract of certificate of civil status supplementation”)

- “Trích lục xác định lại dân tộc” (“Extract of certificate of ethnic group re-determination”)

2. When issuing the extract of certificate of civil status change/correction/supplementation or ethnic group re-determination from a type of register, name of such type of register must be clearly specified.

Article 25. Guidelines for recording information in marital status certificates and registers of marital status certificates

1. The “Nơi cư trú” (“Place of residence”) section shall be specified according to the current place of residence of the person issued with the marital status certificate.

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3. The “Tình trạng hôn nhân” (“Martital status”) section shall exactly specify current marital status of the person. To be specific:

- If the person has never got married, specify “Chưa đăng ký kết hôn với ai” (“Single”).

- If the person has his/her marriage registered but has got divorced and has not yet applied for initial registration of marriage, specify “Có đăng ký kết hôn, nhưng đã ly hôn theo Bản án/Quyết định ly hôn số... ngày... tháng... năm... của Tòa án nhân dân...; hiện tại chưa đăng ký kết hôn với ai” (“Has his/her marriage registered but has got divorced according to the Divorce Judgment/Decision No…. dated …(date)…(month)...(year) by the People’s Court of…; currently single”).

- If the person has his/her marriage registered but his/her wife/husband has died, and he/she has not yet applied for initial registration of marriage, specify “Có đăng ký kết hôn, nhưng vợ/chồng đã chết (Giấy chứng tử/Trích lục khai tử/Bản án số:... do... cấp ngày... tháng... năm...); hiện tại chưa đăng ký kết hôn với ai”.” (“Has his/her marriage registered but his/her wife/husband has died (Death certificate/Extract of death certificate/Judgment No… issued by… on…(date)…(month)...(year)); currently single”).

- If the couple cohabited before January 3, 1987 and has been cohabiting without applying for marriage registration, specify “Hiện tại đang có vợ/chồng là bà/ông...”. (“His/her current wife/husband is Mrs./Mr….”).

4. In case a representative mission issued the marital status certificate to a Vietnamese citizen during his/her residence in a foreign country, the “Nơi cư trú” (“Place of residence”) section shall be specified according to the applicant’s current place of residence; the “Trong thời gian cư trú tại:... từ ngày... tháng... năm... đến ngày... tháng... năm...” (“During residence at:.. from... (date)...(month)...(year) to ... (date)...( month)...(year)") section shall be specified according to the place and time of residence in the foreign country. His/her marital status shall be determined according to the civil status register or electronic civil status database under the management of the representative mission and specifed as prescribed in Clause 3 of this Article.

5. The “Giấy này được cấp để:” (“This certificate is issued in order to:”) section shall exactly specify the purpose of using the marital status certificate and not be left blank.

In case the marital status certificate is used to apply for marriage registration, it is required to clearly specify full name, date of birth and personal documents of the person to whom the applicant will get married and expected place where procedures for marriage registration are followed.

Article 26. Correction of errors upon recording of information in civil status registers and documents

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In case there is a page left blank, the civil status official shall cross it.

The notes column of the civil status register shall specify the corrections and date of correction. The civil status official shall write in his/her signature and full name.

The civil status official shall notify the head of the civil registry of the error correction. The head of the civil registry shall check and append a seal on the corrections.

The civil status official shall not erase, correct or modify the information specified in civil status registers.

2. Upon civil registration, if any error is made when specifying a civil status document, the civil status official shall destroy such document and use a new one and shall not provide applicants with the corrected document.

3. If any error made by the civil status official or the applicant for civil registration is found after civil registration, it is required to follow procedures for civil status correction as prescribed in Clause 2 Article 7 of the Decree No. 123/2015/ND-CP.

Section 3. GUIDELINES FOR OPENING AND CLOSING CIVIL STATUS REGISTERS AND RETENTION AND PRESERVATION OF CIVIL STATUS REGISTERS

Article 27. Opening and closing civil status registers at People’s Committees of communes and People’s Committees of districts

1. Each type of civil status register used during a year shall be numbered in a chronological order, starting from 01.

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2. At the end of the registration year, each civil status official shall compile a list of the number of civil status registers used, total number of vital events registered during the year, number of errors that need correcting as prescribed in Clause 1 Article 26 of this Circular and pages (if any) left blank in each register.

3. After compiling the list as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article, the civil status official shall specify his/her signature and full name in the list and request the head of the civil registry to specify his/her signature, full name and position and append a seal.

Article 28. Retention and preservation of civil status registers at People’s Committees of communes, People’s Committees of districts and Departments of Justice

1. Civil status registers shall be permanently retained and preserved to serve demand of the people and state management.

2. People’s Committees of communes, People’s Committees of districts and Departments of Justice shall retain, preserve and use civil status registers as prescribed by law and adopt measures against flood, fire, humidity and termites.

Presidents of People’s Committees of communes and People’s Committees of districts and Directors of Departments of Justice shall take responsibility for damaging and losing civil status registers or using them against the law.

Article 29. Opening, closing and retaining civil status registers at representative missions

1. Representative missions shall open and close civil status registers, retain and preserve civil status registers as prescribed in Articles 27 and 28 of this Article.

2. After a civil status register is closed, the representative mission shall authenticate 01 copy of each type of civil status register to send it to the Consular Department - Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 30. Transition clauses

Any application for civil registration that had been received before January 01, 2016 by a civil registry but has not been processed shall continue to be processed as prescribed by the law that takes effect at the time of receiving the application and the corresponding civil status forms promulgated together with the following legislative documents may be used:

a) Circular No. 08.a/2010/TT-BTP dated March 25, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice;

b) Circular No. 16.a/2010/TT-BTP dated October 08, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice;

c) Circular No. 05/2012/TT-BTP dated May 23, 2012 of the Ministry of Justice;

d) Circular No. 09b/2013/TT-BTP dated May 20, 2013 of the Ministry of Justice;

dd) Circular No. 02a/2015/TT-BTP dated February 23, 2015 of the Ministry of Justice.

Article 31. Effect

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2. The following legislative document is repealed:

a) Circular No. 07/2001/TT-BTP dated December 10, 2001;

b) Circular No. 01/2008/TT-BTP dated June 02, 2008 of the Ministry of Justice;

c) Circular No. 08.a/2010/TT-BTP dated March 25, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice;

d) Circular No. 16.a/2010/TT-BTP dated October 08, 2010 of the Ministry of Justice;

dd) Circular No. 05/2012/TT-BTP dated May 23, 2012 of the Ministry of Justice;

e) Circular No. 09b/2013/TT-BTP dated May 20, 2013 of the Ministry of Justice;

g) Circular No. 02a/2015/TT-BTP dated February 23, 2015 of the Ministry of Justice.

3. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Justice./.

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PP. THE MINISTER
THE DEPUTY MINISTER




Nguyen Khanh Ngoc