Is electronic signature legal in Vietnam? What laws mainly regulate electronic signature?

Electronic signatures are legal in Vietnam. The main laws concerning electronic signatures in Vietnam are the E-COMMERCE LAW (No.20/2023/QH15, hereinafter referred to as "ET Act") and Decree No.130/2018/ND-CP. Among these, Decree No.130/2018/ND-CP is the primary law that establishes the regulation and creation of digital signatures

What is electronic signature in Vietnam?

The ET method defines an electronic signature as a signature created in the form of additional data messages as electronic data, and is used to confirm the signature subject and confirm the acceptance of the message data.

What types of electronic signatures are recognized in Vietnam? What are the requirements for each type?

In Vietnam, the types of electronic signature in electronic signature are divided into three categories:Special-use E-signature, Public digital signature and Digital signature specially used for public tasks.

1.Special-use E-signature

Is a special electronic signature established by an organization or organization for its activities based on its functions and tasks.

In order to meet the requirements of an effective and enforceable Special-use E-signature, it must satisfy the following requirements:

• The signature recognizes the signatory and asserts the signatory’s approval for the data message;
• Data used to generate a special-use E-signature must solely accompany the approved data message;
• Data used to generate a special-use E-signature must be under the sole control of the signatory at the point of time when the signature is added;
• The effect of the special-use E-signature can be checked under certain conditions agreed by the parties; and
• The special-use E-Signature must also be accompanied by a certificate from the Ministry of Information and Communications.

2.Digital signature

i.Public digital signatures are digital signatures used in public activities, guaranteed by public digital signature certificates.

ii.Digital signature specially used for public tasks are digital signatures used for public tasks of government agencies and guaranteed by digital certificates specifically for public tasks.

To meet the requirements of a valid and enforceable digital signature (including public digital signatures and digital signatures specifically for public tasks), it must meet the following requirements:

• The signature must identify the signer and state the signer's approval of the data message;
• Digital signature creation data must be provided with the batch data message;
• When adding a signature, the digital signature creation data must be controlled by the signer alone;
• After adding the signature, all changes in the data message are detectable;
• The signature must be protected by a digital signature certificate. For public digital signatures (for public tasks), The digital certificate is granted by a public digital signature authentication service provider;
• The device on which the signature is created must ensure that the data generated for the digital signature is not disclosed, collected or used for the purpose of signature forgery; that the data used to generate the digital signature is designed for use only once; and that it does not affect the data to be signed.

Under what circumstances can foreign electronic signatures and foreign electronic signature certificates be recognized in Vietnam?

Under article 26.1 of the new Electronic Transaction Law, foreign electronic signatures and foreign electronic signature certificates will be recognized in Viet Nam if they meet the following conditions:

• Provided by a foreign electronic signature certification service provider (among other requirements);
• Such service providers themselves must meet a number of other standards in Vietnam to be recognized;
  • The foreign electronic signature certificate provided by a foreign electronic signature authentication service provider is formed based on the full authentication identity information of a foreign organization or individual；
  • The foreign electronic signature and the foreign electronic signature certificate provided by the foreign electronic signature certification service provider must comply with the standards and technical provisions of the Vietnamese law or the recognized international standards or treaties for the accession of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;
  • Organizations providing foreign electronic signature authentication services must update the status of foreign electronic signature certificates in the trusted service authentication system of the competent authorities in Vietnam.
• It has a representative office in Vietnam.

Under what circumstances does Vietnam need to use traditional signatures?

In Vietnam, there are several use cases that require traditional signatures, which are typically:

• will
• Land, housing and real estate transaction agreements
• Other types of documents (mainly those requiring notarization):
  • The agreement on establishing a marital property system must be reached in writing before marriage and notarized or authenticated.
  • The selection of a guardian must be made in writing and notarized or authenticated.
  • An appeal mandate (in a legal proceeding) must be made on the basis of a written mandate that has been legally notarized and authenticated, unless such mandate was made under the witness of a judge or chief justice.