38 Business Lines No Longer Require Operating Licenses Starting July 2026: Vietnam's Major Shift from Pre-Approval to Post-Audit

Starting July 1, 2026, Vietnam will formally abolish operating licenses for 38 business lines. This change comes from an amendment to the Investment Law passed by the National Assembly on December 11, 2025, with approximately 90% of delegates voting in favor. As a result, the list of conditional business lines will be reduced by 38, bringing the total down to 196.

Until now: obtaining a license has been mandatory (pre-approval review). Going forward: a major regulatory shift begins toward operating freely in principle, subject to post-audit checks after the fact.

01 - Why was this amendment made?
Against a backdrop of long-standing concerns — excessive administrative regulation, unnecessary business conditions, high procedural costs, and entry barriers for foreign-invested enterprises — the National Assembly's Economic and Financial Committee had repeatedly called on the government to ease regulation, reduce the burden on businesses, and increase transparency around compliance costs.

02 - Which business lines are affected?
The 38 affected business lines span the finance/accounting/commerce, construction/transportation, culture/social affairs/healthcare, technology/land, and agriculture-forestry-fishery sectors, and include: tax procedure agency services, customs procedure agency services, insurance ancillary services, commercial appraisal services, job placement services, labor outsourcing services, motor vehicle maintenance and repair services, construction services, construction activities by foreign contractors, apartment building management and operation services, data center operation services, overseas study consulting services, cosmetic surgery services, IT infrastructure construction and software development services, and warehousing services, among others.

03 - Does “abolishing the license” mean “anything goes”?
Many companies mistakenly assume that “no license required” means “anything is permitted.” In reality, the change simply means that pre-approval is no longer required, but the business will be checked afterward. The underlying rules and standards remain in place, and violations will still be subject to after-the-fact sanctions. In practical terms, this is not “deregulation equals zero risk” — rather, “the license requirement is gone, but compliance expectations have become stricter.”