Establishment of business households in accordance with current laws (updated 2026)
Household business is one of the popular business models in Vietnam thanks to its simple procedures, low cost and suitable for individuals or small-scale households. Currently, the registration of business households is mainly governed by the Law on Enterprises 2020 amended and supplemented in 2025 and related guiding documents, especially Decree 168/2025/ND-CP on business registration. The article below will provide an overview of the conditions, procedures as well as points to note when establishing a business household.
1. Legal basis:
The registration and operation of business households are currently governed by the following principal legal documents:
– Law on Enterprises 2020, amended and supplemented in 2025;
– Decree No. 168/2025/ND-CP on enterprise registration;
2. Legal concept and nature of business households:
Business household registration means the registration of business registration contents and tax registration of the business household to be established, registration of changes to business household registration contents and other registration obligations as prescribed.
A business household is established by an individual or household members and is responsible with all its assets for the business activities of the household. In case a business household is registered for establishment by household members, the members shall authorize in writing a member to act as the representative of the business household in the course of business activities. The written authorization of household members for a member to act as the representative of the business household must be notarized or authenticated in accordance with law.
The head of a business household is an individual who registers for the establishment of a business household or a person authorized by household members to act as a representative of a business household.
3. Advantages of the household business model:
Business households have a number of notable advantages as follows: Simple establishment procedures, low establishment and operation costs, flexible management mechanism, household owners have the full right to decide on business activities, suitable for small-scale business activities such as retail, etc catering services, individual business.
4. Conditions on entities establishing business households:
Individuals and household members who are Vietnamese citizens with full civil act capacity as prescribed by law have the right to establish business households, except for the following cases:
– Persons who are being examined for penal liability, are in custody or are serving prison sentences;
– Persons who are serving administrative handling measures at compulsory detoxification establishments or compulsory education institutions;
– Persons banned by the Court from holding certain positions, practicing certain professions or doing certain jobs;
– Other cases as prescribed by law.
In addition, the law stipulates: Each individual is only allowed to register 01 business household nationwide and is not subject to business bans according to the law.
5. Conditions on business location:
Business households must meet the following conditions:
– Only one business location is registered;
– The business location must be under the lawful use right of the business household;
– It is not allowed to be located in an apartment without a business function;
– Addresses must be clearly defined by administrative unit.
6. Business lines:
Business households are entitled to freely do business in industries and trades that are not prohibited by law.
For conditional business lines and lines, business households must fully meet the conditions prescribed by specialized laws before and during operation.
7. Regulations on naming business households:
The name of the business household must comply with the following principles:
– Includes two components: (i) the phrase “Business household” and (ii) proper name;
– The proper name is written in Vietnamese letters, which may be accompanied by the letters F, J, Z, W, digits and symbols;
– Do not use words such as “company”, “enterprise”, “group”, “corporation”;
– It must not be identical with the name of another business household within the commune level (except for cases where its operation has been terminated);
– Do not violate historical, cultural, moral, fine customs and customs;
– Not infringing upon industrial property rights (trade names, trademarks, geographical indications) of other organizations and individuals without approval.
8. Order and procedures for registration of business households
Implement through 4 steps
Step 1: Prepare documents
A business household registration dossier comprises:
– An application for business household registration;
– Copies of legal papers of the individual;
– Written authorization (if any);
– Written authorization of household members to the representative (in case the household is registered together), notarized/authenticated as prescribed.
Step 2: Submit the application
The registrant shall submit the dossier by one of the following methods:
Submit directly at the commune-level business registration office where the business location is located;
Submit via postal service;
Submit online information as prescribed.
Step 3: Processing the dossier
Within 03 working days from the date of receipt of a valid dossier, the commune-level business registration authority shall issue a business household registration certificate;
In case the dossier is invalid, the competent agency must notify in writing and clearly state the reason and request for amendment and supplementation.
Step 4: Fulfill post-registration obligations
After being granted a business household registration certificate, the business household needs to:
– Registration of tax identification numbers and fulfillment of tax obligations as prescribed: After being established, business households need to carry out procedures for registration of tax identification numbers before conducting production and business activities. Contact the tax team/tax authority to make the initial tax registration.
– Hanging signboards at business locations;
– Fulfill all legal obligations in the course of operation.
