Criminal Record Certificate in Ho Chi Minh City: Foreigners
Go to the Ho Chi Minh City Police judicial record counter at 161 Nguyen Du Street, Ben Thanh Ward. The police, not the Department of Justice, have issued the certificate since 3 March 2025. Bring a declaration and your passport. The fee is VND 200,000 and the deadline is 5 working days.
On this page
Older guides still send you to the Department of Justice for a Vietnamese criminal record certificate. That office stopped taking these files in March 2025. The city police issue it now, and the counter moved again in February 2026.
Which case are you?
- You live in Ho Chi Minh City now: a foreigner currently residing in Vietnam files with the issuing agency at the place of residence. In the city that is the police counter.
- You have left Vietnam: you send the file to the Ministry of Public Security’s issuing agency, not the city counter.
- Your employer needs it for a work permit: the dossier asks for a judicial record or a certification. See the work permit guide.
- You need it in another country: it goes through consular legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Who issues it now: the city police
Since the morning of 3 March 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City Police take, process and return judicial record files. The Department of Justice stopped the same morning.
On the national portal the procedure is code 3.000333, run by provincial police. In Ho Chi Minh City that is the city police counter.
The counter changed address on 23 February 2026, from 258 Tran Hung Dao Street to 161 Nguyen Du Street (161 đường Nguyễn Du), Ben Thanh Ward. Go to Nguyen Du. The Tran Hung Dao address is the old one.
The city runs three counters, and you file at the one where you live or the nearest:
- 161 Nguyen Du Street, Ben Thanh Ward is the one for the old Saigon area. Phone 0693.187.118 or 0693.187.117.
- 681 Cach Mang Thang 8 Street, Thu Dau Mot Ward (old Binh Duong), phone 0693.509.231.
- 04 Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, Ba Ria Ward (old Vung Tau), phone 0254.351.5555.
Call 0693.187.118 for the hours before you go. Live outside the city? File with the police counter where you live or the nearest one, or by post.
161 Nguyen Du, Ben Thanh, Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam · Open in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)
Who can ask, and which certificate to choose
The amended law names foreigners among those with the right to ask, and it took effect on 1 July 2026.
Công dân Việt Nam, người nước ngoài đã hoặc đang cư trú tại Việt Nam từ đủ 16 tuổi trở lên có quyền yêu cầu cơ quan có thẩm quyền cấp Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp cấp Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp của mình
Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who have resided or are residing in Vietnam, from the age of 16, have the right to ask the competent agency to issue their own judicial record certificate. Law 107/2025/QH15, Điều 7
The law keeps two certificates, No. 1 and No. 2. The counter issues either one.
Under the original 2009 text, No. 1 shows a person whose conviction was expunged as having no criminal record. No. 2 lists expunged convictions in full, with the date, plus convictions not yet expunged. No. 2 is issued on the individual’s own request, so the person can know their own record.
Ask the requester which number it wants. Nobody may ask you to provide Certificate No. 2. For No. 1 the same ban applies, except where a law or decree requires judicial record information for recruitment, licences or practising certificates. So No. 1 is the usual one.
Paper and electronic certificates have the same legal value. Each one carries a unique QR code for checking it.
How to apply
Online is the default if you hold a level-2 identification account. Without one, file in person or by post.
At the counter
Go to 161 Nguyen Du Street, Ben Thanh Ward. An officer points you to the online route first. To file in person, fill in the form on hand, take a queue number and wait.
The same counter returns the result, on paper. Each request is one file for each type of certificate.
The paper declaration is form 01. Ask the officer for the current form.
Online
- Log in with a level-2 identification account on the public service portal or the national identification app, and choose the judicial record service.
- Fill in the electronic declaration accurately, fully and truthfully.
- The portal or app announces a file number, an appointment date for the result and how to pay the fee.
- Follow the file on the portal or the app.
After you finish the steps and pay, you are notified of the result and the pickup date, and you do not need to go to the office. The online form is form 04.
By post
The file goes by postal service, with a certification of your signature under the law.
What to bring
- A declaration, electronic or on paper.
- A copy of your passport, with the original shown for checking.
- Papers proving a reduced fee, if you claim one.
A person requesting a certificate for their parent, spouse, child or ward needs no power of attorney. For Certificate No. 2 you may not authorise another person, except that a minor may authorise a parent. Anyone else needs a power of attorney for Certificate No. 1, notarised or certified under Vietnamese law.
Fee and deadline
Circular 16/2025/TT-BTC sets the fee for Vietnamese citizens and foreigners who ask for a certificate. From 1 January 2026 it is VND 200,000 per time per person, and VND 100,000 for the reduced group. The reduced group is pupils from 16, students, people with merit to the revolution and relatives of martyrs, who show papers proving it.
When you request more than 2 certificates in one request, the agency charges VND 5,000 more per certificate from the third.
The fee waiver of 15 August 2026 to 28 February 2027 (Circular 117/2026/TT-BTC) is for Vietnamese citizens with a level-2 account, so it does not cover you. A single certificate costs VND 200,000; you pay extra only from the third certificate in one request.
The deadline is 5 working days. Where checks are needed it can run longer, but not beyond 15 days.
| Item | Amount or time |
|---|---|
| Fee per certificate | VND 200,000 |
| Reduced fee | VND 100,000 |
| Extra from the third certificate | VND 5,000 |
| Deadline | 5 working days |
| Longest, with verification | 15 days |
When an employer or another country asks for it
A work permit dossier must include a judicial record, or a certification that the worker is not serving a sentence or under criminal investigation. It must be issued no more than 6 months before filing. Foreign-issued papers must be consularly legalised unless a treaty, reciprocity or the law exempts them.
For use abroad, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does the consular certification and legalisation of the certificate. An electronic certificate has the same legal value as a paper one, so ask the receiving office which form it accepts.
The full permit process is in the work permit guide.
If an officer asks for your papers
A foreigner moving around Vietnam must carry a passport or international travel document and the papers related to residence in Vietnam. Walking around without them draws a warning or a fine of VND 300,000 to 500,000. Not presenting them when a Vietnamese authority asks is VND 500,000 to 2,000,000.
Keep your passport or a copy of it handy. Your landlord’s residence declaration is covered in temporary residence registration for foreigners.
Step by step
- Choose how to fileWith a level-2 identification account, file online. Without one, file in person or by post.
- Prepare the documentsYou need a declaration and a copy of your passport, with the original shown. Add papers proving your group if you claim the reduced fee.
- File at the city police counterIn the old Saigon area, go to 161 Nguyen Du Street, Ben Thanh Ward. Fill in the form, take a queue number and wait.
- Pay the feeThe fee is VND 200,000 per time per person.
- Collect the resultThe deadline is 5 working days, and up to 15 where verification is needed. Online, you are notified of the pickup date. In person, the counter that took your file also returns the result, on paper.
Not confirmed: Opening hours of the Nguyen Du counter: call 0693.187.118 before you go. Which declaration form the counter hands out now. Whether the counter asks for residence papers on top of your passport.
Common questions
Is the criminal record certificate still issued by the Department of Justice in Ho Chi Minh City?
No. Since 3 March 2025 the city police take applications, and the Department of Justice stopped on the same morning.
Where is the counter for a foreigner?
At 161 Nguyen Du Street, Ben Thanh Ward, since 23 February 2026. The old address, 258 Tran Hung Dao Street, no longer takes files.
Can a foreigner file online?
Only with a level-2 identification account. Without one, file in person at the counter or by post.
How much does the certificate cost?
VND 200,000 per time per person since 1 January 2026. A reduced fee of VND 100,000 exists for pupils from 16, students, people with merit to the revolution and relatives of martyrs.
How long does it take?
5 working days, and up to 15 where verification is needed. Online, you are notified of the result and the pickup date.
Which documents do I bring?
A declaration and a copy of your passport, with the original shown. Add papers proving your group if you claim the reduced fee.
Can a friend collect or file it for me?
For Certificate No. 2 you may not authorise another person, except that a minor may authorise a parent. A person filing for a parent, spouse, child or ward needs no power of attorney. Anyone else needs a notarised power of attorney for Certificate No. 1.
Does a work permit need this certificate?
The dossier needs a judicial record or a certification issued no more than 6 months before filing.
Will the certificate be accepted in another country?
It goes through consular legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.
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