There are documents that no longer need to be notarized.

Image at a notary office in Hanoi. Photo: PV Group

Redundant personal document authentication

Speaking at the group discussion session on the draft Law on Notarization (amended) in 2024, President To Lam (now General Secretary) once directed that the Law on Notarization (amended) stipulate in which cases notarization is required, not that any agency or official sets out procedures to force people to notarize. Notarization must serve the people, it is necessary to clearly define what constitutes notarization and notarization must be accurate; at the same time, it is necessary to promote administrative reform.

“Administrative procedure reform is to reduce these, so naturally notarization will be reduced. For example, in the past, we had to photocopy our household registration and go to a notary to verify it, but now that we no longer have paper household registrations, what can we use to notarize?” the General Secretary emphasized.

Actual observations by Lao Dong Newspaper reporters in recent days also show that, with the development of digital transformation, notarization activities are revealing many shortcomings.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Van Anh (Cau Giay District, Hanoi) said that just a few months ago, when applying for a job, the recruiting unit still asked her to notarize all kinds of documents such as: citizen identification card, university diploma, high school transcript. Some places said that if the ID card is not notarized, the driver's license must be notarized.

"I think now that there is an electronic data system, these procedures should be reduced. If necessary, people can look it up, but not everything needs to be notarized," said Ms. Van Anh.

According to the reporter's research, notarizing and certifying contracts and documents currently not only takes time but also incurs significant costs for people.

According to Circular No. 257/2016/TT-BTC, the notarization fee for a real estate sale and purchase contract worth from 1 billion to 3 billion VND is 1 million VND plus 0.06% of the value exceeding 1 billion VND. If the property is worth 5 billion VND, the notarization fee can be up to more than 3 million VND for a contract.

Additional procedures such as certifying copies from the original (VND 2,000/first page, VND 1,000 from the third page) or certifying signatures (VND 10,000/time) also add to the cost.

More importantly, the current notarization process still requires people to come in person, wait for a queue number, check documents, print documents... The entire process also takes a lot of time, not to mention the cases of having to go back and forth many times due to missing documents or documents that need further verification.

Retelling the story of the time it took to notarize a phone SIM card for a business, Mr. Bui Dinh Ung (Long Bien District, Hanoi) frankly expressed: There are things that do not necessarily need to be notarized!

To complete the procedure, Mr. Ung said that the business registration certificate must be notarized. It is worth mentioning that when he went to the telecommunications unit to complete the procedure, he presented the original along with a notarized copy but was rejected because the notarization was overdue (over 6 months).

“The notarization law stipulates that a notarized copy has the same value as the original. When asked why there is still a time limit to cause trouble for people, the answer is that it is due to regulations at the agency,” Mr. Ung confided.

He added that currently, there are many procedures for making electricity and water applications, or applying for jobs at some units that still require notarization of documents such as citizen identification cards, household registration books, etc.

“If we provide a notarized copy like that, it would be better to provide the original or a photocopy so that people can compare. If necessary, the staff can photocopy it for storage, wouldn’t that save time or reduce costs for the people?” - this lawyer said.

Notarization is not required for all documents.

Faced with unnecessary notarization requirements that cause inconvenience to people, some opinions ask, according to current regulations, which documents are required to be notarized?

Sharing with PV of Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Nguyen Huy An (Hanoi Bar Association) said that according to the provisions of the Notary Law 2014 and the Notary Law 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), notarization can be understood as a public service performed by a notary of a notary practice organization to certify the authenticity and legality of transactions that the law requires to be notarized, or individuals and organizations voluntarily request notarization.

Thus, the law does not have a list of documents that must be notarized, but only transactions that the law stipulates must be notarized or transactions that people voluntarily request notarization.

According to the reporter's research, notarizing and certifying contracts and documents currently not only takes time but also incurs significant costs for people.

According to Circular No. 257/2016/TT-BTC, the notarization fee for a real estate sale and purchase contract worth from 1 billion to 3 billion VND is 1 million VND plus 0.06% of the value exceeding 1 billion VND. If the property is worth 5 billion VND, the notarization fee can be up to more than 3 million VND for a contract.

Additional procedures such as certifying copies from the original (VND 2,000/first page, VND 1,000 from the third page) or certifying signatures (VND 10,000/time) also add to the cost.

More importantly, the current notarization process still requires people to come in person, wait for a queue number, check documents, print documents... The entire process also takes a lot of time, not to mention the cases of having to go back and forth many times due to missing documents or documents that need further verification.

Retelling the story of the time it took to notarize a phone SIM card for a business, Mr. Bui Dinh Ung (Long Bien District, Hanoi) frankly expressed: There are things that do not necessarily need to be notarized!

To complete the procedure, Mr. Ung said that the business registration certificate must be notarized. It is worth mentioning that when he went to the telecommunications unit to complete the procedure, he presented the original along with a notarized copy but was rejected because the notarization was overdue (over 6 months).

“The notarization law stipulates that a notarized copy has the same value as the original. When asked why there is still a time limit to cause trouble for people, the answer is that it is due to regulations at the agency,” Mr. Ung confided.

He added that currently, there are many procedures for making electricity and water applications, or applying for jobs at some units that still require notarization of documents such as citizen identification cards, household registration books, etc.

“If we provide a notarized copy like that, it would be better to provide the original or a photocopy so that people can compare. If necessary, the staff can photocopy it for storage, wouldn’t that save time or reduce costs for the people?” - this lawyer said.

Notarization is not required for all documents.

Faced with unnecessary notarization requirements that cause inconvenience to people, some opinions ask, according to current regulations, which documents are required to be notarized?

Sharing with PV of Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Nguyen Huy An (Hanoi Bar Association) said that according to the provisions of the Notary Law 2014 and the Notary Law 2024 (effective from July 1, 2025), notarization can be understood as a public service performed by a notary of a notary practice organization to certify the authenticity and legality of transactions that the law requires to be notarized, or individuals and organizations voluntarily request notarization.

Thus, the law does not have a list of documents that must be notarized, but only transactions that the law stipulates must be notarized or transactions that people voluntarily request notarization.

Application of information technology is still very limited.

The Ministry of Justice said that currently, the application of information technology (IT) in notary activities is still very limited; digital transformation and IT application in notary activities are not yet commensurate with the development of the notary profession, and there is no database of the Ministry of Justice on notary.
Apart from the notary database, IT application activities at notary organizations are mostly spontaneous. There is no truly effective solution applied to notary activities.
Notably, the Ministry of Justice said that the lack of connection between the notary database and data of related sectors is one of the reasons that has created legal loopholes for fraudsters in notary activities, causing insecurity and social disorder.

According to laodong.vn

Source: https://baodanang.vn/xa-hoi/202504/co-nhung-giay-to-khong-con-nhat-thiet-phai-cong-chung-4003199/