New Regulations on Labor Registration Effective from 1 January 2026

11 March, 2026 | TNTP LAW | Legal newsletter

From 1 January 2026, labor registration becomes a mandatory obligation for both employees and employers pursuant to the 2025 Law on Employment and Decree No. 318/2025/ND-CP dated 12 December 2025. This regulation marks a significant shift in the management of labor information and employment relationships in Vietnam, and is expected to enhance transparency in the labor market while effectively supporting policy formulation in employment, social insurance, and social welfare. In this article, TNTP provides an overview of several key provisions on labor registration applicable from 1 January 2026.

1.Categories subject to labor registration from 1 January 2026

Pursuant to Article 3 of Decree No. 318/2025/ND-CP dated 12 December 2025, which provides detailed guidance on certain provisions of the Law on Employment regarding labor registration and the labor market information system (“Decree 318”), the obligation to register labor applies to the following three categories:

First category: Employees subject to compulsory social insurance under the 2024 Law on Social Insurance.
Second category: Individuals who are employed but are not subject to compulsory social insurance.
Third category: Unemployed persons, defined as individuals who are not employed, are seeking employment, and are ready to work.

It should be noted that cadres, civil servants, public employees, and members of the people’s armed forces are not required to carry out labor registration or make adjustments to labor registration information under this Decree.

Accordingly, the scope of subjects required to carry out labor registration under Decree 318 covers the vast majority of individuals participating in or potentially participating in the labor market, while excluding certain special categories as provided under specialized legislation.

2.Information required to be declared for labor registration

A notable innovation under this Decree is the clear allocation of responsibility for information declaration between employees (“Employees”) and employers (“Employers”). Employees are responsible for self-declaring information and are legally accountable for its truthfulness and accuracy. Employers are required to collect, provide, and update Employees’ information upon recruitment, changes to, or termination of the employment relationship.

Pursuant to Article 4 of Decree 318, labor registration information comprises five groups as follows:

Basic personal information of the Employee, including: full name; personal identification number; date of birth; gender; ethnicity; current residence (permanent or temporary address);
Information on general education, vocational education, higher education, occupational skills certificates, and other certificates, including:

– Highest level of general education attained;

– Level and field of vocational education or higher education attained;

– National occupational skills certificates obtained;

– Other certificates.

Information on employment status and employment needs, including:

– Information on current employment, including position, job title, occupation, type of contract, and workplace;

– Information on the employer, including the employer’s name, identification code, type of entity, head office address, and economic sector;

– Information on unemployment status, including duration and reasons for unemployment;

– Information on employment needs, including desired occupation, type of contract, salary and benefits, and workplace.

Information on social insurance and unemployment insurance, including:

– Information on participation in social insurance and unemployment insurance, including social insurance number, insurance type, and social insurance scheme;

– Information on entitlement to social insurance and unemployment insurance benefits, including type of benefit and duration of entitlement.

Information on specific characteristics or special status, including:

– Information on persons with disabilities;

– Information on individuals from poor or near-poor households, or households subject to land recovery;

– Information on relatives of persons who have rendered meritorious services to the revolution;

– Information on individuals who have completed military service or service in the People’s Public Security Forces.

3.Labor registration procedures by category

3.1 Employees subject to compulsory social insurance

Pursuant to Article 5 of Decree 318, the labor registration procedure for Employees subject to compulsory social insurance is as follows:

(i)Registration dossier includes:

The Employer’s declaration form for participation in social insurance, together with a list of Employees participating in social insurance;
The Employee’s declaration form for participation in social insurance.

These forms must be supplemented with information on current employment, including position, job title, occupation, type of contract, and workplace, as well as Employer information, including name, identification code, type of entity, head office address, and economic sector.

(ii) Order and procedures:

Step 1: The Employee provides the Employer with the relevant information in the above declaration forms and is responsible for the accuracy of such information;
Step 2: The Employer registers or adjusts the Employee’s labor registration information when submitting the dossier for registration or adjustment of social insurance participation in accordance with the Law on Social Insurance and guiding documents;
Step 3: After being received and processed by the social insurance authority, the Employee’s labor registration information is synchronized and shared with the labor database.

3.2 Employees who are employed but not subject to compulsory insurance, and unemployed persons

Pursuant to Article 6 of Decree 318, the labor registration procedure for Employees who are employed but not subject to compulsory insurance, and unemployed persons, is as follows:

(i) Registration dossier: An electronic declaration form in accordance with the template issued together with Decree 318.

(ii) Order and procedures:

Step 1: The Employee accesses the National Employment Exchange Platform (https://www.vieclam.gov.vn) or the VNeID electronic identification application, selects the labor registration or labor registration information adjustment function, and completes the electronic declaration form;
Step 2: The labor registration system receives, processes, and returns a successful registration result immediately upon completion of the electronic declaration form; in case of unsuccessful registration, the system provides the reason;
Step 3: Upon successful registration, the Employee’s labor registration information is updated and synchronized with the labor database.

4.Implementation roadmap for labor registration by category

The labor registration requirement is not applied uniformly and immediately upon the effective date of the 2025 Law on Employment and Decree 318. Instead, it is implemented according to a phased roadmap applicable to each category, in order to ensure feasibility in implementation and effectiveness in labor information management. Article 25 of Decree 318 provides the following implementation roadmap:

Employees subject to compulsory social insurance are required to carry out labor registration from 1 July 2026;
Employees who are employed but not subject to compulsory insurance, and unemployed persons, are required to carry out labor registration from 1 January 2027.

This phased implementation is intended to allow Employees, Employers, and relevant authorities and organizations sufficient time to prepare, and to ensure that labor registration is implemented in a consistent, coordinated, and lawful manner. Enterprises should proactively review and adjust their labor management processes to ensure compliance with labor registration requirements in accordance with the roadmap set out in Decree 318.

The above constitutes TNTP’s article on “New Regulations on Labor Registration Effective from 1 January 2026”. We hope this article is useful to readers. Should you require any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact TNTP.

Yours sincerely,

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