Vietnam's Law on Artificial Intelligence, a standalone, binding, comprehensive AI statute, was enacted on December 10, 2025 and took effect March 1, 2026. The law classifies systems by risk, assigns obligations by role rather than by industry, and reaches foreign providers whose systems serve users in Vietnam. It supersedes the AI provisions of the Law on Digital Technology Industry, which had taken effect on January 1, 2026.
Key points
- Risk-based classification with mandatory self-classification before deployment; Decree 142/2026/ND-CP, in force since May 1, 2026, sets the procedure and three tiers, and medium- and high-risk systems must be notified to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
- Obligations attach to five defined roles: developer, provider, deployer, user, and affected person. One business can hold several roles at once.
- Explicit extraterritorial scope: a foreign provider serving Vietnamese users falls under the registration and local-representative requirements.
- The national AI portal and database, ai.dda.gov.vn, opened on August 28, 2026 for sandbox registration, risk-classification notifications, system registration, and incident reports.
- Systems already operating before March 1, 2026 have until March 1, 2027 to comply, or September 1, 2027 in healthcare, education, and finance; Decision 33/2026/QD-TTg lists the high-risk systems and applies the same dates to listed systems running before August 15, 2026.
Laws and instruments
Law on Artificial Intelligence
Enacted December 10, 2025
Vietnam's comprehensive AI statute. Establishes risk classification, role-based obligations, registration through a national portal, human-oversight requirements, and extraterritorial application to foreign providers serving Vietnamese users.
Effective: March 1, 2026
Decree 142/2026/ND-CP (implementing the AI Law)
Decree No. 142/2026/ND-CP of April 30, 2026; Official Gazette No. 278, May 18, 2026
The main implementing decree. Providers must classify each AI system before putting it into use: high risk for systems on the Prime Minister's list under Article 13(4) of the Law, medium risk under Article 9 of the decree, low risk for the rest; classification attaches to systems, not models. It establishes the one-stop AI portal and the national AI database run by the Ministry of Science and Technology, requires a preliminary report of urgent serious incidents within 72 hours and of other serious incidents within five working days (Article 19), requires machine-readable marking of AI audio, image, and video outputs (Article 17), and requires deployers to attach visible labels to AI-generated or edited audio, images, and video (Article 18).
Effective: May 1, 2026
Decision 33/2026/QD-TTg: list of high-risk AI systems
Decision No. 33/2026/QD-TTg, signed by the Deputy Prime Minister; reported July 2, 2026
The Prime Minister's list of high-risk AI systems under the AI Law, by sector: education, ethnic and religious affairs, health (surgical robots), banking (automated electronic transactions and credit decisions), judicial proceedings (wide-area biometric identification), and transport, where 31 systems including high-level autonomous driving are listed. Listed systems already operating before August 15, 2026 may keep running during the transition unless an authority orders suspension, and must comply by March 1, 2027, or September 1, 2027 in health, education, and finance.
Effective: Listed systems in operation before August 15, 2026 must comply by March 1, 2027, or September 1, 2027 in health, education, and finance
Law on Digital Technology Industry
Law No. 71/2025/QH15
Passed June 14, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026. The first standalone digital-technology industry statute anywhere; its original AI chapter set principles for AI governance and was superseded by the dedicated AI Law within two months of taking effect.
Effective: January 1, 2026
Timeline
- June 14, 2025
National Assembly passes the Law on Digital Technology Industry with an AI chapter.
- December 10, 2025
Standalone Law on Artificial Intelligence enacted.
- January 1, 2026
Digital Technology Industry Law takes effect.
- March 1, 2026
The AI Law takes effect, superseding the earlier AI provisions.
- April 30, 2026
Decree 142/2026/ND-CP details the AI Law: classification procedure, the national portal and database, incident reporting, and labeling; in force May 1.
- July 2, 2026
Decision 33/2026/QD-TTg issues the list of high-risk AI systems by sector.
- August 28, 2026
The national AI portal and database, ai.dda.gov.vn, go live for registration, notifications, and incident reports.
Who it applies to
Developers, providers, deployers, and users of AI systems in Vietnam, including foreign providers whose systems or outputs serve users in Vietnam. Obligations stack by role, so one company can owe developer, provider, and deployer duties at once.
Penalties
Administrative enforcement through the Ministry of Science and Technology, including registration refusal, suspension orders, and orders against non-compliant systems. Systems already operating before March 1, 2026 have until March 1, 2027 to comply, or September 1, 2027 in healthcare, education, and finance; listed high-risk systems running before August 15, 2026 follow the same dates under Decision 33/2026.
Recent developments
Vietnam's AI Law takes effect with risk classification and extraterritorial reach
Enacted December 10, 2025 and effective March 1, Vietnam's standalone AI law brings risk classification, role-based obligations, and explicit extraterritorial reach to foreign providers serving Vietnamese users. It supersedes the AI chapter of the Digital Technology Industry Law within two months of that law taking effect. Decree 142/2026 followed on April 30, in force May 1, the high-risk list in July, and the national registration portal opened on August 28, 2026.
Common questions
Does Vietnam have a comprehensive AI law?
Yes. Vietnam's Law on Artificial Intelligence, a standalone, binding, comprehensive AI statute, was enacted on December 10, 2025 and took effect March 1, 2026. The law classifies systems by risk, assigns obligations by role rather than by industry, and reaches foreign providers whose systems serve users in Vietnam. It supersedes the AI provisions of the Law on Digital Technology Industry, which had taken effect on January 1, 2026.
What are the penalties for AI violations in Vietnam?
Administrative enforcement through the Ministry of Science and Technology, including registration refusal, suspension orders, and orders against non-compliant systems. Systems already operating before March 1, 2026 have until March 1, 2027 to comply, or September 1, 2027 in healthcare, education, and finance; listed high-risk systems running before August 15, 2026 follow the same dates under Decision 33/2026.
Who does AI regulation in Vietnam apply to?
Developers, providers, deployers, and users of AI systems in Vietnam, including foreign providers whose systems or outputs serve users in Vietnam. Obligations stack by role, so one company can owe developer, provider, and deployer duties at once.
Cite this page
Artificial Intelligence Regulations, "AI Regulation in Vietnam," reviewed October 26, 2026, https://artificialintelligenceregulations.com/jurisdictions/vietnam.html.
Entries state the position as of the review date and link to the primary text for verification.
