Vietnam deposited its accession on 31 December 2025, and the Convention took effect on 11 September 2026, making Vietnam the 129th Contracting Party. From that date Vietnamese embassies and consulates stopped accepting legalization requests for documents from other Convention states, and a single apostille replaces the old two-step consular chain. Vietnam's implementation plan (Decision 330/QD-TTg) also directs the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to build an e-apostille database on the national public service portal.
Who it affects
U.S. and other foreign document holders sending birth, marriage, degree, police-record and corporate documents to Vietnam, and Vietnamese citizens using their documents abroad.
What changes in practice
- A state or U.S. Department of State apostille is now sufficient for most U.S. public documents used in Vietnam.
- The Vietnamese Embassy in Washington no longer legalizes U.S. public documents.
- Documents legalized before 11 September 2026 remain valid and do not need re-processing.
- Legalization still applies to diplomatic/consular documents, certain commercial and customs papers, and documents from Germany, Austria, Czechia and (until 28 February 2027) Thailand.
Source: HCCH.
