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January 5, 2026

New Decree Provides Guidance for Vietnam’s Personal Data Protection Law

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On December 31, 2025, the government of Vietnam promulgated Decree No. 356/2025/ND-CP detailing and guiding the implementation of the new Personal Data Protection Law (PDPL) that was issued in June 2025. The new decree, like the PDPL, entered into force on January 1, 2026, with the previous Decree No. 13/2023/ND-CP on personal data protection ceasing effect on the same day.

Some key points of the new decree include the following:

  • Comprehensive lists of basic and sensitive personal data are provided, which will require companies to review again their existing documents and data type classification to ensure compliance.
  • New timelines are established for responding to specific data subject requests. These timelines are more reasonable and longer than the previous 72-hour requirements.
  • Additional consent guidelines are provided, prohibiting default consent or ambiguous instructions that confuse data subjects about giving or withholding consent.
  • Mandatory content for data transfer agreements/clauses in particular cases is provided. This covers, among other things, (i) the legal basis for the transfer of personal data; (ii) responsibilities for personal data protection during the transfer and processing of personal data; (iii) responsibilities for ensuring the exercise of the rights of personal data subjects; and (iv) responsibilities for coordination and compliance of the parties in cases where violations of personal data protection regulations are detected.
  • The qualifications and responsibilities of data protection officers (DPOs) and data protection departments include, among others, having been trained and fostered in legal knowledge and professional skills regarding personal data protection. There are no specific provisions governing the qualifications or requirements for organizations that provide data protection training or education.
  • New mandatory templates and requirements are provided in relation to data processing impact assessment and data transfer impact assessment, and for cases in which companies need to re-submit assessments to the regulator.
  • Stricter requirements are applied to enterprises providing data processing services, including mandatory licensing, annual compliance and credibility assessments, and impact assessments dossiers approved by the relevant authorities.
  • Specific notification requirements are introduced for violations relating to personal location data and biometric data.
  • Personal data must be de-identified before being traded on a data trading platform.
  • Small enterprises and startups have a five-year grace period from the effective date of the PDPL to comply with regulations on preparing impact assessment dossiers and designating departments and/or personnel to protect personal data. Business households and micro-enterprises are exempted from these regulations. The grace period and exemptions, however, do not apply (i) when the scale of processing reaches 100,000 or more personal data subjects; (ii) in the provision of data processing services; or (iii) in cases where sensitive personal data is directly processed.
  • Specific provisions are set out concerning data protection in relation to banking, credit information activities, AI, metaverse technologies, big data, blockchain, cloud computing, and related fields.

Outlook

With the PDPL and its guiding decree already in effect, it is imperative that companies proactively assess and implement the new requirements to ensure ongoing compliance. Organizations are also encouraged to continuously monitor regulatory updates and additional guidance to remain informed and adequately prepared for any changes.

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