Legally Required Document

Title in original language: Giấy chứng nhận quyền sử dụng đất

Applicable to: All forest entities and individuals/households who manage forest or plantation shall have evidence of Ownership or use rights

Holder of Document: Forest entities and individuals/households who manage forest or plantation. 

Signature required by:
• The Provincial People's Committees are responsible for granting certificates of land use rights to organizations, religious establishments, overseas Vietnamese, foreign-invested enterprises.
• District People's Committees are responsible for granting the certificates of land use rights to individuals and communities and to overseas Vietnamese eligible to own a house associated with land use rights in Viet Nam.

Key considerations when checking the doc:

• The certificate will have an expiry date (in the Land-use term). Check if the certificate is still valid
• Is the certificate signed and sealed by a relevant governmental agency?
• Is the name of the land user and Location the same as on the following documents:

1. The packing list of forest products?
2. The VAT invoice/receipt issued by the timber owner?
3. The business license (if a company manages the forest)?

Purpose and content of document:
In Viet Nam, Land is collectively owned by the people and administered by the government on their behalf. Therefore, under such a system, property owners cannot have full and legal Ownership of Land. Their rights are limited to land use rights permitted within the law. The Certificate of Land use rights, Ownership of houses and other assets attached to Land (LURC), usually referred to as the Red Book, is the permit granted by the state, which shows the land user's rights on the property. For plantations, the LURC shows land use rights and Ownership of the plantation. This is an important document since it confirms the forest land's legal tenure and management rights. The Land-use Right Certificate contains information on the user of forest land, the area and Location of the plantation, purpose of use, and the period of land-use right

Evidence limitations and weaknesses:
• No publicly available database or website exists to verify this certificate.
• In some old versions of the LURC, there is no clear information (e.g., GPS coordinates, maps) on the Location of the Land described on the certificate.