Civil Judgment Enforcement Procedures: Latest Jurisdiction & Sequence

I. Jurisdiction over Judgment Enforcement

1. Provincial/Municipal Civil Judgment Enforcement Agencies have the jurisdiction to enforce the following judgments and decisions:

a) First-instance judgments and decisions of regional People's Courts; first-instance, appellate, supervisory review, and retrial judgments and decisions of the provincial-level People's Court of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

b) Judgments and decisions of the High People's Court regarding first-instance judgments and decisions of the provincial-level People's Court of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

c) Supervisory review and retrial decisions of the Supreme People's Court regarding judgments and decisions of the provincial-level People's Court of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

d) Supervisory review and retrial decisions of the Supreme People's Court regarding judgments and decisions of the High People's Court where the provincial-level People's Court that conducted the first-instance trial is headquartered;

đ) Decisions of the Supreme People's Court transferred to the provincial/municipal civil judgment enforcement agency;

e) Decisions on the application of provisional urgent measures, and decisions recognizing the results of successful mediation rendered by the Court of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

g) Civil judgments and decisions of foreign Courts, and foreign arbitral awards recognized and permitted for enforcement in Vietnam by the Court of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

h) Arbitral awards and decisions on the application of provisional urgent measures issued by the Arbitration Tribunal of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

i) Decisions on handling competition cases of the Chairperson of the National Competition Commission or the Anti-competitive Case Handling Tribunal; decisions on resolving complaints against decisions handling competition cases of the Chairperson of the National Competition Commission or the Complaint Handling Council for Competition Case Handling Decisions, enforced by the civil judgment enforcement agency of the locality where such authorities are headquartered;

k) Judgments and decisions entrusted by civil judgment enforcement agencies in other localities;

l) Decisions applying diversion measures for damage compensation issued by Investigation Agencies, People’s Procuracies, or People’s Courts of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

m) Decisions declaring bankruptcy issued by the regional People's Court of the locality where the civil judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

n) Other judgments and decisions as prescribed by law.

2. Professional & Civil Judgment Enforcement Divisions and Regional Civil Judgment Enforcement Offices organize the enforcement of judgments and decisions specified in Clause 1 of this Article as assigned by the Head of the provincial/municipal civil judgment enforcement agency.

3. Military-zone-level judgment enforcement agencies have the jurisdiction to enforce the following judgments and decisions:

a) Decisions on monetary fines, confiscation of property, recovery of illicitly gained money and property, handling of material evidence and assets, court fees, and civil decisions in criminal judgments/decisions of military-zone-level military courts and equivalents, or regional military courts within their territorial jurisdiction;

b) Decisions on monetary fines, confiscation of property, recovery of illicitly gained money and property, handling of material evidence and assets, court fees, and civil decisions in criminal judgments/decisions of the Central Military Court transferred to military-zone-level judgment enforcement agencies;

c) Civil decisions of the Supreme People's Court transferred to military-zone-level judgment enforcement agencies;

d) Decisions applying diversion measures for damage compensation issued by Investigation Agencies within the People’s Army, Military Procuracies, or Military Courts of the locality where the military-zone-level judgment enforcement agency is headquartered;

đ) Judgments and decisions entrusted by civil judgment enforcement agencies in other localities;

e) Other judgments and decisions as prescribed by law.

II. Transfer and Delivery of Judgments/Decisions and Suo Motu Issuance of Enforcement Decisions

1. The transfer and delivery of judgments and decisions to civil judgment enforcement agencies shall be performed in accordance with procedural laws. Where the law contains no specific provision, the agency that issued the judgment or decision must transfer it to the civil judgment enforcement agency within 15 days from the date the judgment, decision, or relevant part thereof becomes legally effective.

Where a competent authority has distrained property, held property in custody, seized material evidence, or confiscated other documents related to judgment enforcement, the Court, upon transferring the judgment or decision to the civil judgment enforcement agency, must enclose copies of the minutes of distraint, custody of property, seizure of evidence, or other relevant documents.

2. The Head of the civil judgment enforcement agency shall suo motu (on their own initiative) issue an enforcement decision for the following parts of judgments or decisions:

a) Monetary fines, recovery of illicitly gained money and property, court fees, and court charges;

b) Return of money, property, objects, and documents to the involved parties;

c) Confiscation into the state budget, other state revenues; confiscation for destruction of material evidence and property;

d) Compensation amounts awarded to organizations or individuals that have been collected by the civil judgment enforcement agency and pronounced in the judgment or decision;

đ) Recovery of land use rights and other assets subject to confiscation into the state budget;

e) Decisions on the application of provisional urgent measures;

g) Court decisions declaring bankruptcy;

h) Other judgments and decisions as prescribed by law.

3. The statutory time limits for suo motu issuance of enforcement decisions are as follows:

a) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the judgments/decisions specified in Points a, b, c, d, đ, and h, Clause 2 of this Article and copies of the minutes of distraint, custody of property, seizure of evidence, or other relevant documents (if any);

b) Immediately upon receipt of the decision specified in Point e, Clause 2 of this Article;

c) Within 03 working days from the date of receiving the decision specified in Point g, Clause 2 of this Article.

III. Request for Enforcement and Issuance of Enforcement Decisions upon Request

1. Involved parties have the right to request judgment enforcement, except in cases specified in Clause 2, Article 33 of this Law. The National Competition Commission has the right to request judgment enforcement in accordance with the Law on Competition.

Requests for judgment enforcement may be submitted in the digital environment, delivered directly in person, presented verbally, or sent via postal services.

2. The statute of limitations for requesting judgment enforcement is 05 years from the date the judgment or decision becomes legally effective, or from the date the obligation falls due.

Where the judgment creditor proves that due to a state of emergency, objective hindrance, or force majeure event they could not request enforcement within the prescribed time limit, the duration of such emergency, objective hindrance, or force majeure event shall not be included in the statute of limitations.

3. The statute of limitations for requesting judgment enforcement shall not apply where an involved party re-requests enforcement after the civil judgment enforcement agency has returned the enforcement request pursuant to Clause 4, Article 38 of this Law.

Upon receiving an enforcement request, the civil judgment enforcement agency must examine the contents of the request and accompanying documents, and notify the requester.

The Head of the civil judgment enforcement agency shall issue an enforcement decision within 05 working days from the date of receiving the enforcement request and the judgment/decision, except where the enforcement request is rejected pursuant to Clause 4 of this Article. Where the law prescribes conditions for the judgment or decision to be enforced, the time limit for issuing the enforcement decision shall be 05 working days from the date of receiving information confirming such conditions.

4. The civil judgment enforcement agency shall reject the enforcement request and notify the requester within 05 working days from the date of receiving the request in any of the following circumstances:

a) The requester does not have the right to request enforcement, or the request contents do not pertain to the contents of the judgment or decision;

b) The judgment or decision does not give rise to rights or obligations of the involved parties under this Law;

c) The requested civil judgment enforcement agency lacks enforcement jurisdiction;

d) The statute of limitations for requesting judgment enforcement has expired;

đ) An enforcement decision has already been issued for the requested enforcement contents, unless otherwise provided by law.

5. The Government shall provide detailed regulations for this Article.

IV. Notice of Judgment Enforcement and Delivery of Enforcement Decisions

1. Enforcement decisions, notices, and summons related to the rights and obligations of involved parties and persons with related rights and obligations shall be notified to them so that they may exercise their rights and perform their obligations in accordance with such documents.

2. Notification shall be effected within 03 working days from the date of document issuance, except where it is necessary to prevent involved parties from dispersing or destroying assets or evading enforcement, or in the case of enforcing decisions on provisional urgent measures.

Enforcement decisions must be sent to the competent People's Procuracy within 03 working days from the date of issuance, unless otherwise provided by this Law.

3. Decisions on applying security measures or coercive enforcement measures must be sent to agencies, organizations, and individuals relevant to the contents of such decisions for execution.

Notification of judgment enforcement shall be carried out in one of the following forms:

a) Notification in the digital environment, or through civil judgment enforcement offices, postal service enterprises, other agencies/organizations/individuals, or delivered directly to the recipient by the civil judgment enforcement agency;

b) Public posting;

c) Announcement on mass media.

5. Where the involved party or person with related rights and obligations is abroad and their overseas address or place of residence cannot be determined, notification shall be conducted in the digital environment.

6. Where the involved party or person with related rights and obligations is not in Vietnam but their overseas address is determined, notification shall be carried out in one of the following forms:

a) Notification in the digital environment in accordance with the law;

b) Request for mutual legal assistance to serve documents pursuant to the Law on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil Matters;

c) Transmission via postal services to the overseas diplomatic representative mission of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for recipients who are Vietnamese citizens;

d) Transmission via postal services to the address of the recipient residing abroad, provided that the laws of that country permit this form;

đ) Notification through the representative office, branch, or representative in Vietnam of the recipient that is a foreign agency, organization, or individual.

V. Voluntary Enforcement and Mutual Settlement on Judgment Enforcement

1. The time limit for voluntary enforcement is 10 days from the date the judgment debtor is validly notified of the enforcement decision, except in the case of enforcing decisions on provisional urgent measures.

2. Involved parties and persons with related rights and obligations have the right to reach a mutual settlement on judgment enforcement and shall be held liable for such settlement. When agreeing on judgment enforcement, the involved parties must reach agreement on judgment enforcement fees and incurred costs (if any).

The settlement must be documented in writing, clearly indicating the time, location, participating parties, agreed contents, performance time limit, and legal consequences of non-performance or improper performance, accompanied by signatures or fingerprints of participating parties.

The results of judgment enforcement based on mutual settlement shall be recognized, except where the settlement violates legal prohibitions, is contrary to social morality, prejudices the interests of the State or lawful rights and interests of third parties, or aims to evade judgment enforcement fee obligations.

Where an involved party fails to strictly abide by the settlement, they are entitled to request enforcement of the unperformed portion of obligations under the original judgment or decision.

VI. Verification of Judgment Enforcement Eligibility Conditions

1. Within 09 days from the expiration of the voluntary enforcement period, if the judgment debtor has failed to voluntarily enforce the judgment, the Enforcement Officer shall proceed with verification; in case of enforcing decisions on provisional urgent measures, verification must be conducted immediately.

2. The judgment debtor is responsible for truthfully declaring and providing complete information regarding assets, income, and enforcement conditions, and must be accountable for such declarations; if damage is caused, compensation must be made pursuant to law.

When verifying judgment enforcement conditions, the Enforcement Officer is responsible for specifically verifying assets, income, and other enforcement conditions. For assets subject to mandatory registration of ownership, use rights, or secured transactions, verification must also be conducted at the competent registration agencies for such assets and transactions.

3. Verification of judgment enforcement conditions shall be performed in the digital environment, directly in person, or in writing pursuant to law.

In case of verification in the digital environment, the Enforcement Officer is entitled to exploit information from databases on assets, income, and other enforcement conditions of the judgment debtor.

In case of direct verification, the Enforcement Officer shall draw up minutes fully reflecting verification results, certified by the agency, organization, or individual where verification is conducted.

In case of written verification, the document requesting information must specify the required contents and other necessary details.

4. When verifying judgment enforcement conditions, depending on each specific case, the Enforcement Officer shall:

a) Require involved parties to provide information on assets, income, and other conditions; require the judgment debtor to submit title documents, land use right certificates, and other documents related to enforcement conditions;

b) Require agencies, organizations, and individuals managing, preserving, keeping, or holding information on assets, accounts, income, and other conditions of the judgment debtor to supply information, hand over, or provide ownership documents, land use right certificates, and relevant records under their custody;

c) Specifically verify the current status of assets, income, and other conditions of the judgment debtor. In specific cases, the Enforcement Officer is entitled to:

Request specialized agencies or invite/hire qualified organizations/individuals to examine the actual condition of assets, capital management books, or property of the judgment debtor, or clarify items requiring verification;

Request competent authorities to determine the number of shares, capital contributions, digital assets, and other specific assets of the judgment debtor;

Solicit qualified organizations/individuals to appraise the value of the judgment debtor's assets;

Directly perform or request relevant agencies, organizations, or individuals to unlock, open packages, measure property, or take other necessary measures to carry out verification;

Where necessary, request specialized agencies to conduct mapping, survey, and boundary demarcation for assets that are land use rights and property attached to land;

Where involved parties or others obstruct or resist the verification, inspection, or examination of asset status, request the commune-level People's Committee or competent agencies/organizations to order such persons to cease obstruction or temporarily leave the asset premises to proceed with verification;

d) The civil judgment enforcement agency may conduct verification outside the province/city where it is headquartered, or authorize another civil judgment enforcement agency where the judgment debtor owns assets, resides, works, or is headquartered to verify judgment enforcement conditions.

Judgment creditors have the right to personally verify or authorize others to verify judgment enforcement conditions; and provide information on assets, income, and other conditions of the judgment debtor to the civil judgment enforcement agency.

Where the Enforcement Officer deems it necessary, where the verification results of the Enforcement Officer and the judgment creditor differ, or where a protest is lodged by the People’s Procuracy regarding verification results, re-verification must be conducted. Re-verification shall be carried out within 05 working days from the date of receiving verification results provided by the involved party or receiving the procuratorial protest.

The agencies, organizations, and individuals specified in Clause 1, Article 14 of this Law and others holding information or managing assets/accounts of the judgment debtor have the responsibility to:

a) Share data upon request of the civil judgment enforcement agency or Enforcement Officer;

b) Provide complete, accurate, and timely information and documents as requested by the Enforcement Officer or judgment creditor pursuant to law; sign verification minutes during direct verification or provide written replies within 03 working days from receiving requests; information on accounts or enforcement of provisional urgent measures must be provided immediately;

c) Competent asset administration and registration authorities must provide information on property owners and land users within 03 working days from receiving requests from the civil judgment enforcement agency or Enforcement Officer.

5. Civil judgment enforcement agencies and Enforcement Officers requesting information under the law shall not be subject to costs/fees.

6. Agencies, organizations, or individuals that fail to provide, delay providing, or provide untruthful information on judgment enforcement conditions of the judgment debtor shall have their involved individuals or heads held accountable and, if damage is caused, must pay compensation pursuant to law.

7. Enforcement Officers may utilize verification results of judgment enforcement conditions conducted by civil judgment enforcement offices or Bailiffs to organize judgment enforcement pursuant to this Law.

VII. Cases Ineligible for Judgment Enforcement

1. The Head of the civil judgment enforcement agency shall issue a decision declaring that conditions for judgment enforcement are not yet met (ineligibility for enforcement) within 05 working days from the date of occurrence of any of the following grounds:

a) The judgment debtor has no income or has income that only ensures minimum living standards for themselves and their dependants, and has no property for enforcement, or owns property whose value is only sufficient to pay coercive enforcement costs, or owns property that under the law cannot be distrained or handled for judgment enforcement;

b) The judgment or decision pronounces handling of assets, but at the time of enforcement, verification reveals that such assets no longer exist, the location of movable assets cannot be determined, or the certificate of ownership/land use right has been revoked, except where the judgment debtor has other income or assets for enforcement;

c) The address or place of residence of a person assigned to another for care/custody has not been identified, or the address/residence of the designated caregiver has not been identified;

d) Enforcement of an obligation to return a specific object, but the object no longer exists or is damaged beyond usability and the parties have no alternative agreement; obligation to return documents, but such documents cannot be retrieved or re-issued, or have already been transferred to the issuing authority under Clause 2, Article 59 of this Law;

đ) Enforcement of obligations strictly attached to the person of the judgment debtor or obligations that by law cannot be assigned, but such person has lost civil act capacity under a Court decision;

e) Assets of the judgment debtor are under pledge or mortgage where the value of such assets is less than the secured obligation plus coercive enforcement costs, or assets sold under Point d, Clause 3, Article 78 of this Law where post-markdown value is equal to or lower than enforcement costs and secured obligations, except where the debtor has other income or assets for enforcement;

g) Sale of assets under Clause 3, Article 83 of this Law where the asset value has been marked down to equal or less than enforcement costs, and the judgment creditor refuses to accept the asset in lieu of payment, except where the debtor has other income or assets for enforcement;

h) Assets of the judgment debtor are being seized or handled to secure non-performing loans (NPLs) under the Law on Credit Institutions, and the judgment debtor has no other income or assets for enforcement.

2. Information regarding the full name, address, and unfulfilled obligations of judgment debtors ineligible for enforcement shall be posted on the Civil Judgment Enforcement Electronic Portal and forwarded to the commune-level People’s Committee of the verification locality for public display.

Within 10 days from receiving written notice from involved parties or other agencies, organizations, or individuals providing new information on enforcement conditions of the judgment debtor, the Enforcement Officer must conduct verification. When the judgment debtor becomes eligible for enforcement, the enforcement agency shall issue a decision to resume enforcement, except where the enforcement request was returned under Clause 4 of this Article.

3. Where a judgment debtor is ineligible for enforcement, the Enforcement Officer must verify their conditions at least once every 06 months; for debtors who are serving prison sentences with a remaining term of 02 years or more, or whose new address/place of residence cannot be determined, verification must be conducted at least once a year.

4. Upon the expiration of 02 years from the date of the decision on ineligibility for enforcement—and where verification has been conducted pursuant to Clause 3 of this Article with no new information on the debtor's enforcement conditions—the civil judgment enforcement agency shall return the enforcement request. Involved parties have the right to re-request the civil judgment enforcement agency to resume enforcement under Article 34 of this Law when the judgment debtor becomes eligible, or request a civil judgment enforcement office to conduct enforcement under Article 31 of this Law.

See more at:

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See more at:

1. Judgments and Rulings Enforceable in Vietnam

2. Law No. 106/2025/QH15 of the National Assembly: Law on Civil Judgment Enforcement

3. Strictly prohibited acts in civil judgment enforcement in Vietnam

4. Civil Judgment Enforcement Jurisdiction of Bailiffs