Business Licensing in Vietnam After Company Setup: What Comes Next
A registered company isn't automatically an operational one. Retail, F&B, healthcare, education, and fintech, among others, need a sector license on top of company registration — and which one applies depends on the specific activity, not the industry label.
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Registered Isn't Always Operational
A common mistake is assuming a newly registered company can start trading immediately, without checking whether its specific activity needs a separate license. Some licenses also depend on company setup being complete first — sector licensing is generally the step after registration, not a parallel one.
Common License Categories
RedTab's sector-licensing scope covers identification and coordination across these common conditional categories — which one(s) apply is determined by the specific business activity, not assumed from the category alone:
- Retail / trading license
- E-commerce platform license
- Food safety certificate
- Alcohol business license
- Education-sector licensing
- Clinic / healthcare licensing
- Representative office license
Representative Office
Representative Office License is the one sector license RedTab currently has full, citation-backed detail published on — a useful worked example of how a sector license fits after the underlying entity or trader status is settled.
- A representative office doesn't conduct direct commercial/revenue-generating activity — its license and eligibility conditions are separate from an ERC/IRC.
- Full requirements, validity, and process are on RedTab's dedicated page rather than repeated here.
Legal basis: full citations on the Representative Office License page. Other license categories above are coordinated by RedTab but not yet published as standalone cited pages. Content last verified 2026-07-29.
Not Sure Which License Applies?
Tell us about your business activity — RedTab will confirm which sector license(s) apply and coordinate the process.
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