Sector Licensing
Registered Isn't Always Operational
Retail, F&B, healthcare, education, fintech — many activities need a sector license on top of company registration. RedTab identifies which apply to you and coordinates the licensing process.
Which licenses apply depends on the specific business activity, not the industry label — two companies in the same broad sector can have different licensing requirements. This is preliminary review; final licensing requirements are confirmed with the relevant licensed partners.
Scope
What This Covers
- License identification for the specific business activity — not a generic industry checklist
- Common conditional licenses — retail/trading, e-commerce, food safety, alcohol, education, clinic, representative office, and others as relevant
- Authority and process coordination for the applicable license(s)
- Sequencing — some licenses depend on company setup being complete first
Common Scenarios
Is This You?
- A newly registered company assumes it can start trading immediately and hasn't checked for a retail license requirement
- An e-commerce business isn't sure whether it needs platform registration in addition to company registration
- A restaurant needs both a food safety certificate and, separately, an alcohol license
RedTab's Role
What RedTab Does
- Reviews business activity against known conditional-license categories
- Identifies which licenses are likely required and coordinates the process
- Works with Corporate Setup upstream and Ongoing Compliance downstream for renewals
Sector licensing coordination is business support, not a legal opinion. RedTab is not a law firm; license eligibility and approval are determined by the relevant licensing authority and confirmed with licensed lawyers where needed.
FAQ
Questions about Representative Offices
A sample from the representative office guide — see the full page for more.
What is the procedure for Representative Office License?
According to Article 15 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP, foreign traders must carry out procedures to change the License to establish a Representative Office in the following cases:; Change of name or head office address of foreign traders; Change of Head of Representative Office.; Change the name of the Representative Office.; Change the activities of the Representative Office.; Change the head office address of a Representative Office in a province or city under the management of a Management Board.; When can the license to establish a foreign representative office be changed?; According to Article 18 of Commerce Law 2005, a foreign representative office is allowed to carry out procedures to chang
What fees apply to Representative Office License?
According to Point b, Clause 1, Article 4 of Circular 143/2016/TT-BTC, the fee for supplementing the License to establish a foreign Representative Office is VND 1,500,000/license.
Will foreign traders be penalized if they do not carry out procedures to Change Licenses representative office when there are changes in legal cases?
According to Point d, Clause 2, Article 67 of Decree 98/2020/ND-CP, the act of not carrying out procedures to change or re-issue a license to establish a representative office in cases prescribed by law shall be subject to a fine of VND 10,000,000 to VND 20,000,000.
What documents are required for Representative Office License?
The 01-set of dossier includes:; An application form for License for Establishment of the representative office using Form MD-1 of Appendix issued with Circular 11/2016/TT-BCT and signed by a competent representative of the foreign trader;; Copies of the Certificate of Business Registration or equivalent documents of the foreign trader. This document must be certified or consularly legalized by a diplomatic mission or consular office of Vietnam abroad in accordance with Vietnamese law;; A letter of appointment of the head of the representative office;; Copies of audited financial statements or certificates of fulfillment of tax liabilities or financial obligations of the last fiscal year or
How long is Representative Office License valid?
State agencies shall not grant written certifications of the termination of operation of representative offices but shall publish on their websites the termination of operation of representative offices.; Foreign traders and representative offices must publicly post up the termination of operations at the head offices of representative offices and perform other obligations as prescribed by law when the representative offices terminate their operations.; In the course of closing representative offices or tax agencies for tax examination and settlement, in case the representative office arises a violation, it will have to pay the full amount of tax and fine if any before the notice of terminat
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