Based on Clause 2, Article 43 of the 2025 Construction Law (effective from January 1, 2026) before starting construction of the project, the investor must have a construction permit except for 8 cases where construction permits are not required as follows:
(1) State secret works; urgent and urgent construction works; works belonging to special public investment projects; works belonging to investment projects under special investment procedures; temporary construction works according to the provisions of the 2025 Construction Law; construction works in land areas used for national defense and security purposes according to the provisions of land law;
(2) Works belonging to public investment projects that are decided to be invested and built by the Prime Minister, heads of central agencies of political organizations, Supreme People's Procuracy, Supreme People's Court, State Audit, Office of the President, Office of the National Assembly, Ministry, ministerial-level agencies, government-affiliated agencies, central agencies of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations, and Chairmen of People's Committees at all levels;
(3) Construction works on routes in the area from two or more provincial-level administrative units; construction works on routes outside the area oriented for urban development, determined according to urban and rural planning or sectoral detailed planning approved by competent state agencies or approved by competent agencies for route plans;
(4) Works at sea under offshore construction investment projects that have been assigned sea areas by competent authorities for project implementation; airports, works at airports, works ensuring flight operations outside airports;
(5) Advertising works that are not subject to a construction permit according to the law on advertising; passive telecommunications technical infrastructure works;
(6) Construction works under construction investment projects that have been appraised by specialized construction agencies for the Feasibility Study Report, Adjusted Feasibility Study Report and have been approved according to regulations;
(7) Grade IV construction works, individual houses with a scale of less than 7 floors with a total floor area of less than 500m2 and not belonging to one of the areas: functional area, urban development area determined in the general plan of the city; functional area, rural residential area, urban development area determined in the general plan of urban areas under provinces and cities, general plan of economic zones, national tourist areas; construction area determined in the general plan of communes; area with architectural management regulations;
(8) Repair and renovation works inside the works or external repair and renovation works not adjacent to roads in urban areas that require architectural management according to the regulations of competent state agencies; the content of repair and renovation does not change the purpose and function of use, does not affect the safety of the load structure of the works, ensures fire prevention and fighting requirements, environmental protection, and the ability to connect technical infrastructure.
