A resident in Can Tho reflected that he bought more than 5,000m2 of agricultural land in 1999 with handwritten papers, kept the Certificate of Land Use Rights of the seller and used it stably, without dispute. Now this person has a need to transfer the red book to give to his child but the procedures for implementation are unclear.
Answering this question, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment said that this is a specific case, which needs to be based on archived records and regulations issued by localities to consider and resolve. Therefore, this agency does not have enough basis to provide detailed guidance for each case.
However, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment stated a number of principles for people to refer to. According to the provisions of Decree No. 151/2025/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree No. 49/2026/ND-CP), in case a person is using land due to receiving transfer of rights before August 1, 2024, and the land plot has a red book, it may be considered for settlement if there is a certificate issued attached to the transfer papers or contracts, land use right transfer documents as prescribed.
This means that cases of buying and selling land by handwritten papers in the past still have a legal basis to be considered for transferring the red book if they meet the conditions and no disputes arise.
Regarding the specific order and procedures, the implementation is under the authority of the provincial-level People's Committee according to the provisions of Article 15 of Decree No. 49/2026/ND-CP.
According to records, many cases of buying and selling land with handwritten papers from many years ago still exist, but due to incomplete legal procedures, they encounter difficulties when carrying out transactions such as donation, inheritance or transfer.
Functional agencies recommend that people should contact the local land management agency directly to be guided on specific dossiers and procedures according to current regulations, avoiding legal risks in the process of transferring land use right certificates.
