In Resolution No. 278/NQ-CP dated September 18, 2026 on the specialized meeting on law-making in September, the Government requested to maintain the implementation of notarization requirements for land use right transfer transactions to ensure compliance with specialized notarization laws, prevent and prevent risks of disputes and lawsuits.
Previously, in the draft revised Land Law submitted to the National Assembly in August, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment proposed to abolish notarization and certification for some real estate transactions, only stipulating the conditions for exercising land users' rights such as having a certificate, land is not disputed or disputes have been resolved, land use rights are not distrained.
Talking to Lao Dong Newspaper, lawyer Hoang Ha - Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association - commented that Clause 2, Article 1 of Law No. 04/2026/QH16 has amended Article 3 of the Law on Notarization, determining that mandatory notarization transactions must be important transactions, requiring strict participation conditions, high level of legal safety and required by law to be notarized. This regulation takes effect from January 1, 2027.
A noteworthy point is that the 2024 Law on Notarization before its amendment still allows the law to assign the Government to regulate mandatory notarized transactions. However, the new regulation has removed this possibility and requires mandatory notarization obligations to be established by law.
Therefore, if the amended Land Law completely removes the provision on notarization, while the decree continues to impose mandatory obligations, problems will arise regarding legal basis and consistency between documents when the new provisions of the Law on Notarization take effect.
According to the lawyer, it cannot be said that legal loopholes have now appeared because Clause 3, Article 27 of the 2024 Land Law still clearly stipulates notarization or certification for many types of contracts related to land use rights, and there are exceptions. The issue lies in the upcoming amendment plan and the transitional handling method to avoid creating new legal loopholes.
I think this is a noteworthy point in this Government's direction. Maintaining regulations in the law is not simply maintaining a procedure, but also to ensure that the legal obligations of the people are established on a clear basis, in accordance with specialized laws" - lawyer Hoang Ha said.
However, the draft law also needs to clarify whether mandatory notarization changes the current right of people to choose notarization. These are two different legal forms, and the requirement for notarization should not be tacitly considered as maintaining all current regulations.
In the end, notarization is only truly meaningful in preventing disputes when notaries have the conditions to check information about land use rights, the legal status of assets and related transaction restrictions. If land data, registration and notarization are not fully connected, even if mandatory procedures are maintained, risk prevention capabilities are still limited.
It is encouraging that Resolution 278/NQ-CP dated September 18, 2026 not only sets out the requirement for notarization, but also requires accelerating the connection of land data, reviewing transitional regulations to avoid loopholes and legal conflicts. This is a relatively comprehensive approach to ensure transaction safety" - lawyer Hoang Ha emphasized.
