Vietnam Mandates Centralized Electronic Labor Contracts from July 2026: Key Requirements under Decree 337

Vietnam will consolidate all electronic labor records on a government platform, marking a crucial step in its broader initiative to digitize labor administration and establish consistent workforce management across the country.

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From July 1, 2026, Vietnam’s government mandates that all electronic labor contracts (hereinafter, “e-contracts”) must be digitally created, signed, and stored on a centralized platform developed and managed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The provision is included in a new government order, Decree No. 337/2025/ND-CP, which details the rollout of e-contracts in Vietnam. Issuing Decree 337 marks an important move by the government to digitalize all labor administration processes, promoting a modern approach to managing the country’s workforce.

Understanding the e-contract management system under Decree 337

Decree 337 states that e-contracts are all labor agreements created, signed, and stored digitally in accordance with labor and electronic transaction laws. These contracts have the same legal validity as traditional paper contracts.

All e-contract data will be centrally managed on the MoHA’s National Electronic Labor Contract Platform (NELCP), which was established by Decree No. 137/2024/ND-CP dated October 23, 2024. The platform will also provide shared services to agencies, organizations, enterprises, cooperatives, households, and individuals nationwide.

The NELCP will assign a unique numeric sequence, known as an e-contract identifier (hereinafter, “ID”), to each e-contract, including those converted from paper-based employment contracts.

The e-contract systems, which support electronic transactions for creating and executing electronic labor contracts, are connected to the NELCP. These systems allow employees and employers to create, digitally sign, store, retrieve, and manage electronic labor contracts, as well as report on labor utilization and authenticate contracts in accordance with regulations.

Effective date and implementation timeline

Decree 337 takes effect from January 1, 2026.

No later than July 1, 2026, the National Electronic Labor Contract Platform must be officially put into operation. From this date, the conclusion and performance of electronic labor contracts must comply with the provisions of this Decree.

General principles for the formation and execution of e-contracts

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Under Decree 337, the conclusion and performance of e-contracts must comply with regulations on labor, electronic transactions, network information security, data management, personal data protection, archival requirements, and other relevant provisions stipulated under the decree.

E-contracts must be delivered to both the employee and the employer in digital form via appropriate electronic means, as agreed by the parties.

Although not mandatory, the use of electronic labor contracts is encouraged as an alternative to paper-based contracts in human resource management and labor agreement procedures.

Participants in e-contracts

Participants in the conclusion and performance of e-contracts include:

• Employees and employers who have the authority to conclude labor contracts in accordance with Article 18 of the Labor Code; and
• Qualified e-contract service providers.

Conditions and methods for concluding e-contracts

To ensure legal validity and operational integrity, Decree 337 sets out detailed technical and eligibility requirements for e-contract systems, contracting parties, and service providers involved in the conclusion of electronic labor contracts, as summarized below.

E-contracts with assigned IDs

Decree 337 clarifies that e-contracts must be created, digitally signed, and include timestamps. All contracting parties’ digital signatures should be attached and verified by an e-contract service provider using data message authentication on an e-contract system, in accordance with the regulations.

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Within 24 hours from the time the final party signs the contract, the e-contract service provider must transmit the electronic labor contract to the NELCP for ID assignment, as prescribed by the MoHA.

E-contracts take effect from the time the final party affixes their digital signature and timestamp, together with data message authentication by the e-contract service provider, unless otherwise agreed by the parties.

Conversion between paper-based contracts and e-Contracts

The conversion of paper-based labor contracts into electronic labor contracts must comply with Clause 1, Article 12 of the Law on Electronic Transactions and satisfy the requirements set out under Decree 337.

Accordingly, the converted electronic labor contract must meet the following conditions:

• The contents of the paper-based contract must be fully preserved and remain intact in the form of a data message.
• Sufficient information must be available to identify the information system and system owner responsible for creating, transmitting, receiving, and storing the original data message for reference and verification.
• A clear notation must indicate that the contract has been converted, together with identification details of the agency, organization, or individual responsible for the conversion.
• Where the data message constitutes an electronic certificate, the conversion must comply with the above requirements and bear the signature and seal (if any) of the converting agency or organization; the information system used must support conversion from data messages to paper-based documents.
• The contracting parties to the original paper-based labor contract must be authenticated in accordance with regulations on electronic identification and authentication.
• The converted electronic labor contract must be digitally signed by an authorized employer representative, who bears legal responsibility for its accuracy and completeness.
• Upon completion, the electronic labor contract must be assigned a unique ID.
• Converted labor contracts have the same legal validity as the originals if they fully satisfy the conditions prescribed under electronic transaction laws.

Takeaway for businesses

From July 1, 2026, employers in Vietnam must ensure that electronic labor contracts are executed and managed through systems connected to the NELCP.

Businesses should use the transition period to prepare compliant e-contract systems, secure digital identities and signatures for employees and representatives, and review data governance and cybersecurity practices. Early readiness will be essential to avoid compliance risks as labor administration becomes fully digitalized.

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