Hanoi Company Registration

Hanoi company registration services: LLC, JSC, RO and Branch setup

MSA Asia handles Hanoi company registration end to end for foreign investors. We pick the right entity (LLC, JSC, RO, or Branch), work out which authority your filing actually goes to (the city's Department of Finance, the Hanoi Business Registration Office, or a park-specific management board), prepare the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) and Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) dossiers, carve the company seal, register the tax code and digital signature, open the bank accounts, and set up first-year accounting and social insurance compliance.

A standard foreign-owned LLC registering in Hanoi typically goes from document legalisation to a working bank account in 3 to 8 weeks, with projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or another qualifying zone often moving faster under the fast-track rules that took effect in March 2026.

The short version. A foreign founder can own 100% of a Hanoi-registered entity in most sectors, and there is no statutory minimum charter capital under the Law on Enterprises 2020. What is specific to Hanoi in 2026 is knowing which authority to file with: general filings outside industrial parks and high-tech zones go through the city's Department of Finance and the Hanoi Business Registration Office, while projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or Hanoi's industrial zones can use a dedicated, faster in-zone process. We route each client correctly the first time.

The four entity types: choose the right structure first

Entity choice in Hanoi follows the same national rules as the rest of Vietnam. Most foreign founders default to a Limited Liability Company, and most of the time that is the right call.

Limited Liability Company (LLC): the default

An LLC can be single-member (one owner, wholly foreign-owned) or multi-member (2 to 50 members). It is the most common vehicle for the trading, consulting, IT, and light-manufacturing businesses that make up most of Hanoi's foreign-invested economy, and outside conditional sectors a foreign investor can own 100%.

Joint Stock Company (JSC)

A JSC requires a minimum of three shareholders and can be 100% foreign-owned. It is the entity of choice for larger Hanoi-based projects that plan to raise capital through shares or bonds, including some of the larger R&D and manufacturing investments moving into Hoa Lac.

Representative Office (RO)

An RO is a common first move for companies testing the Hanoi market, particularly firms targeting government, university, or research-institute relationships before committing to a commercial entity. It cannot sell, invoice, or sign commercial contracts.

Branch Office

A branch requires the foreign parent to have operated for at least five years and is mostly seen in Hanoi among foreign banks and law firms serving the capital's government and diplomatic community.

Quick comparison

Aspect	LLC	JSC	RO	Branch
Foreign ownership	Up to 100% (outside conditional sectors)	Up to 100% (outside conditional sectors)	100% (parent)	100% (parent)
Separate Vietnamese legal person	Yes	Yes	No	No
Can sign commercial contracts	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Minimum shareholders/members	1	3	N/A	N/A
Statutory minimum charter capital	None (outside conditional sectors)	None (outside conditional sectors)	None	N/A
Typical Hanoi setup time	3 to 8 weeks	6 to 10 weeks	3 to 5 weeks	5 to 8 weeks
Recommended use	Default for most foreign-invested business	Capital-raising, larger R&D/manufacturing projects	Pre-trading, government/university liaison	Banking, law, licensed sectors only

Step by step Hanoi company registration process

The national legal framework is the Law on Enterprises 2020 and the Law on Investment 2020, updated by the new Investment Law No. 143/2025/QH15, in force from 1 March 2026.^[1] The 2026 law lets investors obtain their Enterprise Registration Certificate first and finalise the Investment Registration Certificate afterwards, and adds a fast-track lane for projects inside industrial zones, export-processing zones, and high-tech parks, which covers Hoa Lac directly.^[1]

1. Prepare and legalise shareholder documents abroad (1 to 4 weeks, in parallel). Certificate of incorporation, financial statements, and identification documents need notarisation and consular or apostille legalisation before filing.
2. Confirm which Hanoi authority handles your filing. Projects outside industrial parks and high-tech zones file with the Hanoi Department of Finance (formerly the Department of Planning and Investment) for the IRC and the Hanoi Business Registration Office for the ERC.^[2] Projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or one of Hanoi's industrial zones file with that zone's management board instead, which is usually faster.
3. File for the Enterprise Registration Certificate, or ERC (as fast as 3 to 5 working days under the 2026 fast-track, or 3 to 7 working days for standard filings). This creates the Vietnamese legal entity and issues the tax code and company seal together.
4. Finalise the Investment Registration Certificate, or IRC. Outside a fast-track zone, this typically takes around 15 working days. Under the 2026 law, IRC finalisation can follow the ERC, with a window of up to 12 months to complete it.^[1]
5. Register the tax code and digital signature, then open the corporate bank account. A local bank account is required for any transaction above VND 20 million to qualify for tax deduction.
6. Contribute charter capital within 90 days of the ERC. The declared figure becomes a binding obligation under the Law on Enterprises 2020.
7. Register for social insurance once you hire staff in Hanoi. Mandatory from the first employee, with no grace period.

Realistic total for a standard foreign-owned LLC filing outside a fast-track zone: 4 to 8 weeks. Projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or a qualifying industrial zone can move meaningfully faster on the ERC step, sometimes down to 3 to 5 weeks overall.

Where to register in Hanoi: wards, districts and zones after 2025

On 1 July 2025, Hanoi eliminated its district level entirely and consolidated what had been 30 districts and 526 wards and communes into a two-tier city and ward/commune structure of 126 units: 51 wards and 75 communes.^[3] Former Hoan Kiem district, for example, was reduced from 18 wards to two. For a foreign investor this mostly changes the address on your lease and registration documents rather than the underlying filing process, but it is worth confirming your registered address sits in the ward your documents expect before you file.

Location	Best for	Notes
Hoan Kiem / Ba Dinh (central wards)	Consulting, finance, regional HQs, government-facing business	Hanoi's CBD; highest office rents, closest to ministries and embassies
Cau Giay / Nam Trung Yen	Tech, professional services	Home to the Hanoi Business Registration Office and a dense modern-office cluster
Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park	R&D, software, hi-tech manufacturing	10% CIT for 15 years (30 years for projects over roughly USD 176 million), 4-year tax holiday, plus import-duty exemptions; dedicated management board issues its own approvals[4]
Thang Long and other Hanoi industrial parks	Manufacturing, light industry	Standard industrial-zone licensing, streamlined infrastructure, eligible for the 2026 fast-track lane

Required documents for Hanoi company registration

For the foreign corporate shareholder:

• Certificate of incorporation or business registration of the parent company, legalised for use in Vietnam
• Charter or articles of association of the foreign parent
• Audited financial statements or bank confirmation of financial capacity
• Board resolution approving the Hanoi investment

For the legal representative and any resident director:

• Passport copies, notarised if signing remotely
• CV, sometimes requested for conditional sectors or Hoa Lac hi-tech applications

Local documents prepared during filing:

• Investment project proposal (for the IRC)
• Lease agreement for the registered office, confirmed against the correct post-2025 ward
• Charter of the new Vietnamese company
• Power of attorney for any remote signing

Charter capital, the 90 day rule, and Hoa Lac's incentive thresholds

There is no general statutory minimum charter capital under the Law on Enterprises 2020, and this applies the same way in Hanoi as anywhere else in the country.^[5] Whatever capital you declare must be fully contributed within 90 days of the Enterprise Registration Certificate being issued.

Where Hanoi differs is for projects seeking Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park's tax incentives: the standard preferential rate is 10% corporate income tax for 15 years, but projects that commit at least roughly VND 4 trillion (about USD 176 million) qualify for 10% for 30 years instead.^[4] Sizing your investment capital against these thresholds is a structuring decision worth making before you file, not after.

Costs and timeline at a glance

The cost stack for a typical foreign-invested LLC in Hanoi:

1. Government registration fees: nominal, around VND 50,000 for the ERC (often waived for online filings) plus a VND 100,000 public-announcement fee.
2. Professional incorporation services: typically USD 1,000 to 5,000 depending on entity type and whether the filing is in-zone or standard.
3. Document legalisation and translation: roughly USD 100 per document.
4. Company seal and digital signature: seal carving around USD 8 to 20; digital signature around USD 60 to 100 per year.
5. Office lease: Grade A office rent in Hanoi's CBD (Hoan Kiem) runs USD 35 to 40 per square metre per month; Grade A space outside the central area averages closer to USD 29 per square metre per month.^[6] Hoa Lac and industrial-zone space is priced separately by the park operator.
6. First-year tax and accounting compliance: ongoing monthly or quarterly filings once the tax code is active.

End-to-end timeline: 4 to 8 weeks for a standard filing outside a fast-track zone, or as fast as 3 to 5 weeks for projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or a qualifying industrial zone under the 2026 fast-track rules.

Common Hanoi company registration pitfalls (and how MSA Asia helps)

Filing with the wrong authority. Confusing the city-level Department of Finance and Business Registration Office process with the in-zone process for Hoa Lac or an industrial park is one of the most common delays we see, since the two paths have different offices, forms, and timelines.

Assuming CBD rents apply everywhere. Hoan Kiem-area Grade A rents are roughly a third higher than non-central Hanoi. Founders who budget off a CBD listing before deciding on a location sometimes overspend on office cost unnecessarily.

Missing the Hoa Lac investment threshold. The jump from the standard 15-year, 10% CIT incentive to the 30-year version at Hoa Lac depends on a specific capital threshold. Under-sizing the investment on paper means missing out on a rate that would otherwise have applied.

Address confusion after the 2025 ward merger. Older documents, lease templates, and even some counterparties still reference pre-2025 district names. Confirming the current ward name on every registration document avoids a rejected filing.

How MSA Asia helps. We confirm the correct filing authority for your specific location and sector before you submit anything, size capital against Hoa Lac's incentive thresholds where relevant, and keep your documents aligned to Hanoi's current ward-level addressing.

Why foreign companies choose MSA Asia for Hanoi company registration

MSA Asia supports Hanoi company registration as part of our nationwide Vietnam practice, covering both standard city-authority filings and in-zone filings for parks like Hoa Lac. What a typical end-to-end engagement covers:

• Pre-filing structuring: entity choice, zone selection (city authority vs Hoa Lac or an industrial park), capital sizing against incentive thresholds
• Document preparation: legalisation coordination, certified translation, charter and investment-project drafting
• Filing and licensing: submission to the correct Hanoi authority, liaison throughout, seal carving
• Tax and digital signature registration: tax code activation, digital signature setup
• Banking: corporate bank account opening support
• Post-registration: first-year accounting, payroll setup, social insurance registration

Hanoi company registration vs Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang

Hanoi is Vietnam's political and administrative capital, with the strongest access to central-government ministries, state-owned-enterprise customers, and a deep pool of engineering and R&D talent feeding into Hoa Lac. Ho Chi Minh City remains Vietnam's largest commercial hub and is generally the faster default for pure trading and consumer-facing businesses. Da Nang is smaller but increasingly competitive for tourism, technology, and BPO investments on the central coast. The registration process itself, the IRC and ERC filings, is the same national framework everywhere; the real difference between the three cities is which authority you deal with, the mix of local industry, and (for Hanoi specifically) whether Hoa Lac's tax incentives apply to your sector.

Key takeaways

Five things to lock in before you file your Hanoi company registration:

1. Entity type. LLC for most foreign-invested business, JSC for capital-raising, RO for pre-trading government or research liaison, Branch only in licensed sectors.
2. Filing authority. Confirm up front whether your project files with the city's Department of Finance and Business Registration Office, or with a park management board like Hoa Lac's.
3. Zone selection. Hoa Lac's tax incentives and the 2026 fast-track lane make in-zone registration worth evaluating for R&D, software, and hi-tech manufacturing projects specifically.
4. Address accuracy. Confirm your registered address uses the correct post-2025 ward name before filing.
5. Capital and timing. No statutory minimum charter capital outside conditional sectors, but size it to your business lines and, for Hoa Lac, to the relevant incentive threshold, and plan the 90-day contribution deadline.

Hanoi company registration: terminology, agents, and what foreign investors actually need

Foreign investors search for this under many labels: Hanoi company registration, set up a company in Hanoi, Hanoi business registration, Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park registration, or simply how to register a business in Hanoi as a foreigner. The underlying process is the same two-certificate national filing described above; what changes city to city is which office you deal with and which local incentives apply.

Working with a company registration agent in Hanoi

Most foreign-invested companies do not file directly with Hanoi's Department of Finance, Business Registration Office, or Hoa Lac's management board; they retain a registration agent who manages the dossiers, tax and digital-signature registration, and bank account opening. MSA Asia provides full Hanoi company registration services, including routing projects to the correct in-zone or city-level authority.

2026 specifics: the new Investment Law and Hanoi's restructured wards

What is worth knowing in 2026: the Investment Law No. 143/2025/QH15, effective 1 March 2026, lets investors obtain the ERC before finalising the IRC and adds a fast-track lane covering Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park and Hanoi's industrial zones; and the city's 2025 ward-level restructuring replaced 30 districts and 526 wards and communes with 51 wards and 75 communes under a direct two-tier city government structure.

Frequently asked questions about Hanoi company registration

Which authority handles company registration in Hanoi?

It depends on location. Projects outside industrial parks and high-tech zones file the Investment Registration Certificate with the Hanoi Department of Finance (formerly the Department of Planning and Investment) and the Enterprise Registration Certificate with the Hanoi Business Registration Office. Projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or one of Hanoi's industrial zones file with that zone's management board instead.

How long does Hanoi company registration take in 2026?

4 to 8 weeks for a standard foreign-owned LLC filed outside a fast-track zone. Projects inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or a qualifying industrial zone can move faster, sometimes 3 to 5 weeks overall, under the fast-track lane introduced by the Investment Law effective March 2026.

What tax incentives does Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park offer?

New investment projects at Hoa Lac get a four-year corporate income tax exemption followed by a preferential 10% CIT rate for 15 years. Projects that commit roughly USD 176 million (about VND 4 trillion) or more qualify for the 10% rate for 30 years instead. Import-duty exemptions and, for some special-incentive sectors, land-rent exemptions also apply.

What changed with Hanoi's 2025 administrative restructuring?

On 1 July 2025, Hanoi eliminated its 30 districts and consolidated 526 wards and communes into 126 units: 51 wards and 75 communes, moving to a direct two-tier city and ward/commune structure. This mainly affects registered addresses rather than the registration process itself, but documents need to reference the current ward name.

How much does office space cost in Hanoi?

Grade A office rent in Hanoi's central business district (the Hoan Kiem area) runs roughly USD 35 to 40 per square metre per month. Grade A space outside the central area averages closer to USD 29 per square metre per month. Space inside Hoa Lac Hi-Tech Park or an industrial park is priced separately by the zone operator.

Is Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City better for foreign company registration?

The registration process is identical nationally. Hanoi has the edge for government-facing business, R&D, and hi-tech manufacturing through Hoa Lac's incentives. Ho Chi Minh City remains the faster default for trading and consumer-facing businesses due to its larger commercial market. Many groups end up registering in both over time.