To sue a company in Vietnam, you file a written statement of claim, with supporting evidence, at the people's court that has jurisdiction over the dispute, which is usually the court where the defendant company has its head office, unless an arbitration clause takes the case out of court altogether. Once the court accepts the claim and you pay an advance on court fees, the case moves through evidence exchange, a conciliation session and, if no settlement is reached, a first-instance hearing. Either side can then appeal.
The process is workable for foreigners and foreign companies, but it runs entirely in Vietnamese, relies heavily on written documents and punishes paperwork mistakes made at the start. This guide takes the decisions in the order you will face them: whether court is the right forum at all, how to identify the defendant, what the steps look like, how to manage a case from overseas, and where claimants commonly go wrong. It explains principles rather than the fine print, which changed with the court reorganisation of 2025, so check the details that apply to you with the court or a licensed Vietnamese lawyer before you act.
Before you file: is a Vietnamese court the right forum?
The first question is not how to sue but whether you can sue in a Vietnamese court at all. Many commercial contracts with Vietnamese companies contain an arbitration clause, often naming the Vietnam International Arbitration Centre or a foreign institution. If your contract has a valid arbitration agreement, a Vietnamese court will generally decline the case and leave it to the arbitrators. Read the dispute resolution clause carefully, including any annex or later amendment, before you spend money on a court filing.
The second question is time. Vietnamese law sets limitation periods for bringing claims; for contract disputes the general period under the Civil Code is three years from the date you knew or should have known that your rights were infringed. Other kinds of claims follow other periods, and the starting date itself can be argued. If your dispute is already more than two years old, treat the limitation question as urgent and have it checked.
Third, think about what you actually want to end up with. A judgment is only worth something if the defendant has assets in Vietnam that a civil judgment enforcement agency can reach. A company that has stopped trading, emptied its bank accounts or exists only on paper may hand you a judgment that cannot be collected. A quiet check of the defendant's operating status and visible assets before filing is money well spent.
Finally, most disputes are cheaper to settle than to litigate. A firm, well-documented demand letter, ideally in both English and Vietnamese, often moves a Vietnamese counterparty more than you would expect, especially when it shows that you understand the process and are prepared to use it. Going to court should be a decision, not a reflex.
The steps of a civil or commercial lawsuit, in order
The sequence below is the typical path of a first-instance case under the Civil Procedure Code. Individual courts manage their dockets differently, and complex cases can loop back through some steps.
- Send a written demand and keep proof of delivery. It is not always a legal precondition, but it frames the dispute and shows the court that you tried to resolve it.
- Collect and organise your evidence: the contract and annexes, invoices, delivery records, emails and messages, bank transfer records. Foreign-language documents need certified Vietnamese translations, and papers issued abroad usually need consular legalisation unless an exemption applies.
- Prepare the statement of claim in Vietnamese, following the content the Code requires, and file it with the competent court in person, by post or, where the court offers it, through electronic filing.
- Wait for the court to review the filing. It may ask you to amend or supplement the claim within a set period, accept it, or return it with reasons. A returned claim can be challenged by a complaint to the court.
- Pay the advance on court fees once the court issues its notice, and hand in the receipt. The case is formally accepted from that point.
- Take part in the preparation phase: the court notifies the defendant, both sides exchange evidence, and the court holds a session to check the disclosure of evidence and attempt conciliation.
- If there is no settlement, attend the first-instance hearing, where a panel made up of a judge and people's assessors hears both sides and delivers a judgment.
- Decide whether to appeal, or how to answer the other side's appeal, within the short appeal window, then move to enforcement once a judgment becomes legally effective.
Settlement is possible at any stage. If the parties reach agreement during conciliation, the court records it and issues a decision recognising the settlement, which can be enforced in the same way as a judgment.
Identifying the defendant correctly
Sue the legal entity, not the brand. Vietnamese companies often trade under a brand name that differs from their registered name. The court needs the full registered name, the enterprise code and the head office address shown in the national business registration records. A claim against a trading name that is not a legal person can be returned.
Check whether you dealt with a branch or a representative office. A branch can sign contracts on behalf of its parent company, but it is not a separate legal person, so the claim normally names the parent company. A representative office is not allowed to do business on its own account, so a contract signed through one raises questions about who is actually bound.
The people behind the company are usually not personally liable. A director or owner of a limited liability company or joint stock company is generally not liable for the company's debts. Suing them personally needs a separate legal basis, such as a personal guarantee they signed. Naming them without such a basis adds cost and rarely helps.
Confirm the current address. Companies move without updating their registration. If the court cannot serve the defendant at its registered address, the case slows down. Checking the registration record and having someone visit the address avoids months of delay.
Consider every party in the chain. Where goods passed through a distributor, a logistics company or a guarantor, think about who else may be liable or should be joined as a person with related rights and obligations. The court can add parties later, but it is cleaner to identify them at the start.
What a lawsuit costs and how long it takes, in principle
Court costs in Vietnam come in layers. There is the court fee itself: in a case with a money claim it is calculated on a sliding scale according to the value in dispute, while non-monetary claims carry a fixed fee. You pay an advance when the case is accepted; at the end, the losing party generally bears the fee, and the winner has the advance returned in proportion to how much of the claim succeeded. On top of that come the costs of expert assessment, valuation, translation, interpreting, notarisation and legalisation, plus your own lawyer's fees.
Lawyer fees are mostly borne by each side, whatever the outcome. Some laws allow a winning party to recover reasonable lawyer fees as part of its loss, notably in intellectual property cases, and a contract may contain a clause shifting legal costs, but do not build a budget on the assumption that the other side will pay your legal bill.
On timing, the Code sets limits for each stage, but the real length of a case depends on the court's workload, how quickly the parties respond, whether documents must be served abroad and whether expert assessments are needed. A straightforward domestic commercial claim may be resolved at first instance within several months; a case with a foreign party, contested evidence and an appeal can take well over a year. Serving documents abroad can add many months on its own.
Because the current fee rates and stage limits are set by rules that can be amended, check the figures that apply to your case with the court's reception desk or a licensed lawyer before you file, and ask for an estimate of the whole budget, including the enforcement stage that follows a win.
Suing from abroad: representatives and papers
You do not have to live in Vietnam to sue there, and you do not have to attend every session in person. What you need is a reliable representative and documents the court will accept.
- A power of attorney authorising a representative, usually a Vietnamese lawyer, to file the claim, attend sessions, receive documents and, if you choose, negotiate a settlement. State clearly whether the representative may settle or withdraw the claim, because courts read authority narrowly.
- If you sign the power of attorney abroad, have it notarised where you sign and consularly legalised for use in Vietnam, unless a treaty exempts it, then translated into Vietnamese with a certified translation.
- For a foreign company, proof of legal existence and of the signatory's authority, such as a certificate of incorporation and a resolution or extract showing who may sign, prepared in the same way.
- A Vietnamese address for service, often your lawyer's office, so the court can deliver documents quickly instead of sending them through slow international channels.
- A travel plan in case the court requires your personal presence, for example to give a statement or to confront the other party on a disputed point.
Courts can hear a case in which a properly represented party is absent, but they take a dim view of claimants who disappear. Keep your representative instructed and reachable, and answer every court request within the deadline it gives.
Mistakes that sink foreign claimants
Filing in the wrong court. Jurisdiction rules changed with the 2025 reorganisation, which replaced district courts with regional people's courts and moved many first-instance cases. Older guides that send any case with a foreign party straight to the provincial court may be out of date. A claim filed in the wrong court is transferred or returned, costing weeks.
Unlegalised or untranslated documents. A contract in English with no certified Vietnamese translation, or a certificate issued abroad without legalisation, may simply not count as evidence. Start on these early, because legalisation takes time.
Relying on chat messages without context. Messages on chat apps can be evidence, but they carry more weight when you can show who sent them, from which account, and that nothing was altered. Export them in an orderly way and keep the original devices.
Claiming too little or too vaguely. The court decides within the scope of what you ask for. A claim that does not state amounts, interest and the legal basis clearly is harder to win, and widening it later may be restricted.
Treating conciliation as a formality. Conciliation is a real opportunity, not paperwork. Arriving with a clear view of your lowest acceptable outcome lets you settle on good terms when the other side decides it would rather not go to a hearing.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
You can, in principle, file and argue a civil case yourself, and some individuals do so for small domestic claims. For a foreigner or a foreign company it is rarely wise. Proceedings, documents and hearings are in Vietnamese, deadlines are short, and judges expect submissions framed in Vietnamese legal concepts rather than translated common-law arguments. In practice, only lawyers holding a Vietnamese practising certificate act as litigation counsel before Vietnamese courts; a foreign lawyer, even one based in Vietnam, can advise you but cannot argue your case in court.
Bring in a lawyer at the latest before you send a formal demand, and ideally when the dispute first appears. Early advice matters most on three points: whether an arbitration clause or the limitation period blocks a court claim, which court has jurisdiction under the current rules, and whether the defendant has assets worth chasing. A lawyer can also advise on interim measures, such as asking the court to freeze assets, which must be requested in a specific form and may require you to provide security.
When you choose a lawyer, ask about their litigation experience before the court likely to hear your case, how they will report to you in English, and how their fees are structured. If you want a general first opinion before engaging anyone, you can ask a lawyer on AI Co Van (aicovan.com) to explain your options, then take your documents to a licensed lawyer for a proper review.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner sue a Vietnamese company in a Vietnamese court?
Yes. Foreign individuals and foreign companies have the same right to bring civil and commercial claims as Vietnamese parties. You need to prove your identity or legal existence with properly legalised and translated documents, and in practice you will work through a Vietnamese lawyer or another authorised representative.
Do I have to be in Vietnam to file a lawsuit?
No. A representative holding a valid power of attorney can file the claim and attend most sessions for you. The court may still ask for your personal presence on particular points, so be ready to travel or to explain why you cannot, and keep your representative fully instructed.
What language are court proceedings in?
Vietnamese. Every document you submit must be in Vietnamese or come with a certified Vietnamese translation, and hearings take place in Vietnamese. You have the right to use your own language through an interpreter, who must be arranged and accepted by the court before the session.
How long does a lawsuit in Vietnam take?
It varies widely. A simple domestic commercial claim can finish at first instance in several months, while a case involving a foreign party, service abroad, expert assessment and an appeal can run well beyond a year. Ask a licensed lawyer for a realistic estimate based on the court and the facts.
Will the losing side pay my lawyer's fees?
Usually not. The losing party generally bears the court fee, but each side normally pays its own lawyer. Some laws and some contract clauses allow reasonable legal costs to be recovered, so check your contract and ask a lawyer whether recovery is possible in your type of case.
What if my contract has an arbitration clause?
Then the dispute generally belongs to arbitration, not to the courts, as long as the clause is valid and workable. A court that receives the claim will usually return it. Have the clause reviewed early, because whether it is valid and which institution it names shape the entire strategy.