Most construction firms in Vietnam know that BIM is now mandatory. Ask which works, from what date, and what has to be submitted to whom, and the answers get vague.
There is a reason for the vagueness. The BIM regulations in Vietnam have accumulated over a decade, each document with a different scope. And the most important milestone has just changed.
This article answers four questions. Under the current BIM regulations in Vietnam, who is in scope and from when? How do you find out what grade your work is? Once you are in scope, what must you submit? And how should a firm prepare? If the concept itself is new to you, start with What is BIM?
Who is in scope, and from when
The short answer: from 1 July 2026, every new construction work of grade II and above must apply BIM.
The basis is point a, clause 1, Article 8 of Decree 217/2026/ND-CP of 19 June 2026. BIM must be applied from the feasibility study stage, or the economic-technical report stage.
Three things make this different from what many people still assume.
First, the project-scale condition is gone. Decree 175/2024 required BIM only where two conditions met: the project was group B or larger, and the work was grade II or above. Decree 217 drops the project-scale half and keeps only the grade of the work, which widens the scope.
Second, the funding condition is gone. The old roadmap under Decision 258/QD-TTg covered only projects using public investment capital, other state capital, and PPP projects. Decree 217 drops that condition. Privately funded projects are in scope too, provided the work is new and grade II or above.
Third, the trigger is the feasibility study, not the start of construction. BIM work therefore has to begin very early, while the documentation is still taking shape. Firms that want to be ready usually have to prepare their people months in advance, for example through the in-house BIM Manager class.
The decree does allow exemptions. The investment decision-maker may decide not to apply BIM for three categories: linear works, projects in areas of a special character, and projects requiring the protection of state secrets. Works outside the mandatory scope are encouraged to apply BIM anyway.
What the legal framework consists of
Because several instruments overlap, it is easy to cite one that has already lapsed. Here is the order.
Building Law 135/2025/QH15 brought building information modelling into primary legislation for the first time, in Article 7. Before that, BIM lived only in Prime Ministerial decisions. This was a change in legal standing.
Decree 217/2026/ND-CP sets out the 2025 Building Law in detail for the management of construction activity. Article 8 is now the most direct and detailed provision on BIM.
Circular 34/2026/TT-BXD of 25 June 2026 sets out how the grade of a work is determined. Since the mandatory scope is defined by grade, this circular is how you find out whether your work is covered.
Two earlier documents are still worth knowing. Decision 258/QD-TTg of 17 March 2023 set a two-stage roadmap by grade, limited to state-funded projects. Decision 348/QD-BXD of 2 April 2021 published the general BIM guidance, still useful as a technical reference.
One note on older documentation. Decree 175/2024/ND-CP ceased to have effect on 1 July 2026. But BIM documentation prepared during 2025 and 2026 still cites it, and that is correct for the date it was prepared. When such documents are carried forward after 1 July 2026, they only need mapping to the equivalent provisions of Decree 217 — not redoing.
How to find out what grade your work is
This is the decisive question, because the mandatory scope is defined by grade.
Grade is determined under Circular 34/2026/TT-BXD, in force from 1 July 2026, replacing Circular 06/2021/TT-BXD. Two criteria apply. One is importance and capacity, in Appendix I. The other is structural scale, in Appendix II. After checking both, take the higher of the two results.
The same circular states that the grade of a work is the basis for determining whether a new work must apply BIM.
There is a transitional rule worth remembering. Works belonging to projects whose investment was decided before 1 July 2026 have their grade determined under the law in force at the time of that decision, which means Circular 06/2021 still applies to them.
A practical warning: do not estimate the grade from floor area or storey count. Many people gauge by height, conclude they are out of scope, and are wrong, because the structural criterion in Appendix II can push the grade higher than the capacity criterion. Check both appendices.
What being in scope actually requires
Article 8 sets out a chain of obligations, not simply "have a model".
Information level is set by contract (clause 2). The scope, content and information requirements of BIM are agreed by the parties in the contract for each project stage. This matters: the law does not fix one level of detail for all projects. That is a matter for the contract and the BIM execution plan.
Submitting data for appraisal (clause 3). The client submits BIM data to the specialist construction authority in the open IFC format. The competent authority may also require the native format, and the native format must preserve the parameters, object structure and properties of the model. The minimum content covers position, three-dimensional shape, the main dimensions of principal components, and how the work connects to technical infrastructure.
For modellers this has a very concrete meaning. Exporting clean IFC and keeping the native model tidy is no longer good practice — it is a legal requirement.
BIM data is a digital resource, and a CDE is required (clause 4). For grade I works and above within public investment projects, the client is responsible for establishing, managing and operating a common data environment (CDE). The model approved and issued by the client on the CDE serves as the basis for comparison, checking and clarification of technical content. Other grades are encouraged to use one.
Authorities use the model to appraise and to inspect (clause 5). The construction authority may use BIM data when appraising a design and when inspecting the acceptance of completed work. Specifically: to read position, massing and principal dimensions, to review the architectural and main structural solution, to check compliance with technical regulations, to check for technical clashes, and to extract the work's key parameters. Once authorities have the infrastructure, staff and systems for it, the BIM model may replace paper design documentation with equivalent legal force. After completion, the as-built model is uploaded to the national construction activity database and handed to the operator.
BIM data must be governed (clause 6). Managing, using, sharing and archiving BIM data must comply with the law on information security, data protection, archiving and intellectual property. The rights and responsibilities of each party over the BIM data are fixed in the contract. This is the most overlooked clause of all. It means the question "who owns this model" has to be answered when the contract is signed, not at handover.
Information requirements enter the design brief (clause 3, Article 17). The design brief must include requirements on the level and the need for information in the project's BIM model.
Three things people get wrong
One: the mandatory scope is now wider than the old roadmap. Plenty of articles still say BIM is mandatory only for state-funded projects. That was true under Decision 258; it is not true under Decree 217. For privately funded projects specifically, check the Ministry of Construction's guidance current at the time.
Two: the grade must be looked up, not estimated. Covered above, but it remains the most common error when a firm assesses its own exposure.
Three: no instrument fixes a mandatory LOD. Clause 2 of Article 8 assigns information requirements to the contract for each stage. Anyone claiming "the law requires LOD 300" is wrong. What is LOD in BIM explains the levels and why they are agreements rather than regulations.
How a firm should prepare
Most firms start by buying software and sending a few engineers on a Revit course. Six months later they have a few people who can model, and nothing else has changed. BIM needs four things at once, and software is the easiest of them.
People. Three roles at minimum. Someone responsible for the company's BIM standards, usually a part-time BIM Manager in a small firm. One or more people coordinating models across disciplines. And the modelling team by discipline. What is a BIM Manager describes the first two.
Process. A set of internal BIM standards, a BIM execution plan template, and a process for exchanging information through a CDE. These should follow the ISO 19650 framework, now adopted as TCVN 14177-1:2024 and TCVN 14177-2:2024.
Tools. Authoring software by discipline, coordination software, and a CDE platform. Machines for modellers need more capacity than office PCs. Software licensing is a recurring cost, not a one-off purchase.
Data. A Family library, project templates and standardised presentation rules. This is what actually makes one firm faster than another. It accumulates project by project, which is why the first project is always slow.
For a company that has to move a whole team quickly, the Institute runs training on request and an in-house BIM Manager class, taught on the company's own project documents.
Frequently asked questions
Which works must apply BIM from 1 July 2026?
Under point a, clause 1, Article 8 of Decree 217/2026/ND-CP: every new construction work of grade II and above, from the feasibility study stage. The requirement does not distinguish by source of funding.
Do privately funded projects have to apply BIM?
On the wording of the decree, yes, if the work is new and grade II or above. This is a significant change from the old roadmap. For a specific case, check the Ministry of Construction's guidance current at the time.
Do renovation and repair works count?
The provision refers to new construction works. Renovation falls outside the mandatory scope, though it is still encouraged.
What format must the model be submitted in?
The open IFC format. The competent authority may also require the native format, which must preserve parameters, object structure and properties.
Does documentation prepared under Decree 175/2024 have to be redone?
No. Documentation prepared while that decree was in force is correct for its date. When carried forward after 1 July 2026, it only needs mapping to the equivalent provisions of Decree 217.
Does the law require a specific LOD?
No. Clause 2 of Article 8 assigns information requirements to the contract between the parties at each project stage.