1 July 2026 is the date on which almost every decree under Vietnam's Construction Law was replaced at once. So the list of Vietnam construction decrees in force today is easy to state in one line: if the document in front of you is numbered 2015, 2021 or 2024, it has almost certainly been repealed.
Four decrees took effect that day. 217/2026 governs construction activity, 206/2026 cost management, 210/2026 construction contracts and 207/2026 quality, execution and maintenance. Alongside them sits 212/2026 on capacity conditions. 254/2025, on payment and settlement of public investment capital, came earlier, on 26 September 2025.
This article is the lookup table: what replaced what, which document governs which part of the work, and how to treat a file already under way under the old rules.
The table: what replaced what
| Your part of the work | Document in force | Replaces | In force from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appraisal, permits, procedural management of execution | Decree 217/2026/ND-CP | Decree 175/2024 | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Total investment, estimates, norms, package prices | Decree 206/2026/ND-CP | Decree 10/2021 | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Signing contracts, advances, interim payments, final account | Decree 210/2026/ND-CP | Decrees 37/2015 and 50/2021 | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Quality control, site diary, as-built records, maintenance | Decree 207/2026/ND-CP | Decree 06/2021 | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Practising certificates, organisational capacity certificates | Decree 212/2026/ND-CP | — | 1 Jul 2026 |
| Filing with the State Treasury, settlement of completed capital | Decree 254/2025/ND-CP | Decree 99/2021 | 26 Sep 2025 |
One note on reading the table. The Vietnam construction decrees in force listed above all implement the Construction Law, so they divide the ground between them rather than overlapping. A real project file usually has to apply three or four of them at the same time.
The Institute's syllabuses have moved to this set, so the Construction Cost Estimating course now teaches Decree 206/2026 rather than Decree 10/2021. Each section below takes one row of the table.
Construction activity: Decree 217/2026 replaces Decree 175/2024
Decree 217/2026/ND-CP, issued 19 June 2026, sets out the detail of the Construction Law on managing construction activity. It replaces Decree 175/2024/ND-CP.
This is the most searched of the set, because Decree 175/2024 was itself only issued at the end of 2024 and still feels current to many people. In practice it lasted eighteen months. It had in turn replaced Decree 15/2021.
Decree 217/2026 covers design appraisal, construction permits, the procedural side of managing execution, and the sequence of an investment project. For anyone assembling a file, it is the decree that answers "what does this step need, who approves it, and how long do they have".
One point matters for modellers: the decree allows a BIM model to stand in for paper design documents, with equivalent legal standing. The BIM adoption roadmap in Vietnam goes into that.
Cost management: Decree 206/2026 replaces Decree 10/2021
Decree 206/2026/ND-CP, issued 15 June 2026, sets out construction cost management in detail and replaces Decree 10/2021/ND-CP.
This is the founding document of the estimating profession. It governs preliminary and full total investment, construction estimates, package prices, the system of norms, construction prices and price indices, project management costs and consultancy costs.
Estimators should note three things changing together. The structure of the cost summary, the way indirect costs are determined, and the way prices are sourced all have to be checked again. Course material built on Decree 10/2021 and Circular 11/2021 can no longer be used as it stands. Where to start learning construction cost estimating has been updated to the new set.
Contracts: Decree 210/2026 replaces Decrees 37/2015 and 50/2021
Decree 210/2026/ND-CP, issued 15 June 2026, gives detail and guidance on the Construction Law's provisions for construction contracts. It replaces Decree 37/2015/ND-CP together with Decree 50/2021/ND-CP, which had amended it.
Decree 37/2015 stood for eleven years, so a great many model contracts, syllabuses and in-house templates still cite it. This is the row where mistakes are most likely.
Two figures from 210/2026 are worth memorising. The advance is capped at 30% of the contract price, down from the old ceiling of 50%. And the employer must pay within 14 working days of receiving a valid and complete file. The documents needed for each payment are in what construction payment and settlement records must contain.
Quality, execution and maintenance: Decree 207/2026 replaces Decree 06/2021
Decree 207/2026/ND-CP sets out the Construction Law's provisions on quality management, construction execution and the maintenance of works.
Article 52 states plainly that Decree 06/2021 ceases to have effect from the day the new decree takes effect. That carries with it every decree that had amended 06/2021, namely 35/2023, 175/2024, 14/2026 and 67/2026.
This is the site team's document: acceptance of works and of stages, the site diary, as-built drawings, handover and maintenance. The as-built schedule under the new set is in what an as-built file must contain.
Capacity and public investment: Decrees 212/2026 and 254/2025
Decree 212/2026/ND-CP, issued 17 June 2026, governs capacity conditions for construction activity together with the national information system and database on construction activity. It sets four fields for practising certificates: survey, planning, design and construction supervision. Applications go to the provincial People's Committee.
Anyone still reading the certificate conditions out of Decree 175/2024 should stop, because that part went with the rest of the decree.
Decree 254/2025/ND-CP is the one row that did not change on 1 July 2026. It took effect on 26 September 2025, replaced Decree 99/2021, and applies only to publicly funded projects. It is the source of the forms filed with the State Treasury, from Form 02.a/TT through 05.a/TT.
The circulars that go with them
Decrees are only half of it. The other half is the Ministry of Construction's circulars, and those changed in the same wave.
| Circular | Subject | Replaces |
|---|---|---|
| 34/2026/TT-BXD, 25 June 2026 | How the grade of a work is determined | Circular 06/2021 |
| 36/2026/TT-BXD | Method for determining construction investment costs | Circular 11/2021 |
| 37/2026/TT-BXD | Method for determining norms | — |
| 38/2026/TT-BXD | The construction norms themselves | Circulars 12/2021 and 09/2024 |
Circular 38/2026 is the one that hits an estimate hardest. The set of norms issued with it replaces those of Circulars 12/2021 and 09/2024, used for years, so estimating software has to load the new data before the figures come out right.
The grade of a work under Circular 34/2026 matters too, because grade drives who has appraisal authority, what capacity a contractor needs, and what maintenance is required.
Files and contracts already under way
This is the practical question, because very few projects start and finish inside a single legal framework.
The general principle is that the document in force when the relationship arose is the one that governs, unless a transitional provision says otherwise. For the two commonest cases:
- Contracts signed before 1 July 2026. A contract on a public investment or PPP project that was signed and already under way before that date continues under the old rules, Decrees 37/2015 and 50/2021, until it ends. On other projects the two parties may agree to apply the new rules if they wish.
- A public investment settlement already in progress. A project that had submitted its settlement file, or signed an independent audit contract, before 26 September 2025 continues under Decree 99/2021. Legal documents already filed with the paying authority stay valid and need not be resubmitted.
When you are not sure whether a decree is still in force, and how far it applies, there is a safe method. Open the transitional article of the new decree on the national legal database and read it directly, rather than trusting a summary found online. The transitional article always sits near the end, just before the article on entry into force.
To work through the whole new set on real files, the Institute's Construction Cost Estimating course follows Decree 206/2026 and Circular 36/2026, while the Payment and Settlement course follows Decrees 210/2026 and 254/2025. Anyone wanting the whole chain from measurement to final account takes the QS course; what is a quantity surveyor? describes the role.
Frequently asked questions
Is Decree 175/2024 still in force?
No. Decree 175/2024/ND-CP ceased to have effect on 1 July 2026 and was replaced by Decree 217/2026/ND-CP, issued 19 June 2026. Decree 175/2024 had itself replaced Decree 15/2021, so anything citing 15/2021 is a further generation out of date.
Can Decree 10/2021 on cost management still be used?
No. Decree 10/2021/ND-CP ceased to have effect on 1 July 2026 and was replaced by Decree 206/2026/ND-CP. In the same wave, Circular 11/2021 on cost methodology and the norms of Circulars 12/2021 and 09/2024 were replaced as well.
Which decree replaced Decree 37/2015 on construction contracts?
Decree 210/2026/ND-CP, in force from 1 July 2026. It replaces both Decree 37/2015 and Decree 50/2021, which had amended it. Contracts on public investment and PPP projects signed before that date still run under the old rules.
Did the TCVN standards change in the same wave?
No. Decrees and circulars are legal instruments, while TCVN are technical standards, issued and revised on separate tracks. The change of 1 July 2026 did not carry the standards with it. Drawing symbols and presentation still follow the existing TCVN set, covered in construction drawing symbols.
How can I be certain a decree is in force at the time I am reading?
Check the status field of the document itself on the national legal database. Do not check by searching for the decree's name, because summaries of repealed documents go on ranking well long after the document has been replaced.