Procedures for transferring land use rights when transferring in the US

Procedures for transferring land use rights when transferring in the US Title: Transfer of Land Use Right Certificate (“Sổ đỏ”) – Procedure and Regulations

Transferring the name on the Land Use Right Certificate (“Sổ đỏ”) is a required procedure when transferring or gifting land and property. The transfer or gifting of land and property only takes effect once the change is registered and recorded by the land registration authority in the cadastral records.

1. What is the Transfer of “Sổ đỏ”?

“Transfer of Sổ đỏ” is a common term used by the public to refer to the procedure of registering changes when transferring, gifting, or inheriting land use rights (land only), or land use rights together with other attached assets such as houses or constructions.
Procedures for transferring land use rights when transferring in the US

According to Clause 2, Article 133 of the 2024 Land Law, when transferring the “Sổ đỏ,” the recipient of the transfer or gift will have their ownership confirmed by the competent authority either by an endorsement on the already issued Certificate or by issuing a new Certificate. Specifically:

• New Certificate issuance: The recipient will be issued a new Certificate in their name but must pay additional fees for the new Certificate issuance.

• Endorsement on existing Certificate: The transfer or gift information will be recorded on pages 3 and 4 of the existing Certificate. In this case, the recipient does not pay extra fees for a new Certificate but retains full rights in transactions.

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2. Transfer of “Sổ đỏ” is a Mandatory Procedure

The transfer is mandatory for state management, clearly regulated in Clause 3, Article 133 of the 2024 Land Law as follows:

For cases involving registration of changes listed in points a, b, i, k, l, m, and q of Clause 1 of this Article, the land user must register the change at the competent authority within 30 days from the date of the event.

Thus, within 30 days from the occurrence of the change (meaning within 30 days of notarization or authentication), citizens must register the change at the authorized land registration office.

Failure to comply with this mandatory registration is subject to administrative penalties (detailed in Section 7).

3. Deadline for Registering the Transfer

Clause 3, Article 133 of the 2024 Land Law states:

For cases of registration of changes as listed in points a, b, i, k, l, m, and q Clause 1, the land user must register within 30 days from the date of the change; for enforcement cases, the 30-day period begins from the date of asset handover; for inheritance, the deadline starts from the date of inheritance division according to civil law or from the effective date of the court judgment or decision.

Therefore, citizens must complete the transfer registration within 30 days from notarization or authentication of the transfer or gift contract; otherwise, administrative sanctions will apply.

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4. Conditions for Transferring “Sổ đỏ”

Conditions for the transferor, donor, or heir
Procedures for transferring land use rights when transferring in the US

According to Clause 1, Article 45 of the 2024 Land Law, the person transferring or gifting land use rights must meet these conditions:

• Hold a valid Certificate;

• Land must be free of disputes or if disputes existed, they must be resolved by competent authorities with valid court or arbitration decisions;

• Land must not be seized or under enforcement measures;

• Land use term must still be valid;

• Land use rights must not be subject to emergency temporary measures.

Note: Usually, these five conditions suffice, but additional conditions may apply in certain cases.

Conditions for the transferee, recipient, or heir

According to Clause 8, Article 45 of the 2024 Land Law, the recipient must not belong to cases prohibited from receiving land use rights, such as:

• Economic organizations cannot receive special-use forest land from individuals except for approved land-use purpose changes;

• Individuals not residing in protected forest areas cannot receive land within strictly protected or ecosystem restoration zones;

• Organizations, individuals, religious groups, overseas Vietnamese, or foreign-invested enterprises prohibited by law from receiving land use rights.

In addition, Clause 4, Article 45 states that heirs must have a Certificate or meet conditions for its issuance if no Certificate has been issued yet.

5. Procedures and Documents for Transfer of “Sổ đỏ”

To complete the transfer, the parties must follow these steps:

• Notarize or authenticate the contract;

• Declare personal income tax and registration fee;

• Register the change (tax and fees declaration can be done simultaneously if the transferee pays taxes on behalf of the transferor).

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Step 1: Notarization or authentication of the contract

See details: Notarization procedure for land transfer and gift contracts.

Step 2: Declaration of tax and fees

Note: Parties can agree on who pays. Even if exempt, tax declaration is mandatory.

Step 3: Registering the change (transfer)

(1) Documents needed:

• Change registration application (Form 18, Decree 151/2025/ND-CP effective 01/07/2025);

• Issued Certificate;

• Relevant documents specific to the type of change;

• Legal representative documents if applying through an authorized person.

(2) Submission locations:

Individuals or community groups may submit at:

• One-stop service centers;

• Land registration offices;

• Branch offices of land registration offices.

(3) Processing:

The receiving authority will check documents and issue a receipt with a deadline for results. If incomplete, they will request additional documents.

(4) Timeframe:

The registration procedure must be completed within 8 working days for sale, inheritance, gift, or capital contribution involving land leased by the state.
Procedures for transferring land use rights when transferring in the US

6. Costs for Transferring “Sổ đỏ”

According to Circular 92/2015/TT-BTC, Decree 10/2022/ND-CP, and Circular 85/2019/TT-BTC, parties must pay:

Personal Income Tax:
2% of the transfer price.

Registration Fee:

• 0.5% of the transfer price if it exceeds the provincial land price.

• Otherwise, calculated based on the provincial land price or zero in case of gift/inheritance.

Appraisal Fee:
Set by the provincial People’s Committee, varying by location.

7. Failure to Transfer “Sổ đỏ” – Fines up to 20 Million VND!

Penalty rates:
According to Clause 2, Article 17 of Decree 91/2019/ND-CP:

• Rural areas:

  • 1-3 million VND if within 24 months after the deadline;

  • 2-5 million VND if more than 24 months overdue.

• Urban areas: Twice the rural fine, up to 10 million VND per violation.

• Organizations pay double the individual fines, up to 20 million VND in urban areas.

Who is fined?
According to Clause 4, Article 5 of Decree 91/2019/ND-CP, the transferee (buyer or recipient) is subject to fines if failing to register changes.

Conclusion:
To legally transfer the “Sổ đỏ,” parties must understand conditions, notarize/authenticate contracts, declare taxes and fees, and submit registration documents within the prescribed deadlines.

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