Decree No. 39/2026/ND-CP on amending and supplementing certain articles of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP detailing certain articles of the Law on topography and cartography, as amended and supplemented by Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP and Decree No. 22/2023/ND-CP

DECREE

AMENDING AND SUPPLEMENTING CERTAIN ARTICLES OF GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 27/2019/ND-CP DATED MARCH 13, 2019 DETAILING CERTAIN ARTICLES OF THE LAW ON TOPOGRAPHY AND CARTOGRAPHY, AS AMENDED AND SUPPLEMENTED BY GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 136/2021/ND-CP DATED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND GOVERNMENT’S DECREE NO. 22/2023/ND-CP DATED MAY 12, 2023

Pursuant to Law on Government Organization No. 63/2025/QH15;

Pursuant to Law on topography and cartography No. 27/2018/QH14;

At the request of Minister of Agriculture and Environment;

The Government promulgates a Decree amending and supplementing certain articles of Government’s Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP dated March 13, 2019 detailing certain articles of the Law on topography and cartography, as amended and supplemented by Government’s Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP dated December 31, 2021 and Government’s Decree No. 22/2023/ND-CP dated May 12, 2023.

Article 1. Amendments and supplements to certain articles of Government’s Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP dated March 13, 2019 detailing certain articles of the Law on topography and cartography, as amended and supplemented by Government’s Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP dated December 31, 2021

1. Article 32 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by Clause 7, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP) is amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. An application for issuance of topography and cartography license prepared by a domestic organization shall include:

a) An application form for issuance of topography and cartography license made using Form No. 04 in Appendix IA issued herewith;

b) A copy or an electronic copy of the decision defining the functions and duties for organizations applying for a topography and cartography license that do not possess a Business Registration Certificate;

c) A copy or an electronic copy of a university degree or higher in topography and cartography, a work experience declaration of technical manager made using Form No. 05 in Appendix IA enclosed herewith or Category I topography and cartography practice certificate; the employment contract or recruitment decision; and the appointment decision for technical manager;

d) Copies or electronic copies of professional diplomas or certificates in topography and cartography, employment contract or recruitment decision; work experience declaration of at least 01 technical staff who has at least 05 years of practical experience relevant to the requested licensing content made using Form No. 05 in Appendix IA enclosed herewith;

dd) Copies or electronic copies of electronic invoices or documents proving ownership of measuring instruments and equipment, or proving ownership or usage rights of topographic and cartographic software and technology; and valid inspection or calibration certificates for the measuring instruments. The list of measuring instruments, equipment, and software must comply with topographic and cartographic operations as prescribed in Appendix IC enclosed herewith;

e) In cases where diplomas or certificates are stored in connected and shared databases for higher education or vocational education, the copies are not required.

2. An application for issuance of topography and cartography license prepared by a foreign organization shall include:

a) An application form or an electronic file containing the application for issuance of topography and cartography license made using Form No. 11 in Appendix IA issued herewith;

b) A copy or an electronic copy of the decision on successful bid (or decision on contractor selection) of the project owner, which includes topographic and cartographic tasks under the list of topographic and cartographic operations to be licensed;

c) Copies or electronic copies of professional diplomas or certificates in topography and cartography; work permits issued by competent authorities in accordance with labor laws for guest workers in Vietnam; or professional diplomas, certificates, and employment contracts of Vietnamese topographic and cartographic technical staff consistent with the quantity and professional qualifications specified in winning bid or selected proposal. In cases where diplomas or certificates issued by Vietnamese educational institutions are stored in connected and shared databases for higher education or vocational education, the copies are not required.

d) Copies or electronic copies of electronic invoices or documents proving ownership or usage rights of measuring instruments, equipment, software, and topographic and cartographic technology consistent with the winning bid or selected proposal.”.

2. Clause 1 Article 46 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by point a Clause 16, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP) is amended and supplemented as follows:

“1. An application for issuance of topography and cartography practice certificate includes:

a) An application form for issuance of topography and cartography practice certificate made using Form No. 12 in Appendix IA enclosed herewith, 01 color photo, size 4 x 6 cm, with a white background;

b) Copies or electronic copies of professional diplomas or certificates issued by accredited training institutions; health certificate for professional practice issued by a medical facilities meeting prescribed conditions. In cases where diplomas or certificates are stored in connected and shared databases for higher education or vocational education, copies specified in this point are not required.

c) Work experience declaration made using Form No. 13 in Appendix IA enclosed herewith;

d) Copies or electronic copies of documents proving that the applicant is exempt from the examination of professional experience and legal knowledge.”.

3. Clause 2 and Clause 4, Article 27 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP are amended and supplemented as follows:

“2. The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment shall:

a) Develop the framework data specified in Clause 2, Article 45 of the Law on Topography and cartography

b) Develop the specialized map data specified in Points c, d, dd, and e Clause 3 Article 45 of the Law on Topography and cartography; specialized map data for natural disaster management, environmental incident remediation, and climate change response as specified in point k Clause 3 Article 45 of the Law on Topography and cartography;

c) Develop map data for national planning and regional planning within its scope of management;

d) Integrate national geospatial data.

4. The Ministry of Construction shall develop:

a) Specialized map data specified in Point h and Point l Clause 3 Article 45 of the Law on Topography and cartography;

b) Nautical chart data for seaport waters, channels, and maritime routes specified point I Clause 3 Article 45 of the Law on Topography and cartography;

c) Map data for urban planning and rural planning within its management scope as specified in point m Clause 3 Article 45 of the Law on Topography and cartography;

d) Map data for national planning and regional planning within its scope of management.”

Article 2. Replacement and annulment of certain articles and Appendices of Government’s Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP dated March 13, 2019 detailing certain articles of the Law on topography and cartography, as amended and supplemented by Government’s Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP dated December 31, 2021 and Government’s Decree No. 22/2023/ND-CP dated May 12, 2023

1. Certain phrases are replaced as follows:

a) The phrase “Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường” (“Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment”) with the phrase “Bộ Nông nghiệp và Môi trường” (“Ministry of Agriculture and Environment”) in Clause 4, Article 4 (as amended and supplemented in Clause 1 Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Clauses 1 and 2, Article 9; Clause 2, Article 14; Point b, Clause 6 and Point d, Clause 7, Article 17; Clauses 2 and 3, Article 18; Clause 3, Article 24; Clause 3, Article 26; Clause 10, Article 27; Clauses 3 and 4, Article 28; Clauses 1, 3, and 4, Article 33 (as amended and supplemented in Clause 8 Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Point c, Clause 2, Article 34 (as amended and supplemented in Clause 9 Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Article 36 (as amended and supplemented by Clause 11, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Clause 3, Article 37 (as amended and supplemented by Point b, Clause 12, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Clause 1, Article 39 (as amended and supplemented by Clause 14, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Clause 2, Article 40; Clause 2, Article 41; Point a, Clause 2, Article 43; Clause 2, Article 45; Point a, Clause 3, Article 46 (as amended and supplemented by Point b, Clause 16, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Clause 2, Article 51; Clause 2, Article 52 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP; Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP; Appendix I enclosed with Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP;

b) The phrase “Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư” (“Ministry of Planning and Investment”) is replaced with the phrase “Bộ Tài chính” (“Ministry of Finance”) in Clause 2, Article 4 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP;

c) The phrase “tài nguyên và môi trường” (“resources and environment”) is replaced with the phrase “nông nghiệp và môi trường” (“agriculture and environment”) in point b, Clause 4 and Clause 4a, Article 4 (amended and supplemented by Clause 1, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); Clause 3, Article 12; Clauses 4, 5 and 6, Article 17; Clause 4, Article 18; Clause 10, Article 27; Clause b, point d of clause 1, points b and d of clause 3, point b of clause 4 of Article 33 (amended and supplemented by clause 8 of Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); clause 2, Article 36; point b, clause 3, Article 37; Article 39 (amended and supplemented by clause 14 of Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); point a, clause 2, Article 43; point b, clause 3, Article 46 (amended and supplemented by point b of clause 16 of Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP); clause 2, Article 51; point b, clause 2, Article 52; Appendix I enclosed with Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP;

d) The phrase “cấp huyện” (“district level”) is replaced with the phrase “cấp xã” (“commune level”) in point a Clause 3 Article 18 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP;

dd) The phrase “Mẫu số 07” (“Form No. 07”) is replaced with the phrase “Mẫu số 06″ (“Form No. 06”) in Article 34 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP (amended and supplemented by clause 9, Article 1 of Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP).

2. Clauses 3 and 5, Article 27 of Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP are annulled.

3. The following Appendices are replaced:

a) Form No. 03 in Appendix I enclosed with Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP is replaced with Form No. 03 in Appendix I enclosed herewith;

b) Appendix II enclosed with Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP is replaced with Appendix II enclosed herewith

c) Appendix IA enclosed with Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP is replaced with Appendix IA enclosed herewith.

Article 3. Implementation

1. This Decree shall come into force from January 25, 2026.

2. The following provisions are hereby annulled:

a) Article 37 and Article 38 of Decree No. 131/2025/ND-CP;

b) Article 56, Article 57, Article 60, and Article 61 of Decree No. 136/2025/ND-CP.

3. Transition clauses:

a) Applications for issuance of topography and cartography license or practice certificate that have been received by competent agencies for processing via administrative procedures before the effective date of this Decree shall be resolved in accordance with Decree No. 27/2019/ND-CP, Decree No. 136/2021/ND-CP, and Decree No. 22/2023/ND-CP.

b) In the event of a reorganization of public service providers through consolidation or merger, where one or more of public service providers have been issued with topography and cartography licenses, the post-consolidation or post-merger agencies shall continue to use the license to exercise rights and perform obligations within the scope and duration of the issued license, but for a period not exceeding 01 year from the date of reorganization.