Procedures · Civil
Filing a civil lawsuit 2026: papers, court fee advance, timeline
Translated from the Vietnamese original; where they differ, the Vietnamese text and the law prevail.
Awaiting review by a lawyer. Each rule cites its source; where the texts are unclear, the page says so.
When your rights are infringed, for example a debt is not repaid, you can sue in court. From 1/7/2025, first-instance lawsuits are filed at the Regional People's Court (Tòa án nhân dân khu vực). From filing to the court's acceptance of the case (thụ lý) usually takes a few weeks. You must pay a court fee advance (tạm ứng án phí) of at least VND 300,000.
Who can sue, and where
Individuals, agencies and organisations have the right to sue themselves or through a representative (Article 186 of the Civil Procedure Code (Đ.186 BLTTDS)).
From 1/7/2025, the Regional People's Court hears at first instance most civil, marriage and family, business and commercial, and labour disputes (Đ.35 BLTTDS, amended by Law No. 85/2025/QH15). The provincial court now only hears appeals and certain arbitration matters (Đ.37 BLTTDS).
What has changed: previously the district court heard first-instance cases, while cases with a foreign element or complex cases went to the provincial court. District courts no longer exist, and all those cases now start at the regional court.
Choosing the court by territory (Đ.39, 40 BLTTDS):
- Usually the court where the defendant (bị đơn) lives or works, or where the defendant has its head office.
- Disputes over real estate: only the court where the property is.
- The parties may agree in writing to choose the court where the plaintiff (nguyên đơn) lives.
Documents to prepare
- A statement of claim (đơn khởi kiện) with all the content in khoản 4 Đ.189 BLTTDS: date, name of the court, details of the plaintiff and defendant, the rights infringed, the specific claims, and a list of attached documents. Form 23-DS (mẫu 23-DS) can be used.
- Documents and evidence supporting the claim: contracts, loan papers, receipts, messages, photos, house and land certificates. If you do not have everything for objective reasons, submit what you have and add more later (khoản 5 Đ.189 BLTTDS).
- A copy of the plaintiff's identity papers, or the legal entity's papers if an organisation.
- An authorisation document if someone files on your behalf.
- For disputes over who has land use rights: the record of unsuccessful mediation (biên bản hòa giải không thành) at the commune-level People's Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân cấp xã) where the land is (Articles 235 and 236 of the Land Law 2024 (Đ.235, 236 Luật Đất đai 2024)).
Steps
- File in person, by post, or online via the court's web portal if available (Đ.190 BLTTDS).
- Within 3 working days, the Chief Judge (Chánh án) assigns a judge to review the claim (khoản 2 Đ.191 BLTTDS).
- Within 5 working days of assignment, the judge decides: ask you to amend the claim, accept the case, transfer it to another court or return the claim (khoản 3 Đ.191 BLTTDS).
- If the conditions are met, the court gives you a notice to pay the court fee advance. You pay it at the civil judgment enforcement agency (cơ quan thi hành án dân sự) named in the notice within 7 days, then submit the receipt to the court (khoản 2 Đ.195 BLTTDS; Đ.10, 17 NQ 326/2016).
- The court accepts the case on receiving the receipt (khoản 3 Đ.195 BLTTDS). Within 3 working days, the court notifies the defendant and the People's Procuracy (Viện kiểm sát) (Đ.196 BLTTDS).
- The defendant has 15 days to send its response, extendable by up to 15 days (Đ.199 BLTTDS). The court then holds mediation and brings the case to trial.
Time and fees
| Item | Amount | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Assigning a judge | 3 working days from receipt of the claim | khoản 2 Đ.191 BLTTDS |
| Judge reviews the claim | 5 working days from assignment | khoản 3 Đ.191 BLTTDS |
| Paying the court fee advance | 7 days from receipt of the notice | khoản 2 Đ.195 BLTTDS; Đ.17 NQ 326/2016 |
| Preparation for trial | 4 months (civil, marriage and family), 2 months (business and commercial, labour), extendable | Đ.203 BLTTDS |
| First-instance court fee, no monetary value (không có giá ngạch) | VND 300,000 | Danh mục A NQ 326/2016 |
| First-instance court fee, with monetary value (có giá ngạch) | Up to 6 million: VND 300,000; over 6 to 400 million: 5%; over 400 to 800 million: 20 million + 4% of the part above 400 million; over 800 million to 2 billion: 36 million + 3% of the part above 800 million; over 2 to 4 billion: 72 million + 2% of the part above 2 billion; over 4 billion: 112 million + 0.1% of the part above 4 billion | Danh mục A NQ 326/2016 |
| Court fee advance, with monetary value | 50% of the expected court fee, not less than VND 300,000 | khoản 2 Đ.7 NQ 326/2016 |
| Business and commercial, no monetary value | VND 3,000,000 | Danh mục A NQ 326/2016 |
Resolution 326/2016/UBTVQH14 is still the basis for collecting court fees. As of 4/11/2026, we have not found a replacement text. Cases handled under the summary procedure (thủ tục rút gọn) bear 50% of the court fee (Đ.6, 7 NQ 326/2016).
Common points
- Check the limitation period (thời hiệu). Contract disputes have a limitation period of 3 years from the day you knew or should have known your rights were infringed (Article 429 of the Civil Code 2015 (Đ.429 BLDS 2015)).
- Mediation at the commune before suing over a land dispute is a point read in several ways under the Land Law 2024, and the National Assembly is discussing amendments to the Land Law. Without a mediation record, the court may return the claim as not yet meeting the conditions to sue (Đ.192 BLTTDS). You should ask the regional court where the land is beforehand.
- If you win, the court fee advance is returned to you.
When to ask a lawyer
- The amount in dispute is large, or the dispute concerns houses, land or inheritance with many people involved.
- The limitation period to sue is about to run out.
- The court asks you to amend the claim or returns it, or you need an urgent interim measure (biện pháp khẩn cấp tạm thời) such as freezing assets.
- The defendant is abroad, or is a company with its own lawyers.