Hanoi cracks down on abuse of requests for certified copies

Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Tran Sy Thanh has just signed and issued Directive 12/CT-UBND dated August 29, 2025 to rectify the situation where some agencies and units in the area still require individuals and organizations to submit certified copies or papers and documents while this information has been integrated into electronic identification cards and electronic identification accounts.

Current legal regulations have clarified the legal value of electronic information. Specifically, Articles 8, 9 and 10 of the Law on Electronic Transactions 2023 have recognized the legal value of data messages. Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree No. 23/2015/ND-CP of the Government stipulates: In cases where the law requires a copy, the responsible agency shall receive the copy and shall not request a certified copy, but shall have the right to request the presentation of the original for comparison. The person making the comparison shall be responsible for confirming the accuracy of the copy compared to the original.

In addition, Clause 6, Article 9 of Decree No. 69/2024/ND-CP of the Government also stipulates that information on electronic identity and information integrated on electronic identification cards and electronic identification accounts has evidentiary value, equivalent to providing information or using and presenting papers and documents containing such information.

However, in reality, in the city, there is still a situation of abuse requiring individuals and organizations to submit certified copies. This situation also occurs with the request to submit documents and papers in cases where the information has been integrated into the electronic identification card or electronic identification account. For example: Citizen identification card, certificate of residence, certificate of permanent residence, certificate of temporary residence. This is unnecessary, causing inconvenience and expense for people, businesses and waste for society.

Survey of features on smart kiosks related to making citizen identification cards. (Photo: TL)

To overcome this, the Chairman of the City People's Committee requested that agencies in the city's political system, vertical central agencies located in the area, departments, branches, socio-political organizations and People's Committees of communes and wards strictly implement. Specifically, when receiving documents, only copies in accordance with regulations are required, not certified copies. At the same time, no papers or documents are required if the information has been integrated into the electronic ID card or electronic identification account. Units must prioritize the reuse of available electronic data to reduce administrative paperwork.

The City Police are responsible for promoting propaganda and guiding people to use the VNeID application and identification accounts at all levels in performing administrative procedures. At the same time, review and clean up population data, ensuring that the database is always "correct - sufficient - clean - alive" on VNeID. Directors of departments, heads of agencies, Chairmen of People's Committees of districts, communes and wards must organize dissemination and propaganda to all cadres, civil servants, public employees and workers about relevant legal regulations.

All levels also need to rectify, inspect and strictly handle cases of requests that violate regulations and cause trouble for organizations and citizens. The heads of agencies and units are responsible to the Chairman of the City People's Committee for the implementation results.

The Department of Education and Training is assigned to guide educational institutions to strictly implement regulations when receiving documents from students and trainees. The Department of Justice presides over and coordinates with agencies to deploy and foster professional certification for commune-level civil servants and notary organizations, and at the same time advise on authorization plans for certification to ensure consistency throughout the area.

The Department of Home Affairs coordinates with the Department of Justice and the City Inspectorate to inspect and handle violations. The Public Administration Service Center strengthens supervision of the reception and processing of dossiers, promptly reporting to the City People's Committee. In particular, the People's Committees of communes and wards must fully receive dossiers certifying copies from the originals according to regulations. At the same time, return results in the form of electronic copies to promote data reuse in the digital environment, ensuring the legitimate rights of people and businesses according to Resolution No. 03/2025/NQ-HDND.

The City People's Committee calls on organizations and individuals in the area to actively implement, monitor and respond to build a public, transparent, modern administration that focuses on serving people and businesses.

Source: https://thoidai.com.vn/ha-noi-chan-chinh-tinh-trang-lam-dung-yeu-cau-nop-ban-sao-co-chung-thuc-215941.html