Many investors glance at a newly issued Investment Registration Certificate (IRC), file it away, and only discover a mistake weeks later — when a bank opens the capital account or the enterprise registration dossier is checked against it. A missing letter in the investor name, a transposed foreign registration number, a total capital figure off by one zero, or a project address recorded in the wrong commune: each of these mismatches matters, because every later step — the Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC), the investment capital account, the land lease — is verified against the exact contents of the IRC. This article explains how corrections work under the current legal framework, starting with the distinction that decides everything: correction versus amendment.
Legal basis for correcting an IRC
The current framework consists of the Investment Law No. 143/2025/QH15 (effective 1 March 2026, replacing Investment Law 61/2020/QH14) and Decree No. 96/2026/ND-CP detailing the 2025 Investment Law. The investment registration authority issues the IRC from the dossier the investor submits. When the recorded contents do not match that original dossier or the investor’s own legal documents, the investor may ask the issuing authority to correct the record. By contrast, if the investor wants to change the project itself compared with what was granted — more capital, a new location, an added objective — that is not a correction but an IRC amendment, with its own dossier and appraisal path. Confusing the two is the most common reason files come back: an amendment dressed up as a correction will be refused, because the authority cannot use the correction route to validate content that was never appraised.
Typical errors and how to classify them
Pure recording mistakes
This is the classic correction group: spelling errors in the investor or project name, a wrong passport number or foreign enterprise registration number, an incorrect investor head-office address, a wrong currency unit, or a typo in the schedule section. The hallmark is that the dossier the investor filed was entirely correct; the mistake arose when the authority recorded or printed the certificate. For this group, the evidence for correction is the filed dossier itself together with its receipt.
Discrepancies originating in the investor’s own filing
If the error sits in what the investor submitted — for example a notarized translation that rendered the parent company’s name incorrectly — the line between correction and amendment blurs. The authority will look at substance: where the correct information is proven by a higher-value legal document, such as the consularly legalized enterprise registration certificate, the fix is usually handled as a correction supported by a written explanation. But where the “error” is really a change of mind about capital structure or contribution ratios, it is a project amendment and must follow the amendment procedure.
Step-by-step correction procedure
- Compare the whole IRC against the original dossier: check every field — investor, project code, project name and location, objectives, scale, total and contributed capital, term and schedule — and list each error next to the correct content.
- Prepare a written correction request: state the IRC number and issue date, each item to be corrected, the correct content and the cause of the error; attach the original IRC.
- Assemble the supporting evidence: copies of the dossier previously filed, the investor’s legal documents (consularly legalized if issued abroad), and the corrected translation where the mistake lies in translation.
- File with the investment registration authority that issued the IRC: in person or through the National Investment Information System at fdi.gov.vn, following local intake guidance; keep the receipt or dossier code.
- Respond to any request for explanation: answer in writing if the authority needs the origin of the discrepancy confirmed, especially for capital or investor-identity items.
- Collect the corrected IRC and verify it again: check every field before signing the receipt, then circulate the corrected version internally and notify the bank and advisers holding the old copy.
Common mistakes and practical notes
The first mistake is to keep using the incorrect IRC to sign a land lease, open a capital account or file the ERC dossier, assuming it can be fixed later. Each bank and authority cross-checks independently; once an ERC has been issued on wrong data, both certificates need fixing and the work doubles. The second mistake is spotting one error while others remain — review the certificate comprehensively once, rather than correcting it in rounds. On responsibility: where the error was caused by the issuing authority, that authority must correct the record, and the investor is not sanctioned for a mistake that is not theirs; keep the request, the receipt and the faulty IRC as proof of when the error was identified when dealing with third parties. While a correction is pending, preparatory work that does not depend on the wrong item can continue, but transactions that require presenting the IRC should wait for the corrected version to avoid a chain of consequential fixes. Act now: take the IRC you just received, compare it against your internal investment decision and the original legal documents, and if anything does not match, file the correction request this week instead of waiting for the next procedure to expose it.
A verification habit that prevents most corrections
Corrections are cheapest at the moment of receipt, and a simple two-person check catches most of them. Have one person read the IRC aloud, field by field, while another follows the original dossier: the investor’s name in both its original script and its Vietnamese rendering, the registration or passport number digit by digit, the capital figures in numbers and in words, and the project location down to commune level. Pay special attention to Vietnamese diacritics in personal names, because a missing tone mark can make the IRC name differ from the passport name in the bank’s system. After the check, use one single version of the certificate everywhere: quote the project code and the IRC number in all correspondence with authorities and the bank, so that any later discrepancy is traced to one source document. Investors who build this ten-minute ritual into their receipt process rarely meet the correction procedure again — and when they do, they meet it within days, not months.
Frequently Asked Questions
My newly issued IRC contains wrong information. How do I get it corrected?
File a written correction request with the investment registration authority that issued the IRC. List each wrong item and the correct content, attach the original IRC, and include evidence of the correct information, such as the dossier you originally filed or your legal documents. Before filing, confirm the issue is a recording error (correction) rather than a substantive change to the project (amendment), because the two procedures use different dossiers and routes.
How long does an IRC correction take, and is there a fee?
Processing time depends on how clearly the error can be evidenced: a typo provable from the original dossier is usually resolved quickly, while discrepancies involving capital or investor identity need further explanation. No state fee is currently charged for an IRC correction; any costs are typically for translation, consular legalization of supporting documents, or a service fee if you engage a filing agent.
If the error was the issuing authority’s fault, who is responsible?
Where the mistake arose in the authority’s recording while your filed dossier was entirely correct, the issuing authority is responsible for correcting the IRC to match the original dossier. Keep your request, the filing receipt and the faulty IRC to prove the error was not yours when dealing with banks or partners, and as evidence if the error later causes a schedule dispute.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council