Scenario: a foreign testing group budgets a year for ‘the inspection license’ before opening a lab in Vietnam. The budget is misallocated: commercial inspection services were cut from the conditional business list by the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 — the barrier that remains is not a license but professional credibility and market access conditions.
The deregulation: commercial inspection is no longer conditional
Among the lines removed from Appendix IV of the Investment Law 143/2025/QH15 is commercial inspection services. For this activity, the gate has moved from pre-licensing to post-inspection management: the state publishes the business requirements, and enterprises self-comply subject to later inspection.
The practical effect for foreign investors: one fewer license to obtain, one fewer timeline to manage. But ‘no license’ does not mean ‘no rules’ — the substantive requirements (personnel competence, equipment standards, impartiality procedures) still apply and are still inspected.
Where barriers genuinely remain
- Designated inspection: certain inspections are designated by law to specific bodies (customs valuation, specialized safety inspections) — foreign labs cannot simply claim these mandates.
- Accreditation as market currency: without a license to wave, clients buy accreditation — ISO/IEC 17025 for testing labs, and recognition by Vietnamese regulators and by the client’s own supply chain.
- Market access conditions: the foreign-invested entity still satisfies general market access conditions (Article 8, Investment Law 143/2025/QH15) at establishment.
- Sectoral technical rules: inspection in construction, food, pharmaceuticals or petroleum each follows its sector’s technical regulations — the deregulation removed the business license, not the technical standards.
Strategy: compete on accreditation, not on licenses
Since the licensing moat is gone, the competitive moat is accreditation depth and turnaround speed. Foreign testing groups should enter with their home-country accreditations plus a plan to obtain Vietnamese recognition, invest in local technical staff (inspectors the market trusts by name), and price the post-inspection compliance system from day one. The deregulation helps entrants — but it helps all entrants equally.
The accreditation roadmap
Accreditation is a process, not a one-time paper purchase. For testing laboratories, the roadmap typically starts with building a quality management system to the accreditation standard (such as VILAS), calibrating measuring equipment, training and certifying technical personnel, then undergoing assessment by the accreditation body. For inspection bodies, the focus is the professional competence of inspectors, documented inspection procedures, and independence and impartiality. After accreditation, the organization must maintain it through periodic surveillance assessments. Losing accreditation for non-maintenance means losing the business condition. Investors should plan 6 to 12 months for this roadmap before counting revenue.
Frequently asked questions
1. Is a license still needed for commercial inspection services?
No — removed from the conditional list by the 2025 Investment Law; the activity is managed through post-inspection.
2. What about testing laboratories?
Technical testing follows sectoral technical regulations and accreditation requirements — check the specific sector’s rules.
3. Can foreign investors own 100% of a testing company?
Subject to general market access conditions; no sector-specific licensing barrier remains for commercial inspection.
4. Do we still need ISO/IEC 17025?
It is not a state license, but it is the market’s purchasing criterion — clients and regulators expect it.
5. What inspections remain designated to state bodies?
Specific mandates in customs, safety and similar areas — verify per sector before promising clients coverage.
This article has been quality-reviewed by the FLAW AI Legal Council