Vietnam Circular 36/2026: Risk Based Device Rules

Vietnam Enacts Circular 36/2026: Risk Tiered Compliance for IT, Telecom and RF Hardware

Vietnam has moved its wireless and ICT market access regime onto a risk based footing. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) issued Circular No. 36/2026/TT-BKHCN on 30 June 2026, and it took effect on 1 July 2026. The Circular replaces the previous product list under Circular 29/2025/TT-BKHCN and consolidates a set of fragmented legacy rules including the historic Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) type approval framework into a single instrument that sorts regulated products into two risk tiers and ties each to its customs HS code and a defined quality management pathway.

For certification engineers and compliance teams, the practical question is no longer simply "is my product on the list." It is now "which tier does my product fall into, and what does that tier require at the border and before it." This article breaks down the framework, the certification consequences, and the actions manufacturers and importers should take.

What Vietnam Circular 36/2026 Actually Changes

Circular 36/2026 implements the statutory quality mandate created by the amended Law on Product and Goods Quality (Law No. 05/2007/QH12, as amended by Law No. 78/2025/QH15) and the implementing Decree No. 37/2026/NĐ-CP (with the standards and technical regulations Decree No. 22/2026/NĐ-CP running alongside it). The headline shift is structural: Vietnam is retiring the long standing "Group 2" designation for potentially unsafe products and replacing it with a two tier, risk based classification that determines both pre market and border clearance obligations.

The Circular carries two appendices:

• Appendix I — High risk products. Test results supporting conformity certification must come from a testing organisation that is accredited, designated by MOST, or otherwise recognised under Vietnamese law, with a scope matching the applicable national technical regulation (QCVN).

• Appendix II — Medium risk products. These carry a lighter conformity assessment burden and, importantly, are relieved of mandatory State quality inspection at import.

  
  

A crucial framing point for compliance planning: the conformity assessment methods themselves are not set by Circular 36. They are established by the parent framework, Circular No. 14/2026/TT-BKHCN (effective 25 May 2026), which defines eight certification methods and bans the simplest type testing route (Method 1) for high risk goods. Circular 36 assigns products to tiers and HS codes; Circular 14 governs how each tier is certified. Reading the two together is essential one without the other gives an incomplete picture of the obligation.

Under this combined framework:

• High risk products (for example, base stations and other network side radio infrastructure) require conformity certification via Method 3 (type testing plus production process assessment, i.e. a factory audit) or Method 7 (batch/consignment testing at the border), and remain subject to pre import State quality inspection. Method 1 is prohibited for this tier.

• Medium risk products (mobile handsets and comparable consumer ICT equipment) can rely on self declaration of conformity (SDoC) and are no longer subject to mandatory State quality inspection at the border.

• Low power short range devices are excluded where they fall under the Circular's exemption footnotes notably 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz broadband/access devices below 60 mW EIRP, Bluetooth and Zigbee devices below 60 mW EIRP, and standalone 6 GHz access devices in the 5,925–6,425 MHz range.

  
  

The factory audit waiver and the ISO 9001 validity condition

For high risk products certified under Method 3, overseas manufacturing sites can avoid a physical on site audit by Vietnamese regulators by submitting a recognised, active quality management system certificate typically ISO 9001. The condition that trips manufacturers up is duration: the ISO 9001 certificate must retain at least six months of remaining validity at the point of application and through subsequent surveillance reviews. If it dips below that threshold, the audit waiver is voided, exposing the site to an on site inspection or forcing the importer into consignment by consignment batch testing at the port.

What This Means for Manufacturers

The move to risk based classification changes how compliance is planned, not just executed. The first task is no longer testing it is classification. Whether a product needs full certification or can rely on self declaration now depends entirely on its risk tier and HS code, so getting the classification right is the gating step for every downstream decision.

Practical implications:

• Portfolio triage is now mandatory. Every radio, wireless and electronic product placed on the Vietnamese market must be mapped to Appendix I or II by HS code. A misclassification cascades into the wrong test scope, the wrong certification method and, potentially, goods held at the border.

• High risk lines need a QMS strategy, not just a test report. Because Method 1 is off the table for high risk goods, manufacturers should confirm that a valid, in scope ISO 9001 certificate is in place and diarise its expiry against the six month waiver rule well before filing.

• Medium risk lines get faster, cheaper clearance. Removing mandatory State quality inspection for medium risk goods is a genuine easing for handset and consumer ICT importers, provided the self-declaration is properly registered.

• Low power module integrators should document power levels. Where an embedded module qualifies for the sub 60 mW EIRP exemption, the importer must be able to evidence the output power; the exemption is not self proving.

• No cliff edge for existing inventory. Certificates and Declaration of Conformity acceptances issued before 1 July 2026 remain valid until their stated expiry, and applications filed before that date are processed under the prior rules so current market inventory transitions smoothly.

  
  

Certification Impact Summary

Product tier (examples)	Border obligation	Conformity pathway	Key condition
High risk base stations, network side radio infrastructure	Pre import State quality inspection required	Certification via Method 3 (factory audit) or Method 7 (batch testing); Method 1 prohibited	ISO 9001 with ≥6 months validity to waive on site factory audit under Method 3
Medium risk mobile handsets and comparable consumer ICT	State quality inspection not required	Self declaration of conformity (SDoC), registered online	Correct HS code classification under Appendix II
Exempt 2.4/5 GHz devices <60 mW EIRP; BT/Zigbee <60 mW EIRP; standalone 6 GHz (5,925–6,425 MHz)	None	No inspection or conformity certification	Importer must hold evidence of sub threshold output power
Existing certificates (any tier, issued pre-1 Jul 2026)	Per original certificate	Remain valid until stated expiry	Applications filed before 1 Jul 2026 processed under prior rules

Timeline and Required Actions

Date	Milestone	Required action
9 Apr 2026	Circular 14/2026/TT-BKHCN issued (parent methods framework)	Review the eight conformity assessment methods; confirm which apply to your tiers
25 May 2026	Circular 14/2026 in force	Align test and certification workflows to Method 1 ban for high risk goods
30 Jun 2026	Circular 36/2026 issued by MOST	Map every product to Appendix I / II by HS code
1 Jul 2026	Circular 36/2026 in force; Circular 29/2025 repealed	Route new filings under Circular 36 tiers; confirm ISO 9001 validity for high risk lines
Ongoing	Existing certificates remain valid	Track expiry dates; re certify under the new framework ahead of renewal
1 Jan 2027	Deferred entry into force of certain QCVN standards (reportedly QCVN 134:2024/BTTTT, QCVN 136:2025/BKHCN, QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN)	Confirm the exact deferred-standard list against the official text and plan re-testing where a new/amended QCVN applies