Private investigator licensing in Vietnam
No. Vietnam has no specific private investigator licence.
Vietnam has no law that licenses private detectives. The Law on Investment 2025 bans debt collection services (Art. 6(1)(h)) but does not ban private detective work, and its list of conditional business lines (Appendix IV) does not include it; that list does include security (guarding) services and trading in disguised recording, filming and tracking devices. Decree 96/2016 sets police conditions for security services and does not mention detectives. Earlier security rules barred guarding companies and their staff from 'investigation or private detective activity in any form' (Decree 52/2008, Art. 8(3)(a), now repealed).1
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None
No
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Associations near you
No Vietnam association on IE yet
These associations welcome investigators from Vietnam. Run one there? Tell us.
World Association of Detectives
Licensed somewhere else?
See whether you can take a case in Vietnam.
Rules in the field
GPS trackers
Trading in disguised devices or software for recording, filming or locating is a conditional business line (Law on Investment 143/2025/QH15, Appendix IV, item 4; detailed by Decree 66/2017/ND-CP)1
Sources
Reference information, not legal advice. Confirm with the regulator before taking on work. Out of date? Tell us.
Questions about PI licensing in Vietnam
Do you need a licence to be a private investigator in Vietnam?+
No. Vietnam has no specific private investigator licence. Vietnam has no law that licenses private detectives. The Law on Investment 2025 bans debt collection services (Art. 6(1)(h)) but does not ban private detective work, and its list of conditional business lines (Appendix IV) does not include it; that list does include security (guarding) services and trading in disguised recording, filming and tracking devices. Decree 96/2016 sets police conditions for security services and does not mention detectives. Earlier security rules barred guarding companies and their staff from 'investigation or private detective activity in any form' (Decree 52/2008, Art. 8(3)(a), now repealed).
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