Government and statutory fees
The government's own fees for registering a company in Vietnam are genuinely small relative to what most first-time investors expect. The Enterprise Registration Certificate itself is either free or a nominal ~50,000 VND (commonly waived entirely for online filing), and the mandatory public announcement of enterprise information costs approximately 100,000 VND (~$4). For foreign-invested entities, Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) processing — the step that precedes enterprise registration for foreign investors — typically runs 10–30 million VND (roughly $400–$1,200), varying by project scale and location.
| Item | Typical Cost |
|---|---|
| Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) | Free – ~$2 |
| Public announcement fee | ~$4 |
| Investment Registration Certificate (IRC) processing | ~$400 – $1,200 |
Mandatory post-establishment costs
Once registered, a small set of mandatory operational items follow before the company can legally issue invoices or transact: a company seal (roughly $10–$20), a digital signature token valid up to three years ($50–$120), an initial e-invoice system setup ($40–$80), and corporate bank account opening, which is commonly free or up to roughly $40 depending on the bank.
Charter capital — the number most first-time investors get wrong
Vietnam does not impose a fixed statutory minimum charter capital for most business lines under the 2020 Investment Law — a point frequently misunderstood by investors comparing Vietnam to jurisdictions with fixed minimum-capital rules. In practice, self-funded services and consulting entities are commonly capitalized in the $10,000–$15,000 range as a working benchmark investors use to demonstrate operational credibility, not because the law requires it. Capital-intensive or conditional sectors are a different picture entirely: real estate development and financial services, for example, carry materially higher effective capital expectations assessed case-by-case against the specific business line.
Professional and legal service fees
This is typically the largest planned cost category, and the one with the widest range in the market. Independent sources place all-in legal and consultancy packages for foreign-invested company registration — covering IRC/ERC preparation, submission, and liaison with licensing authorities — at roughly $1,000–$6,000, with the range driven by structure complexity, sector-specific conditions, and how much of the process (translation, notarization, banking coordination) is bundled into the engagement.
Ongoing monthly costs after establishment
Establishment is a one-time cost; operating the entity is recurring. A virtual or registered office address commonly runs $100–$200 per month, with physical office space ranging from roughly $15–$25 per square meter for co-working-grade space up to $40–$60 for Grade A. Monthly bookkeeping typically costs $100–$300, and an annual independent audit — mandatory for foreign-invested enterprises — runs approximately $1,500–$3,000.
Putting it together: total cost by business type
The honest answer to "how much does this cost" depends heavily on business type. Two illustrative benchmarks from independent market data:
| Business type | Typical first-year sunk cost (excluding charter capital) |
|---|---|
| Small services / consulting entity (e.g. advisory, IT, digital) | Under $10,000 |
| Manufacturing enterprise | $60,000 – $100,000 (driven primarily by facility lease and equipment, not registration fees) |
These are planning benchmarks, not quotes — the accurate figure for a specific business depends on sector, location, and structure, which is precisely the scoping work a market-entry advisor does before an investor commits capital.
