May Foreign Ad Firms’ Representative Offices Trade Ads in Vietnam?

Short answer: No. A representative office of a foreign advertising enterprise in Vietnam may only carry out advertising promotion activities and may not directly trade in advertising services. This is a mandatory legal limitation in Clause 3, Article 41 of the Law on Advertising 2012 (consolidated document 04/VBHN-VPQH of 2025 after being amended by Law No. 75/2025/QH15, effective from 01/01/2026).

Current legal framework on representative offices of foreign advertising enterprises

From 01/01/2026, the Law on Advertising 2012 was amended and supplemented by Law No. 75/2025/QH15. Subsequently, from 15/02/2026, Decree No. 342/2025/ND-CP of the Government took effect, fully replacing the former Decree No. 181/2013/ND-CP and Decree No. 11/2019/ND-CP.

The most important new point: under Article 23 of Decree 342/2025/ND-CP, licensing the establishment of representative offices of foreign advertising enterprises in Vietnam is now carried out under Decree No. 07/2016/ND-CP — i.e., applying the general licensing mechanism for representative offices of foreign traders like other sectors, instead of a separate advertising-industry procedure as before.

On operating principles, Article 41 of the Law on Advertising (consolidated document) retains the core provisions:

• Foreign advertising enterprises are permitted to establish representative offices in Vietnam;
• Representative offices may only operate with a license;
• Representative offices may only promote advertising and may not directly trade in advertising services;
• The Government regulates licensing competence, dossiers, order and procedures.

What may and may not a representative office do?

May do: A representative office is a dependent unit of the foreign advertising enterprise, performing the function of a liaison office and advertising promotion — e.g., introducing capabilities, researching the market, promoting advertising cooperation opportunities for the parent company abroad.

May not do: A representative office may not sign advertising service business contracts, may not directly provide advertising services to customers in Vietnam, and may not carry out profit-generating activities like an independent enterprise.

If a foreign advertising enterprise wishes to directly trade in advertising services in Vietnam, the law provides another path: cooperation and investment with Vietnamese advertising service traders in the form of joint ventures and business cooperation contracts, in compliance with investment law (Article 40 of the Law on Advertising). In other words, to provide services, it must invest to establish a legal entity or a suitable form of commercial presence — it cannot use a representative office to conduct business.

Current licensing procedures for establishing a representative office

Under Decree 07/2016/ND-CP (as referenced by Article 23 of Decree 342/2025/ND-CP):

• Licensing authority: the Department of Industry and Trade of the province or city where the representative office is expected to be located (for locations in industrial parks, export processing zones, economic zones or hi-tech parks, the zone management board carries this out);
• Dossier: under Article 10 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP, including the application in the prescribed form, legal documents proving the foreign trader was established and operates lawfully, audited financial statements or equivalent documents of the most recent fiscal year, documents appointing/designating the head of the representative office; foreign documents must be translated into Vietnamese and consular-legalized as prescribed;
• Processing time: 07 working days from the date of receiving a complete valid dossier; refusals must be answered in writing with reasons stated;
• Conditions: the foreign trader was established and lawfully registered and has operated for at least 01 year from the date of establishment/registration (Article 7 of Decree 07/2016/ND-CP).

Transitional regulations to note

Under Decree 342/2025/ND-CP, licenses for establishing representative offices granted under Decree 181/2013/ND-CP before 15/02/2026 continue to apply until replaced or revoked as prescribed by law. Dossiers under processing are handled under the law in effect at the time of dossier receipt.

Notes on applying current legal provisions

This article is updated under the law in effect at the present time, under which Decree 181/2013/ND-CP and Decree 11/2019/ND-CP expired from 15/02/2026. Enterprises should no longer apply the old forms, competence (provincial People’s Committees) and procedures for new dossiers.

Common risks to note

The biggest risk is the representative office exceeding the “advertising promotion” scope to actually sign and perform advertising service contracts — this act may be subject to administrative penalties and affect the validity of the license. In addition, submitting dossiers under the old mechanism (sending to provincial People’s Committees, using forms of Circular 10/2013/TT-BVHTTDL) will result in the dossier not being accepted.

How can ANT Legal help?

ANT Legal assists in reviewing conditions for establishing representative offices, preparing dossiers under Decree 07/2016/ND-CP, working with Departments of Industry and Trade, and advising on suitable investment structures if the enterprise wishes to directly trade in advertising services in Vietnam. For advice on your enterprise’s specific case, please contact ANT Legal’s lawyers.

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