Regulations on Conditions for Operating a Gym under Vietnamese Law

What are the conditions for operating a gym? What are the procedures and documents for operating a gym? What does the law provide regarding professional staff at a gym?

1. What are the conditions for operating a gym?

Under Article 3 of Circular 10/2018/TT-BVHTTDL including:

“Article 3. Training facilities and equipment

Training venue

a) The training room must have an area of at least 60 m2, the distance from floor to ceiling at least 2.8 m, and the training space must be well ventilated. The distance between training equipment must be from 10 cm to 30 cm;

b) Lighting of 150 lux or more;

c) The sound system must be in good working condition;

d) There must be hygiene areas, changing rooms, and places for trainees’ personal belongings; first-aid kits as prescribed by the Ministry of Health;

dd) Internal rules including the following main contents: training hours, eligible trainees, persons not allowed to participate in training, and safety measures during training.

Training equipment must comply with Appendix 1 issued together with this Circular.”

Competent authority: The dossier shall be submitted to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Thus, when you want to operate a gym, you must first ensure adequate facilities, lighting, sound system, hygiene and changing areas for trainees, and certain equipment as prescribed above.

2. What does the law provide regarding professional staff?

Under Article 13 of Decree 36/2019/ND-CP on professional sports staff of enterprises, specifically:

“Article 13. Professional staff

Professional staff of an enterprise trading in sports activities include:

1. Sports training instructors must meet one of the following conditions:

a) Being a coach or athlete with a rank of level 2 or higher or equivalent appropriate to the registered sports business activity;

b) Having a degree in physical education and sports from intermediate level or higher appropriate to the registered sports business activity;

c) Having received professional sports training as prescribed by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

2. Lifeguards.

3. Medical staff.”

Under Article 15 of Decree 36/2019/ND-CP on business conditions for enterprises trading in sports activities that are required to have training instructors as follows:

“Article 15. Business conditions for enterprises trading in sports activities required to have training instructors

An enterprise trading in sports activities that provides sports training instruction services or trades in sports activities on the List of sports activities required to have training instructors as prescribed by the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism must meet the following conditions:

1. Having sports training instructors as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 13 of this Decree.

2. Having sports facilities and equipment as prescribed in Article 14 of this Decree.”

Thus, in addition to the conditions on facilities and necessary equipment, the requirements on professional staff must also be met.

3. Procedures and dossier for gym opening license registration

Operating a gym is a conditional business activity under the laws on physical education and sports. Before commencing operations, you need to complete business registration (establishing an enterprise or a household business) and meet the above conditions on facilities and professional staff.

In the case of establishing a single-member limited liability company, the enterprise registration dossier under Decree 168/2025/ND-CP (effective from 01/7/2025, replacing Decree 01/2021/ND-CP) includes:

1. The enterprise registration application;
2. The company charter;
3. Copies of personal legal documents of the individual who is the legal representative and the company owner (for an owner being an organization: legal documents of the organization and of the authorized representative, together with the document appointing the authorized representative);
4. The Investment Registration Certificate for enterprises established by foreign investors under the Law on Investment.

Place of submission: the provincial-level business registration authority under the Department of Finance where the enterprise’s head office is located (formerly the Business Registration Office under the Department of Planning and Investment).

For small-scale business, you may choose the household business: a sports household business owned by an individual Vietnamese citizen, a group of persons or a household, registered at only one location, liable with all of its assets for business activities. The household business registration dossier shall be submitted to the commune-level business registration authority where the business location is situated under Decree 168/2025/ND-CP.

Note: the “no more than 10 employees” rule is a limit of the household business form; it does not mean that fewer than 10 employees exempts registration. Whether choosing an enterprise or a household business, you must complete business registration under the corresponding regime before operating.