Household Business to Company: Dossier and Key Steps

Many household business owners, as their work grows — needing deductible value-added tax invoices, needing to sign contracts with partners that require a legal entity, needing to bring in capital or borrow from a bank — start thinking about “moving up to a company.” This is not a simple upgrade of paperwork, but the establishment of a new legal entity on the basis of the existing household business.

Quick answer: a household business and a company are two different legal entities. Conversion means preparing an enterprise establishment dossier under Articles 26 and 27 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP; the new enterprise inherits the household’s rights and obligations, while the former household business ceases operating as soon as the enterprise is issued its certificate. What needs careful preparation is the tax code, invoices, contracts and debts — because these do not automatically “flow over” from the household to the company.

How do a household business and a company differ?

Before converting, it is necessary to understand clearly how the two models differ, because these are also the points that change once you move up to a company.

Criterion	Household business	Company (limited liability, joint stock, etc.)
Legal status	Not a legal entity	A legal entity
Liability	The household owner is liable with all of their assets	Limited liability to the extent of contributed capital (except for private enterprises)
Registration authority	Commune-level People’s Committee	Provincial Business Registration Office
Tax code	Household tax code / personal identification number used for household tax	A separate, newly issued enterprise code
Invoices	Household business invoices	Company invoices, in the name of the new legal entity
Tax regime	Under Resolution 198/2025/QH15 and Decree 68/2026/NĐ-CP (see Household Business Tax from 2026: No Lump-Sum, Thresholds, Invoices)	Corporate income tax, enterprise accounting under the Law on Accounting

Because they are two different entities, conversion is not “renaming a household certificate into a company certificate” but opening a new enterprise establishment dossier that refers to the household business as its basis.

What does the dossier for converting a household business into an enterprise include?

Under Article 27 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP, the dossier for registering the establishment of an enterprise on the basis of converting a household business includes:

A copy of the Household Business Registration Certificate.
The documents in the enterprise registration dossier corresponding to each type of enterprise under Article 24 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP (the application for enterprise registration, the company charter, the list of members or shareholders, the legal documents of the individual or organization contributing capital, etc.), except a copy of the Investment Registration Certificate if it is not required.

The dossier is filed at the Business Registration Office where the enterprise plans to locate its head office, or filed online through the National Business Registration Portal.

How does the conversion process work?

Choose the type of enterprise. See the next section to weigh a single-member limited liability company, a limited liability company with two or more members, a joint stock company or a private enterprise.
Prepare the dossier for the chosen type, together with a copy of the Household Business Registration Certificate.
File the dossier at the provincial Business Registration Office where the company’s head office is located.
Receive the Enterprise Registration Certificate. From this moment, the household business is no longer permitted to operate.
The household business is terminated on the system. Within 2 working days from the date the certificate is issued, the Business Registration Office sends the information so that the commune-level business registration authority terminates the former household business.
Handle the post-conversion matters: tax code, invoices, seal, bank account, contracts, employees — see the section below.

An enterprise established on the basis of conversion inherits the rights and obligations of the household business, including unpaid debts. It is therefore advisable to review the household’s receivables and payables, tax obligations and ongoing contracts before filing, so that the charter and the commitments of the members/shareholders reflect the actual situation.

Which type of company should be chosen?

The type should be chosen before drafting the dossier, because it directly affects the charter, the dossier components and the management structure:

A single individual owner, with no need yet for additional contributors: usually a single-member limited liability company.
Relatives or partners contributing capital together: usually a limited liability company with two or more members.
Plans to raise capital more widely, with many shareholders: consider a joint stock company.
Wanting to keep the single-owner model with liability over all assets, as in a household business, but needing enterprise status: a private enterprise may be considered, although it is less common because it does not have limited liability.

Establishing a new company generally requires preparing the charter capital, business lines and legal representative — see also Setting Up a Company: What to Prepare – Type, Capital, Business Lines.

Matters easily overlooked during conversion

The tax code and invoices do not transfer automatically

The household’s tax code (or the personal identification number used for household tax) does not automatically become the enterprise code. These are two entirely different codes. Invoices, inventory and contracts in the household’s name do not automatically move to the company without separate handling: terminating the household’s invoices properly, registering new invoices for the company, and not using the household’s tax code to issue company invoices.

How to handle it: before the date the company is issued its certificate, close out the number of household invoices issued and reconcile them with the books; after obtaining the enterprise code, register to use electronic invoices for the company under the regulations currently in force.

Premises leases and customer contracts in the household’s name

If a house lease, premises lease or a contract for supplying goods/services is in the household owner’s name, an addendum transferring it to the company’s name or a newly signed contract is needed. This should be done early to avoid disruption when dealing with partners and banks.

Employees currently working for the household

Employees with contracts with the household business need to have their labor contracts and social insurance contribution history transferred to the new company without interruption. See also Household businesses hiring employees: contracts and social insurance to understand the regulations that apply before converting.

The household’s tax obligations before conversion

From 1 January 2026, household businesses no longer use the lump-sum tax method (clause 6, Article 10 of Resolution 198/2025/QH15). The household’s tax obligations before the conversion date need to be determined and handled clearly, because they are part of the obligations the new enterprise will inherit. For details on the household’s revenue thresholds and tax rates, see Household Business Tax from 2026: No Lump-Sum, Thresholds, Invoices.

What Thái Tín can help with in the conversion

Thái Tín is the coordinating point that helps household businesses convert in the right order without missing post-conversion tasks:

Preliminary check of the household business’s status, tax code, invoices, contracts and existing obligations before choosing the conversion approach.
Explain the types of enterprise suited to the scale and number of capital contributors, so the household owner can decide for themselves.
Support preparing the conversion dossier under Articles 26 and 27 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP; connect accounting and tax partners to handle the invoices and books when handing over from the household to the company.
Track progress from filing the dossier until the Enterprise Registration Certificate is issued and the household is terminated on the system, reporting progress periodically.

For household businesses with many employees or with cooperation with foreign partners, Thái Tín additionally coordinates the labor and social insurance dossier. The issuance of the Enterprise Registration Certificate is considered and decided by the business registration authority.

Preparing before filing the conversion dossier

The Household Business Registration Certificate, information on the household owner and household members (if any).
The household’s books, invoices, receivables and payables up to the planned conversion date.
The list of employees currently working, labor contracts, and social insurance contribution status.
Planned information on the type of enterprise, charter capital, legal representative, and the list of members or shareholders.

Converting while the household’s records are still compact and the books are clear is usually smoother than letting it drag on, because the more outstanding obligations there are, the more complicated the new enterprise’s inherited dossier becomes.

Questions and answers

Is converting a household business into a company the same as changing a household certificate into a company certificate?

No. It is a procedure to register the establishment of an enterprise on the basis of converting a household business (Article 27 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP), using a separate enterprise establishment dossier for the chosen type of enterprise; it is not amending the information on the Household Business Registration Certificate.

When does the household business cease to exist during the conversion?

The household business is no longer permitted to operate from the moment the new enterprise is issued its Enterprise Registration Certificate. Within 2 working days from the date the certificate is issued, the Business Registration Office sends the information so that the commune-level registration authority terminates the former household business (Article 27 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP).

Must the new enterprise inherit the debts and obligations of the former household business?

Yes. An enterprise established on the basis of converting a household business inherits the household's rights and obligations, including tax obligations and unpaid debts. It is therefore advisable to review the household's debts, contracts and tax obligations before filing the conversion dossier.

Do the household's invoices and tax code transfer to the company automatically?

No. The household and the company are two different entities with two different tax codes. Invoices, premises leases and customer contracts in the household's name need to be handled or re-signed in the company's name; do not use the household's tax code to issue company invoices.

Which type of enterprise should be chosen when converting from a household business?

It depends on the number of capital contributors and management needs: a single individual owner usually chooses a single-member limited liability company; with additional contributors (including relatives), a limited liability company with two or more members or a joint stock company is usually chosen. The type should be considered before drafting the dossier, because it affects the charter and the management structure later.

Legal basis · verification date

Verified 29 September 2026 · next review 29 December 2026. The content is general guidance and does not replace advice for a specific case.

Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP on enterprise registration (effective 1 July 2025), Article 24 (enterprise registration dossier by type of enterprise), Articles 26 and 27 (registering the establishment of an enterprise on the basis of converting a household business).
Law on Enterprises No. 59/2020/QH14 (amended and supplemented by Law No. 03/2022/QH15 and Law No. 76/2025/QH15): provisions on limited liability companies, joint stock companies and private enterprises.
Resolution 198/2025/QH15, clause 6, Article 10 (abolishing the lump-sum tax method for households and individuals doing business from 1 January 2026 — applies to the household before conversion, not to the company).