Household Business: Multiple Sites, Conditional Lines, How to Register

Many household businesses sell at multiple places, or open restaurants and cafés — and these two things usually raise two different questions: does opening another sales point require registering a new household, and what additional papers does a conditional line need. This article combines the two topics because both concern preparing dossiers beyond the basic household registration certificate.

The short conclusion: multiple sales locations are one household, not several households — only the tax authority and the market management authority need to be notified; for conditional lines, the household registration certificate cannot replace the sector-specific permit.

At how many places may a household business sell?

Article 87 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP provides that a household business has its head office within Vietnam’s administrative boundaries, and may do business at locations outside the head office, at multiple different locations. When doing business at a location outside the head office, the household must notify the tax management authority and the market management authority in accordance with the law (clause 2, Article 87, as amended by Decree 296/2026/NĐ-CP).

A point to distinguish: this is not a branch model as in an enterprise. A household business is not a legal entity, so there is no independently accounted “household business branch” on the registration certificate. All locations belong to the same household and share the household’s tax code, differing only in the location code recorded on invoices.

One household, multiple points — liability is not separated

Because a household is not a legal entity, debts and obligations arising from any sales point are common obligations, and the household owner is liable with all of their assets for all points — it is not the case that “if point two is in debt, point one is unaffected.” To repeat: an individual may stand for only one household business nationwide (Article 83), so opening another sales point means registering a new location under the existing household, not establishing a second household under another name in the family to evade the rule.

A household that wants to separate liability between business locations, needs a separate legal-entity seal or independent accounting, should consider the company model instead of continuing as a household.

How are a household’s business lines registered?

Article 89 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP provides that a household business may do business in lines that the law does not prohibit. When registering establishment or registering a change of lines, the household chooses one main business line under the four-digit economic sector code in the Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification (VSIC). Other lines do not have to be recorded in detail down to the four-digit code.

For conditional investment and business lines, the household records the line as provided in the corresponding sector-specific legal document, and must meet the conditions throughout its operation — not only at the time of filing the registration dossier.

Recording the wrong main line may affect how the industry group is determined when the tax authority applies tax rates under tax administration law. For example, a restaurant with a kitchen processing food belongs to the food and beverage service group, not the ordinary goods retail group — it needs to be recorded correctly to avoid having to adjust later.

Conditional lines: the household certificate does not replace the sector-specific permit

Article 85 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP states clearly that the Household Business Registration Certificate is also the tax registration document, but is not a business permit for conditional lines. For a household opening a restaurant or café with on-site preparation, the usual order is:

1. The Household Business Registration Certificate — the commune-level business registration authority.
2. Premises conditions suited to the food and beverage business type.
3. Fire prevention and fighting conditions corresponding to the scale, the current state of the kitchen, and the escape routes.
4. A Food Safety Eligibility Certificate, if it falls within the scope required to be issued.
5. An alcohol retail license, if alcohol or beer is sold on the premises.

Who must hold a food safety eligibility certificate?

Under Decree 15/2018/NĐ-CP, food production and trading establishments within the prescribed scope must hold a Food Safety Eligibility Certificate when operating, except for the cases listed in clause 1, Article 12 — including establishments trading in pre-packaged food, or establishments that already hold a valid GMP, HACCP, ISO 22000 or equivalent certification. An ordinary household restaurant with on-site preparation usually falls within the scope required to apply for this certificate — for details on the conditions and dossier, see also Food Safety Eligibility Certificate for Establishments.

Is fire prevention and fighting exempt by default for small households?

No. The fire prevention and fighting safety conditions under Decree 105/2025/NĐ-CP (amended and supplemented by Decree 347/2026/NĐ-CP) are assessed by the actual state of the establishment — whether the kitchen uses gas, the odor extraction system, the escape routes — and are not exempt by default just because the area is small or because it is a household business rather than a company.

Invoices and books when selling at multiple points

Because the locations belong to the same household and share the household’s tax code, issuing invoices at each point needs to record the sales location information so that the tax authority and the market management authority can properly track the revenue arising at each place. A household does not create a “separate tax code” for each point, as a parent company issues tax codes to independently accounted branches — the household has only one tax code, used for the whole business regardless of how many locations there are.

Business lines prohibited by law

Article 89 of Decree 168/2025/NĐ-CP states the principle that a household may do business in lines that the law does not prohibit. The list of prohibited investment and business lines applies generally under the Law on Investment, not just to household businesses. Before registering a main line or adding a line, it is advisable to check whether the planned line falls within the prohibited list or is a conditional line, so as to prepare the right dossier from the start instead of having the dossier returned.

Preparing before opening another sales point or a conditional line

• Determine whether the new location needs a separate notification to the tax authority and the market management authority, and make the notification as required.
• Check that invoices at the new point record the correct household tax code and location code.
• For a conditional line: identify the sector-managing authority, and prepare the dossier and the actual conditions (premises, staff, equipment) before filing the permit dossier, rather than waiting until an inspection to supplement.
• If the main line recorded on the household registration certificate does not match the actual business, carry out the change registration first.

Should expanding to many sales points mean moving up to a company model?

There is no general answer for every household. Some signs that a move to a company should be considered: the number of sales points is growing quickly, premises leases and contracts with large suppliers require an independent legal entity, or the household owner wants to limit liability to the capital contributed instead of being liable with all personal assets for all sales points. Conversely, if the scale is still small with few sales points, the household model is still leaner in accounting and tax procedures than a company. This decision should be based on each household’s actual situation, not applied mechanically by the number of sales points.

What Thái Tín can help with

Thái Tín is the coordinating point that helps household businesses expand in the right order and avoid lacking permits when the authorities inspect:

• Review whether the household has notified all the business locations actually operating.
• Check whether the main line has been recorded with the correct four-digit VSIC code and matches the actual business.
• Identify the conditional lines that apply to the household, and prepare the corresponding dossier.
• Connect partners for the food safety and fire prevention and fighting parts when the household opens a restaurant or a venue with on-site preparation.

The State authority considers and decides on the dossier.

Questions and answers

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