A household business in operation commonly runs into three kinds of tasks: changing information (name, owner, address, business lines), suspending for a period, or terminating altogether. These three have different dossiers, deadlines and consequences; mixing up any of them slows the procedure or leaves obligations unresolved.
Short conclusion: changes to registration information within 10 days from the date of the change; a suspension of 15 days or more requires 03 working days’ prior notice, each time not exceeding one year; termination requires all debts to be paid before notifying.
Changing household business registration information: 10 days, commune-level authority
Article 100 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP provides that a household business must register changes to its registration contents with the commune-level business registration authority within 10 days from the date of the change (10 calendar days, not working days), in any of the following cases:
- Changing the household business name.
- Changing the head office address.
- Changing the owner or the household members registering the household business.
- Changing business capital.
- Changing business lines.
- Changing tax registration contents (except the tax calculation method).
The commune-level business registration authority processes a valid dossier within 03 working days.
Changing the owner (selling or transferring a household business)
This is the case most often done wrongly: many people hand over a shop by handwritten paper without changing the name on the household business registration certificate. Legally, the tax code, tax debts and social insurance obligations for employees (if any) remain in the name of the former owner until the owner-change dossier is accepted.
The transferee must meet the conditions to be named as owner (a Vietnamese citizen with full legal capacity for civil acts who is not already named as owner of another household business) and file the owner-change dossier on the form in Circular No. 68/2025/TT-BTC. If the former owner has died, gone missing or lost legal capacity for civil acts, the dossier needs an additional death certificate or a Court decision.
Moving the head office to an area managed by a different tax authority usually entails first carrying out the procedure to transfer the managing tax authority, and only then completing the change of the household business registration certificate.
Suspending business: 15-day threshold, 03 working days’ prior notice
Article 103 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP provides that a household business suspending business for 15 days or more must send a suspension registration dossier to the commune-level business registration authority at the latest 03 working days before the suspension date. A suspension of less than 15 days does not require this procedure.
Each registered suspension may not exceed one year. To continue suspending after the registered period expires, the household sends a request to continue the suspension at the latest 03 working days before the date the suspension continues.
New from 23 July 2026: changes must still be registered during a suspension
Decree No. 296/2026/NĐ-CP, amending and supplementing Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP and effective from 23 July 2026, adds clause 5 to Article 103: during a suspension, if information under Article 100 changes, the household business must register the change to its household business registration contents (for example, a change of owner due to inheritance, or a change of address due to site clearance). A suspension does not stop the obligation to update information.
Note: the 24-month cap on total consecutive suspension and the obligation to confirm resuming business within 05 working days under Decree No. 296/2026/NĐ-CP are rules for enterprises (amending Article 60 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP) and do not apply to household businesses. For a household business, each registered suspension still may not exceed one year under clause 1 of Article 103 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP.
Terminating household business operations: pay debts first, notify afterwards
Article 104 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP provides that the household must settle all debts, including tax debts, before filing the termination dossier, unless the household and creditors agree otherwise. Within 05 working days from the date all debts are settled, the household sends the notice of termination of operations to the commune-level business registration authority, on the form in Circular No. 68/2025/TT-BTC.
A household that wants to move up to an enterprise model follows the separate conversion provisions of the Law on Enterprises, and does not file a household termination notice as a separate dossier if the conversion procedure is followed correctly.
Three easily confused matters
| Matter | Does the household still exist | Main condition | Handling authority |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | Yes, for a limited period | 03 working days’ prior notice if 15 days or more | Commune-level business registration authority |
| Termination | No, ends completely | Pay all debts before notifying | Commune-level business registration authority |
| Abandoning it, doing nothing | Legally still exists | None — this is the wrong approach | No authority handles it until it is discovered |
What do the suspension dossier and the termination dossier include?
| Procedure | Main dossier | Filed at | Filing deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension (15 days or more) | Request to register a business suspension (form in Appendix II of Circular No. 68/2025/TT-BTC) | Commune-level business registration authority | At the latest 03 working days before the suspension date |
| Continuing a suspension | Request to continue the suspension | Commune-level business registration authority | At the latest 03 working days before the date the suspension continues |
| Termination of operations | Notice of termination of household business operations (form in Appendix II of Circular No. 68/2025/TT-BTC) | Commune-level business registration authority | Within 05 working days from the date all debts are settled |
For a termination dossier, the commune-level business registration authority receives the notice and updates the household’s legal status on the system; the information is passed to the tax authority to handle the remaining tax and invoice obligations under tax administration law.
What if a household is already suspended and wants to terminate straight away?
There is no need to wait for the registered suspension period to end. If, during the suspension, the household determines that it has no plan to resume operations and has settled its debts, it may file the notice of termination of operations under Article 104 as soon as the conditions are met, and does not have to wait until the end of the previously notified suspension period. What to do first: review the invoices used and the tax obligations arising in both the operating period and the suspension period, to avoid having to supplement the dossier several times.
What if a household is abandoned without notification?
Some households stop selling but carry out no procedure at all. This does not make the tax code disappear: the household must still declare and pay tax as regulated by tax administration law until an official procedure is carried out. If the tax authority determines that the household no longer operates at its registered address, the household will be handled under tax administration regulations, and the later work of resolving it completely usually takes more time than doing the correct procedure from the start.
A household in this situation should first check the status of its tax code and any remaining debts, and then choose a direction: resume operations, suspend through the proper procedure, or terminate. For a large-scale household, one with complex tax debts, or one considering converting fully to a company model and then closing that company, it should also cross-check against the steps that apply to enterprises in Temporary Business Suspension vs. Dissolution: Which to Choose and How Long Does Company Dissolution Take? Statutory Milestones, because the approach of checking the status before choosing a direction is the same.
Preparation before carrying out the procedure
- The most recent household business registration certificate.
- For an owner change: the legal documents of the transferee, the transfer document or agreement between the two parties.
- For a suspension: determine the exact suspension start date to compute the 03-working-day notice milestone.
- For a termination: a list of remaining debts, the status of tax obligations, and the invoices used.
How Thái Tín helps
Thái Tín is the coordinating contact that helps household businesses choose the right procedure and prepare the dossier under current regulations:
- Reviews the status of the household, its tax code and remaining debts before choosing whether to change, suspend or terminate.
- Prepares the dossier on the forms in Circular No. 68/2025/TT-BTC, and tracks the 10-day, 03-working-day and 05-working-day milestones for each procedure respectively.
- Connects accounting and tax partners to handle the finalization and tax debts before the termination notice is filed.
- For households planning to convert to a company model, advises on the order of the steps to take.
State agencies review and decide on dossiers.
Questions and answers
What procedure applies when changing the owner of a household business (selling the shop, transferring the name)?
Register the change of household business registration contents at the commune-level business registration authority within 10 days from the date of the change (Article 100 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP). The transferee must be eligible to be named as owner and must not already be named as owner of another household business. If the shop is only handed over by a handwritten paper and the name on the certificate is not changed, the tax code, debts and related obligations remain in the name of the former owner.
How long must a suspension be before it has to be reported to the business registration authority?
A suspension of 15 days or more requires sending a suspension registration dossier to the commune-level business registration authority at the latest 03 working days before the suspension date (Article 103 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP). A suspension of less than 15 days does not require this procedure, but the household business must still comply with tax obligations and other regulations.
What is the maximum suspension a household business may have?
Each suspension registration may not exceed one year (Article 103 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP). To keep suspending after it expires, the household sends a request at the latest 03 working days before the date the suspension continues. The 24-month cap on total consecutive suspension and the confirmation of resuming business within 05 working days under Decree No. 296/2026/NĐ-CP apply to enterprises, not to household businesses. From 23 July 2026, if information under Article 100 changes during a suspension, the household must still register the change (clause 5 of Article 103, added by Decree No. 296/2026/NĐ-CP).
Must debts be fully paid before terminating a household business?
Yes. The household business must settle all debts, including tax debts, before filing the termination notice, unless otherwise agreed with creditors (Article 104 of Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP). Within 05 working days from the date all debts are settled, the household sends the termination notice to the commune-level business registration authority. If the household has tax debts whose amount has not been clearly determined, or is being verified by the tax authority, check the tax code status before filing the notice, to avoid the dossier being returned repeatedly.
Is there any problem in abandoning a household business without notifying anyone?
There is risk. A household business that stops operating but does not notify a suspension or carry out termination procedures still has its tax code and its obligations to declare and pay tax as regulated. The tax authority may determine that the household is not operating at its registered address and handle it under tax administration regulations. The fix is to check the status of the household and its tax code first, and then choose a suspension through the proper procedure or a full termination.
Legal basis · verification date
Verified 2 October 2026 · next review 29 December 2026. The content is general guidance and does not replace advice for a specific case.
- Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP on enterprise registration (effective 1 July 2025): Article 100 (registering changes to household business registration contents, 10-day period, commune-level business registration authority, 03 working days for processing); Article 103 (suspension of household business, 15-day threshold, 03 working days' prior notice, each suspension not exceeding one year); Article 104 (termination of household business operations, paying debts first, notice within 05 working days).
- Decree No. 296/2026/NĐ-CP (issued and effective 23 July 2026) amending and supplementing Decree No. 168/2025/NĐ-CP: adds clause 5 to Article 103 — a suspended household business must still register changes arising under Article 100 (Article 16); electronic authentication when authorizing registration of the establishment of a household business, a change of household owner or a change of household members (amending clause 5 of Article 93, Article 15).
- Circular No. 68/2025/TT-BTC of 1 July 2025 of the Ministry of Finance, Appendix II: forms for the request to register changes to household business registration contents, the suspension notice, and the notice of termination of household business operations.
Official texts and standards
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