What should high-tech and strategic technology incubation facilities know about the incubation facility certificate from 01 July 2026?

In summary: Incubation facilities should pay attention to 03 main groups of issues: the conditions for obtaining the Certificate; the application dossier, procedures, and processing timeline; and the circumstances under which the Certificate may be revoked after it has been issued.

On 01 July 2026, the Ministry of Science and Technology issued Circular No. 38/2026/TT-BKHCN (“Circular 38/2026”), which for the first time establishes a unified legal framework governing the criteria, conditions and certification procedures applicable to high-tech incubation facilities, strategic technology incubation facilities, high-tech enterprise incubation facilities and strategic technology enterprise incubation facilities (the “Incubation Facility Certificate”). This regulation is particularly relevant to research institutes, universities, high-tech parks, technology enterprises, and investors developing incubation models in Vietnam. Therefore, from 01 July 2026, organizations operating or planning to establish incubation facilities for high technology, strategic technology, or technology-based enterprises in Vietnam should review their legal eligibility, certification dossiers, and operational maintenance mechanisms to mitigate the risk of having their applications rejected or their Incubation Facility Certificate revoked after issuance.

In this article, BLawyers Vietnam highlights 03 key issues that organizations and individuals operating, or planning to operate, incubation facilities should be aware of, including: (i) the conditions for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate; (ii) the application dossier, procedures, and timeline for the issuance of an Incubation Facility Certificate; and (iii) the circumstances under which an Incubation Facility Certificate may be revoked.

1. Conditions for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate

Circular 38/2026 sets out specific general criteria as well as separate criteria applicable to each type of incubation facility, particularly high-tech incubation facilities and strategic technology incubation facilities:

1. General conditions: An incubation facility must satisfy the following general conditions:
   1. Being an organization or individual duly established and operating in accordance with the laws of Vietnam;
   2. Having a feasible financial plan capable of maintaining incubation support activities for a minimum period of 02 consecutive years;
   3. Having a lawful operating location appropriate to the scale of the incubation facility, and where applicable, enter into cooperation agreements with manufacturing, research and educational institutions supporting incubation activities;
   4. Having an internal quality management system comprising established and effectively implemented procedures for the admission, assessment, monitoring and support of incubation activities;
   5. Having integrated digital infrastructure and the capability to connect and share data with the National Digital Platform for Science, Technology and Innovation;
   6. Maintaining a permanent management team consisting of at least 03 members, of whom at least 2/3 hold a university degree or higher;
   7. Engaging at least 01 consultant holding a university degree with a minimum of 05 years of relevant experience under a consultancy agreement with a term of at least 24 months; and
   8. Having a clearly defined incubation plan, implementation measures and roadmap approved by the management of the organization.
2. Specific conditions: In addition to the general conditions set out above, high-tech incubation facilities and strategic technology incubation facilities must also satisfy the following sector-specific requirements:
   1. The technologies being incubated must fall within the List of high technologies prioritized for development investment or the List of strategic technologies promulgated by the Prime Minister;
   2. Maintain a network of experts specializing in technology and intellectual property; and
   3. In the case of strategic technology incubation facilities, laboratories or testing facilities supporting incubation activities must comply with ISO/IEC 17025 or other equivalent standards prescribed by law.

In practice, meeting these requirements is not merely a matter of preparing the application dossier. Incubation facilities must also be able to demonstrate their operational capacity, human resources, financial capability, digital infrastructure, and internal processes in a consistent and reliable manner before submitting their application dossiers.

2. Application dossier, procedures and processing timeline for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate

1. Application dossier for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate: Organizations and individuals shall submit 01 application dossier to the People’s Committee of the province where the incubation facility is located. The application dossier comprises:
   1. An application for the issuance of an Incubation Facility Certificate;
   2. Certified copies of documents evidencing legal status (for organizations) or a Citizen Identity Card/ Passport valid for at least 12 months (for individuals);
   3. An original explanatory statement demonstrating the Incubation facility’s capacity to satisfy the applicable criteria and operating conditions, prepared in accordance with Form B2-TMCSUT;
   4. Documents relating to the proposed experts;
   5. Documents evidencing the applicant’s financial resources corresponding to the applicable source of investment capital;
   6. Documents evidencing the right to use equipment and machinery owned by other organizations, where applicable; and
   7. Cooperation agreements between the technology incubation facility and manufacturing, research or educational institutions, where applicable.
2. Procedures for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate: The procedure for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate consists of the following 05 steps:
   1. Step 1: The organization or individual submits the application dossier for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate to the competent authority;
   2. Step 2: The competent authority reviews the completeness and validity of the application dossier and, where necessary, requests amendments or supplements;
   3. Step 3: An Appraisal Council is established to evaluate the application;
   4. Step 4: The Appraisal Council conducts the appraisal. In certain circumstances, the competent authority may carry out an on-site inspection of the incubation facility before the appraisal; and
   5. Step 5: The competent authority issues the Incubation Facility Certificate if the statutory conditions are satisfied or issues a written notice specifying the reasons for refusal.
      • An Incubation Facility Certificate remains valid for 05 years from the date of issuance.
3. Processing timeline for obtaining an Incubation Facility Certificate

The processing time for a new application shall not exceed 22 working days from the date on which the competent authority receives a complete and valid application dossier. The authority responsible for issuing the Incubation Facility Certificate is the People’s Committee of the province or centrally governed city where the technology incubation facility is located.

3. Circumstances under which an Incubation Facility Certificate may be revoked

An incubation facility may have its Incubation Facility Certificate revoked if it falls into any of the following circumstances:

1. Failing to commence operations within 12 months from the date of issuance; or
2. Engaging in forgery or fraudulent conduct in the application dossier for the issuance of the Incubation Facility Certificate; or
3. Committing acts prohibited under Article 10 of the Law on High technology; or
4. Failing to maintain the prescribed eligibility conditions and being unable to remedy such non-compliance within 06 months from the date of receiving a written notice from the competent authority.

How does BLawyers Vietnam support you?

For organizations and individuals seeking to obtain, renew, or maintain an Incubation Facility Certificate, BLawyers Vietnam can provide comprehensive support, from the initial assessment of eligibility requirements, preparation of application dossiers, and liaison with the competent authorities, to advising on legal issues that may arise during the operation of an incubation facility. Specifically:

1. Assessing compliance with the statutory requirements prior to the submission of the application dossier;
2. Advising on and preparing application dossiers for the issuance or re-issuance of an Incubation Facility Certificate;
3. Representing clients in working with the competent authorities throughout the appraisal and certification process; and
4. Advising on legal issues arising from the operation of the incubation facility.

The above is not official advice from BLawyers Vietnam. If you have any questions or suggestions about the above, please contact us at info@blawyersvn.com. BLawyers Vietnam would love to hear from you.

Date: 18 September 2026

Writers: Ha Le & Trang Le