Circular No. 11/2026/TT-BNNMT, establishes the framework for managing and operating the National Registry System for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission quotas and carbon credits in Vietnam. This circular applies to units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC), the Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX), the Hanoi Stock Exchange (HNX), agencies and organizations with facilities allocated GHG emission quotas, agencies and organizations in Vietnam that have programs or projects registered under the mechanisms for exchanging and offsetting carbon credits, and other agencies and organizations involved in the management, operation, and use of the National Registry System.
Registry Account Management
- Agencies and organizations to which this circular applies are authorized to be granted a registry account. Each eligible entity is restricted to a single registry account on the system. If an organization operates multiple facilities allocated with GHG emission quotas, it must use its one account to track obligations for all those facilities.
- The account's identifier is linked to the organization's tax identification number.
- Transactions are processed via create and approve mechanism. Account owners bear full responsibility for managing their account, including the assignment of staff to handle transactions.
- To ensure effective coordination, account owners must register and maintain contact information for at least two designated individuals, including their names, titles, email addresses, and phone numbers.
- Accounts are composed of specific sub-accounts to track the lifecycle of quotas and credits, including the General Registry, Trading Balance, Transfer, Borrowing, Offsetting, Return, Pending Deposit, and Frozen sub-accounts.
Account Lifecycle Procedures
- Registration/Updates: Account registration follows the procedures set forth in Article 18 of Decree No. 06/2022/NĐ-CP (as amended by Decree No. 119/2025/NĐ-CP). Owners are responsible for keeping their account information accurate and up-to-date.
- Closing: Accounts may be closed if they have no remaining balance, have fulfilled return obligations, and have no pending transactions.
- Freezing/Unfreezing: The MAE may freeze or unfreeze accounts or specific assets upon a written request from a competent authority. Assets affected by these actions are managed through a "Frozen" sub-account, with specific protocols for handling assets deposited at the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation.
Registration Procedures
GHG Emission Quotas:
- The Ministry completes registration on the National Registry System within 5 working days of a quota allocation decision taking effect. The registration includes detailed information such as the allocation period, total quantities, associated serial numbers, domestic codes, and specific details for each owning agency and facility.
Carbon Credits:
- The Ministry registers carbon credits within 5 working days of receiving official notification from the relevant management ministry or issuing its own decision. This applies to domestic, Article 6.2, and Article 6.4 Paris Agreement mechanisms.
Notifications:
- Upon completing registration, the Ministry electronically notifies the quota/credit owners, the Hanoi Stock Exchange, and the Vietnam Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (VSDC). The Ministry also publicly announces the first and last trading days on the National Registry System at least 7 working days in advance.
Management of Domestic Codes and Serial Numbers
- The Ministry is the sole authority for granting and managing these identifiers.
- GHG quota codes follow the structure VN-[Allocation Year] and has serial numbers are 16 characters, including the domestic code and a 10-digit range, while carbon credit codes are 09 characters representing the mechanism, project, and year of reduction and has serial numbers of 19 characters.
Cancellation of Registration
- For GHG emission quotas the Ministry cancels registration for quotas that are transferred, borrowed, returned, or fail to be returned/transferred by regulatory deadlines.
- For carbon credits cancellation occurs when credits are used for offsetting, voluntarily cancelled by the owner, or revoked by a competent authority.
- Cancellation involves removing both the quantity and the associated serial numbers from the system. If assets are held at the VSDC, the Ministry must coordinate a deposit withdrawal before finalizing the cancellation.T he Ministry must notify the Hanoi Stock Exchange and the VSDC at least 3 working days before cancelling carbon credit registrations.
Transfer, borrowing of GHG quotas
- Account owners may transfer quotas between periods as permitted by law. Upon request, the system moves the quotas from the General Registry to the Transfer sub-account, after which the Ministry adjusts the registration figures for both the current and next periods and cancels the amounts in the Transfer sub-account.
- Facilities may borrow quotas from the next period to meet current-period obligations, provided they do not exceed allowed limits. The system manages this via the Borrowing sub-account, and the Ministry subsequently updates the quota records for both periods and performs the necessary cancellations.
Offsetting with Carbon Credits
- Account owners can use carbon credits to offset GHG emissions. The credits are moved to the Offsetting sub-account. The Ministry then reduces the registered carbon credit balance, increases the Return sub-account balance for GHG quotas accordingly, and cancels the used credits in the Offsetting sub-account.
Reporting regime, disclosure, and confidentiality of information
- The system must ensure data integrity and continuous operation while complying with laws on state secrets and cyber security. Participating organizations must maintain the confidentiality of access and transaction data.
- The MAE publishes monthly / annual reports which incldues lists of registered projects, and totals for new registrations or cancellations; biennial reports which includes comprehensive data on quotas and market compliance; and ommediate disclosures (within 72 hours) including changes to codes/serial numbers or system service interruptions.
- User Responsibilities: Participants must report any system incidents affecting data accuracy or account access within 24 hours.
- Financial Entity Reporting: The VSDC and the Vietnam Stock Exchange must submit quarterly/annual reports on transaction/depository data and provide extraordinary reports within 24 hours of technical incidents.
Responsibilities of units under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
The Department of Climate Change:
- This department acts as the primary agency responsible for the overall administration and operation of the system
- It handles all registrations, cancellations, and the unified granting/management of domestic codes and serial numbers for all quotas and carbon credits.
- It manages the lifecycle of registry accounts, including opening, freezing, unfreezing, and closing accounts.
- It ensures information safety, manages risk, and addresses incidents or system suspensions.
- It serves as the focal point for collaboration with the VSDC and Stock Exchanges to operate the carbon market, and develops guidelines, provides training for system participants, and manages reporting/information disclosure.
The Department of Digital Transformation:
- This department provides the critical digital infrastructure and cybersecurity support and leads efforts to ensure information security and continuous operation of the system's infrastructure.
- It manages the technical solutions required for safe and synchronous data exchange between the National Registry System, VSDC, Stock Exchanges, and other national digital platforms.
- It develops and maintains backup plans and incident response protocols to ensure data can be restored in the event of a failure.
- It collaborates with the Department of Climate Change to upgrade software, maintain infrastructure, and resolve technical or cybersecurity incidents.
Validation and Verification Body
N/A
Recognition of methodologies by regulation
N/A
Registration of the PD or project with the national registry for VCM and Article 6
The regulation requires the MAE to register carbon credits compliant with domestic exchange, offset mechanisms, and Article 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement on the National registry system.
Approval for listing, issuance, trade, authorisation and corresponding adjustment
The circular requires the MAE to finalize registration of carbon credits following issuance notices or decisions before they can be recorded and traded on the system.
Transfer of credits to registry after issuance and CA
Following the issuance of carbon credits, the MAE records information on agencies and organizations in possession of these credits on the National registry system.
APPENDIX I
Forms seving the implementation of operations on the National Registry for GHG emissions quotas and carbon credits.
Form No. 01: Application for voluntary cancellation of carbon credit registration
Form No. 02: Notice of confirmation for voluntary cancellation of carbon credit registration
Form No. 03: Application for transfer of ownership of greenhouse gas emission quotas and carbon credits outside the carbon exchange system
Form No. 04: Notice of confirmation for transfer of ownership of greenhouse gas emission quotas and carbon credits outside the carbon exchange system
