Civil Servant Recruitment Examination (Vietnam)Thi công chức

Overview

Vietnam has no single national civil servant exam. Each ministry, agency or provincial people's committee that has posts to fill (the "recruiting authority") announces its own recruitment round, with its own vacancies, quotas and dates. The national rules they all follow are set by the Law on Cadres and Civil Servants of 2025 (in force from 1 July 2025) and by Government Decree 170/2025/NĐ-CP of 30 June 2025, amended by Decree 300/2026/NĐ-CP (signed 29 July 2026, in force from 1 August 2026).

This page describes those national rules, and the standard exam used for most entry-level posts. The text was read in Vietnamese on Vietnamese government and legal-news pages; the official legal gazette was not opened, so check the recruiting authority's own notice before you apply.

Who can apply

The Law on Cadres and Civil Servants 2025 (Article 19) lets a person apply if they:

• hold Vietnamese nationality only (one nationality) and live in Vietnam;

• are at least 18 years old;

• have good political and moral qualities and a clear personal background;

• are healthy enough to do the job;

• meet the requirements of the specific post.

People who lack or have limited civil capacity, who are being prosecuted, or who are serving or have served a criminal sentence that has not been expunged, or who are in compulsory drug-treatment or education facilities, cannot apply. The recruiting authority sets the post requirements (for example, degree and field) but may not set them below the common standards or discriminate by type of training.

Recruitment routes

• Competitive exam (thi tuyển): the main route, described below.

• Assessment without an exam (xét tuyển): only for named groups under Decree 170/2025, Article 5. These are people who commit to at least 5 years of work in areas with exceptionally difficult conditions, students trained under the nominated-student (cử tuyển) system who return to their home locality, and outstanding graduates or young scientists covered by the talent-attraction policy.

• Direct transfer (tiếp nhận): experts, public employees, military, police and some other public-sector staff may be taken in without an exam. Decree 300/2026 restates who can be taken in this way and requires at least 5 years of relevant work for most of the groups.

Exam pattern

The pattern depends on the grade (ngạch) of the post, under Decree 170/2025, Article 9.

Specialist (chuyên viên) and clerk-level (cán sự) posts: two rounds

Other grades

• Staff (nhân viên) posts: one professional exam only, either an oral exam or a practical task, 30 minutes, marked out of 100.

• Senior specialist (chuyên viên chính) posts: the round 2 professional exam only (written, or written plus interview).

• Principal specialist (chuyên viên cao cấp) posts: a policy-project (Đề án) exam, marked out of 100, with the preparation and presentation taking at most 90 minutes per candidate. The content is set by the recruiting authority and published in its notice.

An authority may set higher requirements or a foreign-language test. If it does, it must say so in its recruitment plan and notice. A foreign-language score is a pass-or-fail condition, is not added to the professional score, and the test is held before the professional exam.

Marking and results

To be selected, a candidate needs at least 50 points in the professional exam. If the written paper and interview are both used, the candidate must sit both and score at least half of the maximum in each. Selected candidates are then ranked from the highest score downwards within the number of posts for each position.

Priority points are added to the professional exam score. Under Decree 170/2025, Article 6, the amounts are 7.5 points for war invalids and Heroes of the Armed Forces or of Labour, 5 points for ethnic minorities, demobilised officers, children of martyrs and similar groups, 2.5 points for people who completed military or police service, and 1.5 points for trade-union officials who grew up in the movement. A person in several groups receives only the highest.

If scores tie at the last place, the higher professional score decides, then the higher written score where an interview was used, and then the head of the authority. A candidate who is not selected cannot carry the result over to a later round.

Important dates

There are no fixed national dates. The recruiting authority sets them in its notice. The rules give these time limits:

• The application period is 30 days from the public announcement.

• The recruitment council posts the list of eligible candidates within 15 days of the application deadline, or 30 days if there are 500 or more applicants.

• Round 1 is held within 30 days of the application deadline (45 days if extended), and round 2 within 10 days after round 1.

• Written results are published within 15 days of the written exam, and appeals are accepted for 5 working days.

• Successful candidates have 20 days to complete their file after the list is published.

Fees

No exam fee is stated in the sources read for this page. Check the recruitment notice.

How to apply

1. Watch for the recruitment notice. The authority must publish it in a newspaper or broadcast medium and on its own website. It lists the posts, quotas, requirements, exam format and where to submit the form.

2. Submit the application form (Form 01 to the decree), in person, by email, through the authority's portal or by another electronic method named in the notice.

3. Sit the exam if your application is accepted. You get no admission letter for round 2 if you passed round 1.

4. If selected, provide copies of your qualifications (not including IT or language certificates) and any priority-group proof. A criminal-record certificate is then requested for you.

After the exam

The head of the authority issues a recruitment decision, assigns the post and places the person in the matching civil-service grade. Under Decree 170/2025 the new recruit had 30 days to report for work; the text of Decree 300/2026 as published by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics shortens this to 15 days from the decision, and the decision must be issued within 3 working days of the file deadline. Confirm the timings in your decision letter.

Preparation tips

• Read the recruitment notice first, since each authority sets its own requirements and format.

• For round 1, revise Vietnam's political system, state administration, civil-service duties and ethics, and general knowledge of society, culture and history. Practise timed 60-question sets, as you must get at least half right.

• For round 2, study the law and policy of the field you are applying to, and practise writing or answering within the time limit.