Quick summary
- Circular No. 14/2026/TT-BKHCN dated 9 April 2026 of the Minister of Science and Technology (signed by Minister Vũ Hải Quân) regulates the declaration of conformity with standards, the declaration of conformity with technical regulations and the methods of assessing conformity with standards and technical regulations; it is effective from 25 May 2026.
- The Circular keeps the 8 certification methods in Article 5, but the important new feature is Annex II, which sets out in detail the content, procedure and principles of use of each method — something Circular 28/2012/TT-BKHCN did not provide.
- Article 6 lays down 10 application principles: the method must be stated specifically on the certificate; Method 1 and Method 6 do not apply to high-risk goods; market sampling and type or group sampling are tightly restricted.
- Methods 2 – 6: the certification is valid for up to 5 years and surveillance is mandatory; Method 7 is valid only for a specific lot, and Method 8 only for individual units — neither requires further surveillance.
- Choosing a method is a risk-based exercise: the higher the risk, the more production-process or management-system assessment must be added, and the more frequent the surveillance.
- The Circular replaces Circulars 28/2012/TT-BKHCN, 02/2017/TT-BKHCN and 04/2025/TT-BKHCN; certificates issued before the effective date remain valid until they expire.
1. Why it is worth re-reading the “8 certification methods” right now
In a declaration-of-conformity dossier, the question businesses most often get wrong is not where to test but which certification method to use. The method determines whether the production process must be assessed, where surveillance samples are taken, how long the certificate stays valid, and whether periodic surveillance is required at all.
Previously, Circular 28/2012/TT-BKHCN (amended by Circular 02/2017/TT-BKHCN and Circular 04/2025/TT-BKHCN) merely listed the eight methods in Article 5 without describing how to apply them. Circular 14/2026/TT-BKHCN — effective 25 May 2026 — moves all the detailed content into Annex II, “Content, procedure and principles of use of the certification methods”, and adds Article 6 with 10 application principles. The practical consequence: from 25 May 2026, every conformity dossier must demonstrate that the method used matches the risk level of the product or goods.
Article 12 of the Circular confirms this clearly: where certification is carried out by a certification body, the certification activity follows Article 6 and Annex II — so everything described below is a mandatory requirement, not optional guidance.
2. Overview of the 8 certification methods under Article 5 and Annex II
| Method | What the certification consists of | Surveillance (where the samples are taken) | Scope of validity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Testing of a sample representative of the type or kind of product or goods | No surveillance | The type or kind sampled |
| 2 | Testing of a sample representative of the type or kind | Testing of samples taken on the market | Type or kind — up to 5 years |
| 3 | Sample testing + assessment of the production process | Sample testing and production-process assessment; samples taken at the place of production | Type or kind — up to 5 years |
| 4 | Sample testing + assessment of the production process | Sample testing and production-process assessment; samples taken at the place of production or on the market, or both | Type or kind — up to 5 years |
| 5 | Sample testing + assessment of the production process or the management system | Sample testing and production-process/management-system assessment; samples taken at the place of production or on the market, or both | Type or kind — up to 5 years |
| 6 | Assessment and surveillance of the management system | Re-assessment of the management system, no more than once every 12 months | The management system — up to 5 years |
| 7 | Testing and assessment of a lot of products or goods (samples taken at random, representative of the whole lot) | No surveillance | Only the specific lot |
| 8 | Testing or inspection of every individual product or item | No surveillance | Only each individual unit |
One point stands out: Method 4 is described in Annex II as “a method with the high reliability of Method 5 that nevertheless allows flexibility in the surveillance measures so as to reduce cost”, and it points towards the mutual recognition of certification results. Many businesses overlook this balanced option because they are used to working only with Method 5.
3. How to read the 8 methods quickly along three axes
3.1. Axis 1 — What the assessment consists of: does sample testing stand alone?
- Sample testing only: Methods 1, 2, 7 and 8. The conclusion of conformity rests entirely on the sample test results.
- Sample testing + production-process assessment: Methods 3, 4 and 5. The product is deemed conforming only when both conditions are met: every tested parameter of the sample passes, and the production-process (or management-system) assessment passes.
- Management-system assessment only: Method 6 — used for processes, services and environments that have a management system.
Under Method 3, the production-process assessment covers six groups of control conditions: the technical dossier of the product; the entire production process (including packaging, handling, warehousing and transport); the quality of raw materials, semi-finished and finished products; technological equipment and measuring, inspection and testing equipment; the qualifications and competence of workers and technical staff; and other necessary technical matters.
Under Method 5, if the management-system branch is chosen, the assessment covers five blocks: the documentation system (policy, objectives, management manual, procedures, records); implementation and operation (process approach, risk-based thinking, control of operations, resources, competence and awareness); compliance with the requirements of the standard, the technical regulation and the law; internal audit and management review; and identification of nonconformity and corrective action.
3.2. Axis 2 — Scope of validity: type or kind, lot, or single unit
- Methods 1 – 6: certification of the type or kind (for Method 6, of the management system).
- Method 7: the certification “has value only for the specific lot of products or goods”. A lot is deemed conforming if the number of non-conforming samples stays within the permitted limit. Method 7 is used when goods are identified as a homogeneous lot and the requirements for maintaining stable quality cannot be examined.
- Method 8: the certification “has value only for each individual product or item”, and is used for goods subject to strict safety requirements before being placed on the market, used or operated.
3.3. Axis 3 — Surveillance: where samples are taken and how often
This is the biggest difference from the simplistic idea that “certification is the end of it”. Methods 2 – 6 require surveillance assessment throughout the period of validity, and the surveillance results are the basis for maintaining, suspending or withdrawing the certification.
| Risk level | First surveillance | Subsequent surveillance |
|---|---|---|
| High | No more than once every 12 months from the start of the certificate’s validity | No more than once every 12 months from the end of the previous surveillance |
| Medium | No more than once every 12 months from the start of the certificate’s validity | No more than once every 24 months from the end of the previous surveillance |
| Low | The certification body decides the frequency on the basis of an agreement with the business being assessed | |
The specific period of validity (within the 5-year ceiling) is decided by the line ministry or sector authority and the certification body, based on the risk level, technical characteristics, degree of stability, technology level, life cycle and nature of use of the product or goods. Methods 7 and 8 require no further surveillance.
4. Ten application principles you must remember (Article 6)
1. The method must be stated specifically on the certificate of conformity with the technical regulation. For certification of conformity with standards, the certificate must also state the certification method.
2. Which method applies to which object is laid down in the corresponding technical regulation or in sector-specific legal documents. Line ministries and provincial people’s committees may, based on the risk level, specify the applicable methods directly in the technical regulation.
3. Method 1 and Method 6 do not apply to products or goods with a high risk level. This is the barrier most easily breached when a business wants to cut costs.
4. Sampling on the market to test conformity with one or several parameters of a technical regulation is permitted only where the characteristics of the product or goods may change during distribution and circulation.
5. Sampling representative of a kind or of a group (instead of sampling each type or kind) applies only to medium-risk goods, must be specified in the technical regulation or the relevant legal document, and must at the same time ensure: sector law requires full testing of all technical parameters before first placing on the market; the business holds a certified quality management system in line with the corresponding standard (ISO 9001, HACCP, GMP, other management-system standards) for the relevant scope; and the certification body is accredited by an accreditation body that is a signatory to a mutual recognition arrangement or agreement (MRA/MLA) — ILAC, IAF, APAC, the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated — or is accredited under an MRA/MLA to which Vietnam is a party.
6. Exemption from or reduction of the number of samples or test parameters during surveillance (for medium- and high-risk goods) is allowed only where the business provides sufficient evidence that it applies and holds a certified quality management system; operates internal monitoring and testing programmes or tests at the request of interested parties; the test results are obtained at an accredited testing laboratory; and, within one certification cycle, every parameter in the technical regulation is tested by surveillance at least once.
7. Exemption from or reduction of the production-process assessment during surveillance likewise applies only where the business demonstrates that it applies and holds a certified quality management system in line with the corresponding standard.
8. A quality management system certificate used as the basis for an exemption or reduction must: remain valid for at least 6 months at the time of consideration; have a certification scope matching the product or goods covered by the technical regulation; and be issued by a certification body that is accredited under an MRA/MLA as described above.
9. For Method 7, line ministries and provincial people’s committees specify in the technical regulation how the representative sampling is carried out; where sampling follows statistical probability, the technical regulation must state the sampling plan according to TCVN 9597-1 or ISO 10576-1, the TCVN 7790 series or ISO 2859, TCVN 8243-1 or ISO 3951-1.
10. For certification of conformity with standards, the method is chosen by the standards certification body or by the organisation or individual making the declaration from among the methods in Article 5, and must be appropriate to the risk level so as to ensure the reliability of the result. One important technical point: no conformity mark is granted for Method 1 in standards certification.
Practitioner’s note: Answer three questions before signing a certification contract: (1) what risk level does the product have and which methods does the corresponding technical regulation allow; (2) does that method require assessment of the production process or management system; (3) where are surveillance samples taken and how often. Getting any one wrong means the dossier has to be redone.
5. Choosing a method in practice: five typical situations
- Design determines quality, low-risk goods, hard to sample on the market: Method 1 or Method 2 — but remember that Method 1 is not for high-risk goods and that no mark is granted in standards certification.
- You want to control the place of production and quality changes little in circulation: Method 3 — surveillance focuses on the place of production, which suits products that are hard to recall from the market.
- You need high reliability but want to optimise cost and move towards mutual recognition: Method 4 — flexible surveillance sampling (place of production, market, or both).
- High-risk product, quality that may become unstable both in production and in circulation, with recall capability: Method 5 — sample testing combined with assessment of the production process or the management system. This is also the method technical regulations most often prescribe: for example QCVN 32:2026/BCT on EV charging posts and stations requires certification under Method 5 or Method 7 of Circular 14/2026/TT-BKHCN.
- Goods imported by lot, with no information on the production process to assess: Method 7 — certification per lot, with no further surveillance, provided the sampling plan follows the relevant technical regulation.
One point to settle with clients: Method 7 is cheap and fast but valid only for that lot. If the next lot fails, the earlier lot’s result cannot be relied on. Conversely, Methods 2 – 5 give a certificate valid for up to 5 years but carry a surveillance obligation — the surveillance schedule must be built into the quality plan from the outset.
6. Five common mistakes when applying certification methods
1. Not stating the method on the certificate — a direct breach of clauses 1 and 10 of Article 6.
2. Using Method 1 or Method 6 for high-risk goods — expressly excluded by clause 3 of Article 6.
3. Group or kind sampling for high-risk goods, or before the quality management system is certified and the MRA/MLA accreditation conditions are met.
4. Using test results from a laboratory that is neither accredited nor designated — for conformity certification, sample testing must be carried out at a testing organisation that is accredited or designated under the law on standards and technical regulations and on product and goods quality.
5. Dropping surveillance after the certificate is issued under Methods 2 – 6, or running surveillance at the wrong frequency (in particular for the medium-risk group: first surveillance no later than 12 months, subsequent ones no later than 24 months).
Further reading:
- QCVN 32:2026/BCT – EV charging posts and charging stations — a textbook example of a regulation that prescribes two methods, Method 5 and Method 7.
- Designation of conformity assessment bodies under Decree 37/2026/NĐ-CP — because “a designated organisation” is the key to any conformity dossier.
- Decree 37/2026/NĐ-CP: an overview of 8 chapters, 99 articles, with the full text — the legal framework for risk classification and quality obligations.
- Circular 16/2026/TT-BKHCN: signing and implementing mutual recognition agreements — the MRA/MLA mechanism that Article 6 of Circular 14 refers to repeatedly.
- Conformity assessment procedure 2026: household electrical appliances and ICT equipment — the practical dossier procedure for electrical and electronic goods.
- Circular 125/2026/TT-BCA: surveillance cameras enter the medium-risk list — how a line ministry “triggers” the declaration-of-conformity obligation.
Conclusion
Circular No. 14/2026/TT-BKHCN dated 9 April 2026, effective from 25 May 2026, keeps the familiar eight certification methods but gives them a new suit of clothes: Annex II sets out in detail the content, procedure and principles of use of each method, while Article 6 lays down 10 application principles. For the first time, the practical questions — where surveillance samples are taken, how often surveillance is due, when exemptions are available — are answered in the document itself instead of being left to guesswork.
Three propositions to remember: (1) the method must be stated specifically on the certificate; (2) choosing a method is a risk-based exercise — the higher the risk, the more production-process or management-system assessment is required and the more frequent the surveillance; (3) Method 1 and Method 6 cannot be used for high-risk goods, while Methods 7 and 8 apply only to a lot or a single unit and carry no further surveillance.
For businesses, the immediate task is to review the corresponding technical regulation to see which methods it permits or prescribes, compare that with the method stated on existing certificates, and check the surveillance schedule of every certificate still in force — because surveillance results are precisely what determines whether the certification is maintained, suspended or withdrawn.
References
The documents below are the basis of this article; readers should check the current versions on the Government Portal and the Official Gazette.
- Circular No. 14/2026/TT-BKHCN dated 9 April 2026 of the Minister of Science and Technology regulating the declaration of conformity with standards, the declaration of conformity with technical regulations and the methods of assessing conformity with standards and technical regulations (effective from 25 May 2026) — vanban.chinhphu.vn; PDF version.
- Law on Standards and Technical Regulations No. 68/2006/QH11, amended and supplemented by Law No. 35/2018/QH14 and Law No. 70/2025/QH15.
- Law on Product and Goods Quality No. 05/2007/QH12, amended and supplemented by Law No. 78/2025/QH15.
- Decree No. 22/2026/NĐ-CP dated 16 January 2026 and Decree No. 37/2026/NĐ-CP dated 23 January 2026 of the Government.
- Circulars No. 28/2012/TT-BKHCN, No. 02/2017/TT-BKHCN and No. 04/2025/TT-BKHCN (ceasing to have effect from the date Circular 14/2026/TT-BKHCN takes effect).
Discuss with us
This article is our interpretation to disseminate legal knowledge about standards, measurement and quality, not a legal document. The content restates Circular No. 14/2026/TT-BKHCN dated April 9, 2026 of the Ministry of Science and Technology; referenced documents may be amended, supplemented, replaced or annulled. The application for each specific case depends on the applicable technical regulation, the risk level of the product or goods and the status of the conformity assessment body; before applying, readers should look up the current text on official information portals and consult the competent authority. The content of the article is for reference only and does not replace legal advice.
