Vietnam IT Industry Codes 2025: Which VSIC Codes to Register Under Decision 36/2025

Vietnam’s Information Technology (IT) sector has become a core driver of economic growth, powered by digital transformation, global outsourcing, and fast adoption of cloud computing, AI, and platform-based services. For both domestic companies and foreign investors, one foundational issue still determines how smoothly a tech business can operate and expand: choosing the right industry codes during registration.

With the implementation of Decision No. 36/2025/QĐ-TTg (Decision 36) and the rollout of the updated Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification (VSIC 2025) system—effective November 15, 2025—Vietnam has introduced more refined categories designed to capture modern technology business models. This guide explains how IT activities are now typically classified, why code selection impacts compliance and strategy, and how tools such as ChatIIP and IIPMap can help tech businesses register accurately and scale with confidence.

1. Why Choosing the Right IT Industry Codes Matters in Vietnam

Industry code selection is not a formality in Vietnam. It shapes how your business scope is written into the Enterprise Registration Certificate (ERC) and, for foreign-invested projects, how activities are reflected in the Investment Registration Certificate (IRC). These codes also influence how authorities interpret whether your company is operating within its registered scope, how certain tax and compliance discussions begin, and how your business is categorized in official economic reporting used for policy and market analysis.

This is especially important in IT because the boundaries blur quickly. A single company can develop software products, deliver managed services, host cloud infrastructure, run a digital platform, provide data analytics, and sell subscription services across borders. Under a more granular VSIC 2025 framework, investors have more precise options to describe what they do, which reduces ambiguity—but also raises expectations for accuracy.

2. How Decision 36/2025 Changes IT Classification Under VSIC 2025

VSIC 2025 modernizes Vietnam’s industry classification to better reflect global norms and the real structure of the tech economy. The most visible change for investors is that Vietnam’s classification logic now supports clearer differentiation among several common IT domains, including software creation, IT services and consulting, system integration and maintenance, data and cloud services, and platform-based digital business models.

In practical terms, the update makes it easier to register a business in a way that matches how it earns revenue and delivers services. It also helps foreign investors align Vietnam entities with internal global reporting categories, improving comparability across jurisdictions.

3. Key IT Industry Code Areas to Consider for Registration

Because exact code numbers can vary depending on how detailed the sub-classification must be, most investors start by mapping activities to “code areas” rather than memorizing a single number. The following are the most common VSIC 2025 classification areas that IT businesses typically need to consider.

Software development is usually treated as the core classification for companies that build applications, enterprise systems, mobile apps, SaaS products, or packaged software solutions. This category matters because it defines product creation and software delivery as a primary activity, which can be important for companies seeking clear recognition as a software producer rather than a general service provider.

IT consulting and technology solutions often cover advisory work, implementation consulting, managed services, and ongoing support that sits around software or IT infrastructure. This area matters because it clarifies service scope for contracts, enterprise clients, and operational inspections, especially when the company is selling implementation or management rather than a software product.

System integration and maintenance generally apply when a business designs, integrates, deploys, or maintains IT systems for clients, including infrastructure-linked projects. This classification becomes important when the company participates in complex deployments, integration bids, or long-term maintenance contracts, where authorities may expect the registered scope to reflect technical services beyond basic software creation.

Cloud services, data processing, and AI-related services are increasingly central to Vietnam’s tech ecosystem. Under VSIC 2025 logic, these activities are better positioned as future-oriented services rather than being squeezed into generic software or general services. This area matters for companies that host, process, analyze, or provide compute-driven services, especially if the business is platform-based or subscription-driven.

Digital platforms and tech-enabled marketplace services become relevant when a company operates a platform model that connects users, sellers, or service providers, or when it provides infrastructure-like software that supports transactions, commerce, or multi-tenant platform delivery. This classification matters because platform economics and intermediary models can differ materially from traditional software outsourcing or one-time software delivery.

Computer repair, technical maintenance, and related support services can also matter for tech companies that provide physical device support, onsite maintenance, or hardware-linked services. While not every IT firm needs this, it becomes important if the business model includes repair operations or bundled device and support offerings.

4. Matching VSIC 2025 IT Codes to Common Business Models

Investors typically get the best results by starting with their business model and then selecting primary and supplementary codes that accurately reflect what the company actually does.

Product-centric tech companies usually focus on software products, SaaS delivery, mobile apps, packaged solutions, or enterprise software licensing. These businesses typically emphasize software development as the primary code area, then add supplementary areas such as cloud, data, or AI services if those functions are delivered as part of the product.

Service-centric IT firms typically provide IT consulting, custom development services, managed services, systems integration, support, and implementation work. These companies often emphasize IT services and solutions as the primary code area, while using supplementary categories to reflect integration, maintenance, or specialized functions that are contractually central to delivery.

Platform and digital tech businesses commonly operate marketplaces, multi-tenant SaaS platforms, digital ecosystems, or cloud-and-AI-driven services. These businesses often emphasize platform-related or data/cloud service code areas, with software development included as either a primary activity or a supplementary activity depending on whether the platform product creation is the defining feature.

AI and data analytics firms often sit between software creation and compute-driven services. These companies frequently emphasize cloud, data processing, and AI-related code areas, while using software development as supplementary scope when productization or application development is part of delivery.

5. Practical IT Registration Examples Without Using a Table

A software development studio often registers with software development as the primary focus, then includes cloud services or AI-related services as supplementary scope if it offers hosting, analytics, or intelligent features as part of product delivery.

A managed IT services provider typically registers with IT consulting and systems integration as the primary focus, then includes maintenance and support-related scope as supplementary coverage to match ongoing service contracts.

An e-commerce technology platform frequently registers with platform-based digital services as the primary focus, then includes data analytics and cloud-related scope when hosting, recommendation engines, or compute-driven features are core to the model.

An AI and data analytics firm often registers with cloud, data processing, and AI services as the primary focus, then includes software development as supplementary scope when the business also builds applications, dashboards, or packaged analytics products.

These structures help ensure registration documents reflect reality, which is crucial for compliance and investor confidence—especially when the company expands from one line of business into multiple tech activities over time.

6. How to Choose the Right IT Codes Faster and More Accurately

Decision 36/2025 creates an opportunity for better clarity, but it also increases the complexity of selection because there are now more precise categories. That is why investors increasingly use tools that help compare activity descriptions against VSIC logic and reduce the risk of code mismatch.

ChatIIP — AI-Powered Industry Comparison is designed to help businesses translate business models into registration-ready classification logic. Many tech companies use ChatIIP to quickly compare old vs. new VSIC codes under Decision 36, identify accurate codes based on the business model, and generate actionable mapping guidance that reduces misclassification risk. This is particularly useful for hybrid tech businesses that blend software, services, platforms, and cloud-driven offerings, because manual classification often becomes inconsistent when a single business spans multiple functional areas. With ChatIIP, companies can structure their primary and supplementary scope more defensibly and update it as the business evolves.

Classification is only one part of a successful IT expansion strategy. Talent access, infrastructure readiness, and cluster ecosystem strength often determine whether a project scales efficiently. IIPMap — Visual Investment Insights supports investors by helping them evaluate tech ecosystems geographically, including where innovation hubs and talent pools concentrate, where infrastructure is ready for data-heavy operations, and how regional tech ecosystems compare for expansion planning. Many investors use IIPMap to connect sector strategy with location intelligence and reduce blind spots in site selection.

Used together with code classification, IIPMap helps investors move from “registered correctly” to “positioned competitively” across Vietnam’s evolving technology landscape.

7. Local Market Context and Ongoing Sector Intelligence

Vietnam’s broader digital transformation direction continues to drive demand for software exports, cloud adoption, smart services, and data analytics. For investors and operators who want to stay aligned with sector momentum, local market information sources can complement classification planning with practical context. Platforms such as IIP Vietnam can support ongoing monitoring of tech policy signals, investment trends, and market demand that shape where and how IT businesses grow.

A reliable workflow starts by defining all activities the company will conduct, including what is sold, how revenue is earned, and how services are delivered. From there, mapping those activities into a primary code area plus supplementary code areas helps ensure the registration scope matches operational reality. Many teams then use ChatIIP to compare and validate old-versus-new classification logic under Decision 36, especially when the business model is hybrid or likely to evolve. Investors often pair that administrative clarity with geographic strategy using IIPMap to identify the strongest ecosystems for talent, infrastructure, and cluster advantages, then track ongoing market context through IIP Vietnam.

For IT businesses entering or expanding in Vietnam, selecting the right industry codes under Decision 36/2025 and VSIC 2025 is one of the most important steps for legal clarity and scalable growth. The updated framework better reflects modern tech realities—software products, IT services, system integration, cloud and AI services, and platform-based digital models—making it easier to register precisely, reduce ambiguity, and build confidence with regulators and investors.

To streamline classification decisions, many businesses start with ChatIIP for AI-assisted industry code comparison and mapping, then strengthen expansion strategy with IIPMap for market and location intelligence that helps tech projects compete effectively across Vietnam.