Company tax codes: how to look one up quickly and read the business registration details
Before you apply, sign a contract or transfer money to a company, take a few minutes to look up its tax code. The number tells you whether the company really exists, when it was founded, who is registered as its legal representative, where its head office is and whether it is still in business or has closed. Việc Hot brings together registration data for 359,000+ companies so you can search by code or by name; the sections below explain how to read the results correctly and which warning signs to look out for when you are job hunting.
What a company tax code is, who issues it and whether it can change
Under the Law on Tax Administration 2019 (Luật Quản lý thuế 2019), a tax code is the number the tax authority assigns to each taxpayer to track their tax obligations. For a company, the same number is also its enterprise code (mã số doanh nghiệp), printed on the enterprise registration certificate: once the incorporation file is approved, the business registration system and the tax system exchange data and issue the code in a single step, so the company does not have to register for tax separately.
Each company has only one code, used from the day it is founded until it ceases to operate, and the code is never reissued to another entity. A company can change its name, move its head office to another province, replace its legal representative or even convert from a limited liability company into a joint stock company, and its tax code stays the same. That is why experienced people always ask for the tax code rather than just the name when they need to verify a company: dozens of legal entities in different provinces can share the same name, but no two share a tax code.
- Length
- 10 digitsBranches and representative offices add 3 digits after a hyphen
- Issued by
- Tax authorityIssued automatically through the business registration system at incorporation
- Validity
- For lifeUnchanged when the company is renamed, moves its head office or replaces its legal representative
- For individuals
- Personal ID numberUsed instead of a personal tax code from 1 July 2025
The 10-digit and 13-digit structure: what the number tells you
10-DIGIT TAX CODE (head office)
- 01Range codeWhere first issued
- 01248147-digit serialIssued in sequence
- 1Check digitCatches typos
13-DIGIT TAX CODE (dependent unit)
- 001Dependent unitBranch or office
Under Circular 86/2024/TT-BTC, a tax code issued by the tax authority takes the form N1N2 N3N4N5N6N7N8N9 N10, followed by N11N12N13 for a dependent unit:
- The first two digits are the range number, tied to the area where the code was first issued. Companies first registered in Hanoi typically start with 01, and those in Ho Chi Minh City with 03. A company that moves its head office to another province keeps these two digits.
- The next seven digits are a sequence number assigned in ascending order and carry no other meaning.
- The tenth digit is a check digit calculated from the previous nine. It lets the system spot a mistyped or invented code straight away: if you look up a code and the result says it does not exist, the code most likely has one wrong digit.
- The three digits after the hyphen (001, 002…) appear only on dependent units such as branches and representative offices. A branch has its own 13-digit code but is not a separate legal entity; your labour contract may be signed by the branch under authorisation from the parent company.
Where to look up a tax code reliably
There are three places worth using, each good at something different:
The tax authority portal is at tracuunnt.gdt.gov.vn and the business registration portal at dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn. Data on Việc Hot is checked regularly against the public sources of these two systems. For major decisions such as signing a high-value contract or investing capital, check again on the original portal to make sure the status has not changed in the last few days.
How to search on Việc Hot by tax code or company name
- Enter the tax code or company name
Type all 10 digits if you have the code. If you only remember the name, type its most distinctive part, for example "thế giới di động" rather than the whole phrase "công ty cổ phần" (joint stock company). The search ignores diacritics and capital letters, so typing without accents, as in "the gioi di dong", still finds it.
- Pick the right entity from the suggestions
Many companies have similar names. Check the tax code and address in each suggestion before you click; branches appear with a 13-digit code.
- Read the company information page
The page shows the full name, international name and abbreviated name, head office address, tax notice address, legal representative, start date of operations, managing tax office, main business line and operating status. If the company already has a recruitment page on Việc Hot, you can also see how many job posts it has open.
A few example pages show how the information is presented: FPT Corporation (0101248141), Viettel (0100109106), Mobile World (Thế Giới Di Động) (0303217354), Techcombank (0100230800).
What each field in the search result means
| Field | What it means | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Full name, international name, abbreviated name | What it meansThe name on the registration certificate; the international name is used in dealings with foreign parties; the abbreviated name is often the brand you know. | What to watch forThe name on a job post and the name of the legal entity can differ. If the employer cannot say which legal entity will sign the contract, ask until it is clear. |
| Head office address | What it meansWhere the registered head office is located. | What to watch forYour actual workplace may be a different office. A head office in a residential apartment, or one you cannot find on a map, is something to ask about. |
| Tax notice address | What it meansWhere the tax authority sends its notices; it may be the office of an accounting service provider. | What to watch forAn address different from the head office is normal for small companies that outsource their accounting. |
| Legal representative | What it meansThe person named in the registration who signs on behalf of the company and is legally accountable for it. | What to watch forNot necessarily the real owner or the person interviewing you. One person named on a string of newly founded companies in the same industry is a reason to check carefully. |
| Start date of operations | What it meansThe date the company started operating according to its tax registration file. | What to watch forA company only a few months old is not necessarily a bad sign, but it should come with clear information about its founders, office and products. |
| Managing tax office | What it meansThe tax team or sub-department that currently handles the company's file. | What to watch forShows which area the company belongs to. Large companies are usually managed directly by the provincial or city tax department. |
| Main business line | What it meansThe main line of business registered under the Vietnam Standard Industrial Classification (VSIC). | What to watch forIf a company is hiring "financial advisers" but its main business line is retail or management consultancy, ask exactly what you will be selling and to whom. |
| Operating status | What it meansThe status of the tax code as recorded by the tax authority. | What to watch forSee the explanation table in the next section. |
Operating statuses and what they mean for job seekers
The tax authority uses a standard set of statuses. In the Việc Hot database, more than nine in ten companies are listed as active; the rest fall into the following statuses:
| Status | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Active, tax registration certificate issued (Đang hoạt động, đã được cấp GCN ĐKT) | What it meansThe company operates normally and holds a tax registration certificate. | What to doThe normal status. Still check the founding date, business lines and head office. |
| Temporarily suspended for a set period (Tạm ngừng kinh doanh có thời hạn) | What it meansThe company has registered a temporary suspension, with a start date and an expected date to resume operations. | What to doDo not sign a new labour contract while the suspension lasts. If you receive a job offer, ask exactly which legal entity will sign the contract and pay your insurance contributions. |
| Ceased operating, tax code termination not yet completed (Ngừng hoạt động nhưng chưa hoàn thành thủ tục chấm dứt hiệu lực mã số thuế) | What it meansThe company has filed for dissolution or has been recorded as no longer operating, with tax obligations still outstanding. | What to doTreat it as no longer hiring. Any job post under this legal entity's name needs to be checked again. |
| Ceased operating, tax code termination completed (Ngừng hoạt động và đã hoàn thành thủ tục chấm dứt hiệu lực mã số thuế) | What it meansThe tax code has been closed; the company no longer exists in law. | What to doAny contract or transaction under this name is invalid. |
| Not operating at the registered address (Không hoạt động tại địa chỉ đã đăng ký) | What it meansThe tax authority checked and could not find the company at its registered head office. | What to doHigh risk: do not hand over original documents, pay a deposit or transfer money to this entity. |
| Suspended or ceased operating since a given date (Doanh nghiệp tạm dừng hoạt động hoặc đã ngừng hoạt động từ ngày…) | What it meansA status carried over from the old system with a specific date, usually for a company that stopped operating long ago. | What to doTreat it as closed. A job post under this name is almost certainly not from the real company. |
Warning signs to look out for before you apply
Looking up a tax code does not replace reading the job post carefully, but doing both helps you avoid most of the familiar scams. These are the patterns the Việc Hot moderation team most often sees in the job posts it rejects:
- A company founded only a few months ago hiring for dozens of positions at once, with pay clearly above the market rate and vague job descriptions.
- The name on the job post does not match any legal entity, or the employer dodges the question "which company will sign the contract?"
- The legal representative is registered for several newly founded companies in the same industry at the same address.
- The head office is a residential apartment, the address cannot be found on a map, or the status reads "not operating at the registered address".
- Requests to pay for uniforms, an "application guarantee" fee or a deposit, or to hand over original documents. Article 17 of the Labour Code 2019 (Bộ luật Lao động 2019) prohibits employers from keeping the originals of employees' identity papers, diplomas and certificates, and from requiring money or property as security for a job.
- Interviews and job offers handled entirely through a messaging app, with no office address and no email address on the company's own domain.
If you notice any of these signs, you can run the post through the job post checker to review its content, or alert Việc Hot with the report button on the post itself.
Personal tax codes: where to look them up and which number to use
This page only covers companies and organisations. For individuals, the 12-digit personal identification number on the ID card has been used in place of a tax code since 1 July 2025, so there is no extra number to remember. To see a tax code issued to you earlier, the dependants you have registered or the tax already withheld, go to the tax authority lookup portal and choose the personal income tax payer information section, or install the eTax Mobile app and sign in with your electronic identification account.
When you start a job, you only need to give your identification number to HR so the company can withhold and declare tax on your behalf. At the end of the year, if you have income from only one employer, you can authorise the company to finalise your tax. To estimate in advance how much tax will be deducted from your salary, use the personal income tax calculator or the gross-to-net salary calculator.
Frequently asked questions
The head office has a 10-digit code. Dependent units such as branches and representative offices have a 13-digit code made up of the parent company's 10 digits, a hyphen and a 3-digit sequence number. The 10-digit code is also the enterprise code shown on the enterprise registration certificate.
No. Under the Law on Enterprises 2020 (Luật Doanh nghiệp 2020), the enterprise code also serves as the company's tax code and social insurance code. It is issued once at incorporation and used until the company ceases to operate.
No. Searching on Việc Hot, on the tax authority's portal and on the National Business Registration Portal is free. You only pay an information fee when you need a copy of the certificate or the company charter certified by the business registration office.
No. The tax code stays with the company for its entire lifetime. A new name, a new head office, a new legal representative or a change of company type does not change the code. The code is only terminated when the company is dissolved, goes bankrupt or has its registration certificate revoked.
The data is checked regularly against the public sources of the business registration office and the tax authority. A company's operating status can change between two checks, so for important transactions you should verify it again on the tax authority's portal.
No. This page only covers companies and organisations. Since 1 July 2025 individuals have used their personal identification number instead of a tax code, and they can look up their own information on tracuunnt.gdt.gov.vn or in the eTax Mobile app.
