Which court should you file a divorce application with in Hà Nội?

In Hà Nội, divorce applications, including those with a foreign element, are filed with a Regional People’s Court: the court of the place where the wife or husband resides or works, in a divorce by mutual consent; the court of the place where the defendant resides or works, in a divorce at the request of one party, unless the two parties agree in writing or the law allows the plaintiff to choose.

Legal basis

Which level of court resolves divorces in Hà Nội?

From 01/07/2025, divorce applications in Hà Nội are filed with the Regional People’s Court (Tòa án nhân dân khu vực) that has territorial jurisdiction. The People’s Courts are organised in a three-tier model: the Supreme People’s Court, the provincial People’s Courts and the Regional People’s Courts, replacing the previous four-tier model (Law on Organisation of People’s Courts No. 34/2024/QH15, as amended by Law No. 81/2025/QH15).

• The Regional People’s Courts resolve marriage and family disputes and requests at first instance (Article 35 of the Civil Procedure Code No. 92/2015/QH13, as amended by Law No. 85/2025/QH15), through the Family and Juvenile Court (Clause 4, Article 36).
• The Hanoi People’s Court (Tòa án nhân dân thành phố Hà Nội) hears appeals when first-instance judgments or decisions that have not yet taken legal effect are appealed or protested (Clause 1, Article 37). However, a decision recognising the agreement of the litigants takes legal effect immediately and is not subject to appeal or protest under appellate procedures (Clause 1, Article 213).
• Hà Nội has 12 Regional People’s Courts, from Regional People’s Court 1 – Hanoi to Regional People’s Court 12 – Hanoi.

The territorial jurisdiction of each court corresponds to the wards and communes listed in the Appendix to Resolution No. 81/2025/UBTVQH15 (Clause 1, Article 4); the separate jurisdiction under Clauses 2 and 3, Article 4 applies only to bankruptcy, intellectual property and technology transfer. If the defendant (the person being sued) resides or works in another province or city, then, as a general rule, an application for divorce at the request of one party is filed with the Regional People’s Court of that place.

How does divorce by mutual consent differ from divorce at the request of one party?

The difference is whether both parties want a divorce and have reached agreement on the children and property.

• Divorce by mutual consent. Article 55 of the Law on Marriage and Family No. 52/2014/QH13, in summary: the court recognises a divorce by mutual consent when both parties genuinely and voluntarily agree to the divorce and have reached agreement on property and children, ensuring the legitimate interests of the wife and children. Clause 1, Article 3 of Resolution No. 01/2024/NQ-HĐTP treats a case where one party files a claim and the other agrees to the divorce and to the agreements as also being a joint request for divorce.
• Divorce at the request of one party. Clause 1, Article 56, in summary: where conciliation at court fails, the court grants a divorce if there are grounds of domestic violence, or of a serious breach of the rights and obligations of spouses that has put the marriage in a serious state, so that life together cannot continue and the purpose of the marriage cannot be achieved.

Table 1. Comparison of the two types of divorce (Civil Procedure Code No. 92/2015/QH13, in summary)

The marriage ends from the date on which the divorce judgment or decision takes legal effect (Clause 1, Article 57 of the Law on Marriage and Family).

How do you find out which Regional People’s Court covers your ward or commune?

Identify the ward or commune where the relevant person currently resides or works, then look it up in the Appendix to Resolution No. 81/2025/UBTVQH15.

1. Relevant person: in a divorce by mutual consent, either the wife or the husband; in a divorce at the request of one party, the defendant, unless the two parties agree in writing to choose the court of the place where the plaintiff (the person bringing the claim) resides or works (Point b, Clause 1, Article 39 of the Civil Procedure Code No. 92/2015/QH13) or the plaintiff is allowed to choose under Clause 1, Article 40.
2. Current place of residence: this includes the place of permanent residence and the place of temporary residence; if neither can be determined, it is the current place of stay (Clauses 1 and 2, Article 11 of the Law on Residence No. 68/2020/QH14).
3. New ward and commune names: from 01/07/2025, Hà Nội has 126 commune-level administrative units, comprising 51 wards and 75 communes (Resolution No. 1656/NQ-UBTVQH15). Addresses given by former urban or rural districts need to be converted to the corresponding ward or commune.
4. Look up the Appendix: find the name of the ward or commune in the section on Hà Nội in the Appendix (Resolution No. 81/2025/UBTVQH15, as amended by Resolution No. 04/2026/UBTVQH16).
5. Check the court’s address: the location of each court’s head office is decided by the Chief Justice of the Supreme People’s Court (Clause 4, Article 4), so check it before you go.

A statement of claim sent to the wrong court is transferred to the competent court (Point c, Clause 3, Article 191 of the Civil Procedure Code), which takes extra time.

Hypothetical scenario. Ms A is temporarily resident in a ward; her husband, Mr B, resides in a commune that falls under a different Regional People’s Court. If they divorce by mutual consent, they may file at the court covering Ms A’s ward. If only Ms A wants a divorce, the application is filed at the court covering Mr B’s commune, unless the two of them agree in writing to choose the court of the place where Ms A resides.

Where do you file if the defendant’s address is unknown or the defendant is abroad?

In these two cases, the plaintiff may choose the court (Clause 1, Article 40 of the Civil Procedure Code No. 92/2015/QH13):

• The defendant’s place of residence or work is unknown: file with the court of the place where the defendant last resided or worked, or where the defendant has assets (Point a).
• The defendant has no place of residence or work in Vietnam: file with the court of the place where the plaintiff resides or works (Point c).

Not knowing where a spouse lives is different from the case where that spouse has been declared missing by a court. Where the spouse of a person declared missing by a court requests a divorce, the court grants the divorce (Clause 2, Article 56 of the Law on Marriage and Family).

Which court handles a divorce with a foreign element?

Divorce matters with a foreign element are also resolved at first instance by the Regional People’s Courts; as amended, Article 35 of the Civil Procedure Code excludes only requests to set aside or register arbitral awards. The specific court is determined under Chapter III of the Code (Clause 2, Article 469), that is, under Articles 39 and 40 described above.

• Vietnamese courts have jurisdiction where the plaintiff or the defendant is a Vietnamese citizen, or where the litigants are foreigners residing, doing business or living long-term in Vietnam (Point d, Clause 1, Article 469).
• Divorce cases between a Vietnamese citizen and a foreign citizen or a stateless person fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Vietnamese courts if both spouses reside, do business or live long-term in Vietnam (Point b, Clause 1, Article 470).
• The applicable law is determined under Article 127 of the Law on Marriage and Family, depending on the spouses’ place of permanent residence; immovable property abroad is governed by the law of the country where the property is located.

The court recognises documents made, issued or certified by competent foreign agencies or organisations once they have been consularly legalised or are exempt from consular legalisation (Clause 1, Article 478 of the Civil Procedure Code). From 11/09/2026, public documents of a Contracting State to the Apostille Convention where the Convention applies between that State and Vietnam, bearing an Apostille certificate, are exempt from consular legalisation (Clause 2, Article 25 of Decree No. 293/2026/NĐ-CP), except in the cases of refusal of acceptance under Article 26. Documents not drawn up in Vietnamese must be translated into Vietnamese; the translation must be notarised or certified under Vietnamese law, unless otherwise provided by specialised laws (Clause 1, Article 27).

Documents of States that are not party to the Convention are consularly legalised (Point b, Clause 3, Article 5 of Decree No. 293/2026/NĐ-CP), unless an international treaty to which Vietnam is a party provides for a simpler procedure or for exemption from certification (Point c, Clause 3, Article 5).

When is a husband’s right to request a divorce restricted?

A husband does not have the right to request a divorce where his wife is pregnant, has given birth or is raising a child under 12 months of age (Clause 3, Article 51 of the Law on Marriage and Family No. 52/2014/QH13). The wife is not subject to this restriction (Clause 1, Article 51).

Article 2 of Resolution No. 01/2024/NQ-HĐTP, in summary:

• “Giving birth” also covers cases where the wife gives birth but does not raise the child, where the child dies before reaching 12 months of age, or where the wife, being 22 or more weeks pregnant, has to terminate the pregnancy; the restriction applies for a period of less than 12 months from the date of the birth or of the termination of the pregnancy.
• The restriction applies regardless of who fathered the pregnancy or the child; for a child under 12 months of age, it makes no difference whether the child is a natural or an adopted child.

How does the court conduct conciliation before resolving a divorce?

After accepting the application, the court conducts conciliation in accordance with the law on civil procedure (Article 54 of the Law on Marriage and Family). Before that, there is also grassroots mediation, which the Law encourages (Article 52), and mediation and dialogue at court.

Within 2 working days from receiving the application, the court gives written notice of the right to choose mediation and dialogue and to choose a mediator (Clause 3, Article 16 of the Law on Mediation and Dialogue at Court No. 58/2020/QH14), except in the cases under Clauses 1, 2, 4, 6 and 7, Article 19, such as where the wife or husband has lost civil act capacity. If one of the parties asks for it not to take place, mediation and dialogue under this Law are not conducted (Clause 5, Article 19).

• Divorce by mutual consent: the judge conducts conciliation to help the spouses reconcile (Clause 2, Article 397 of the Civil Procedure Code); if they do not reconcile and the conditions are met, the judge recognises the divorce by mutual consent (Clause 4); if they cannot agree on property or children, the court accepts the matter as a lawsuit (Clause 5).
• Divorce lawsuits: where conciliation succeeds and 7 days have passed since the record was made without any litigant changing their position, the judge issues a decision recognising the litigants’ agreement (Clause 1, Article 212). If the defendant, having been duly summoned a second time, still deliberately fails to appear, conciliation cannot be conducted (Clause 1, Article 207).

Litigants may not authorise another person to take part in divorce proceedings on their behalf (Clause 4, Article 85); a lawyer takes part as the person protecting their lawful rights and interests. However, where a parent or another relative requests a divorce under Clause 2, Article 51 of the Law on Marriage and Family, that person acts as the representative (Clause 4, Article 85).

What does a divorce application file usually include?

The file comprises the application (with the content required by Clause 4, Article 189 or Clause 2, Article 362 of the Civil Procedure Code) and the accompanying documents and evidence; a petition for divorce by mutual consent is accompanied by documents proving that the agreement is well founded and lawful (Article 396).

Table 2. Documents commonly required when filing for divorce (indicative list)

If documents are missing for objective reasons, file the documents available and supplement them at the court’s request (Clause 5, Article 189).

The application may be filed in person, by post or online through the court’s web portal, if available (Clause 1, Article 190); Resolution No. 01/2026/NQ-HĐTP (effective from 01/03/2026) provides guidance on filing applications and paying court fee and charge advances in the digital environment.

How much are the court fees and charges for a divorce, and who pays them?

The charge for a petition for recognition of a divorce by mutual consent and the first-instance court fee in a divorce case with no property dispute are both VND 300,000; if there is a dispute over the division of joint property, the parties also bear a court fee based on the value of the share of property each receives. The rates and the persons liable are as set out in Resolution No. 326/2016/UBTVQH14, in force as at 22/10/2026.

Table 3. First-instance court fees and charges in divorce (Resolution No. 326/2016/UBTVQH14, in summary)

The court fee advance in a case without a monetary value equals the court fee for cases without a monetary value; in a case with a monetary value, it equals 50% of the court fee with a monetary value as estimated by the court based on the value of the disputed property, but not less than the court fee for cases without a monetary value (Clause 2, Article 7).

If the petitioner does not pay the charge on time, the court returns the petition, unless the petitioner is exempt from or not required to pay the charge, or paid late because of a force majeure event or an objective obstacle (Point đ, Clause 1, Article 364 of the Civil Procedure Code). In a lawsuit, the judge accepts the case when the plaintiff submits the receipt for the court fee advance (Clause 3, Article 195).

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