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Disclaimer / Limitations
This country’s legal measures were reviewed by our legal staff in consultation with in-country lawyers and/or CRVS legal experts. All efforts were made to ensure the accuracy of the legal analysis, however, if you consider there to be any discrepancies or if there have been changes in the law of the country since our staff last updated the legal analysis, we welcome any additional information or insights. Please contact us via this form.
Cause of Death
Vietnam
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Vietnam
Cause of Death
Medical Certification
Medical Certification
Compulsory Certification
Does the law require a cause of death (CoD) to register a death?
Cause of death information required but not an MCCD
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Ideally, every death will have a cause of death (COD) medically certified by a trained physician. However, in circumstances where a medically certified cause of death (MCCD) is not available, the death should be registered without COD information. Cause of death should never be determined by a non-medical professional.
In some countries, an MCCD is a precondition for registering a death. In countries where there are not sufficient health professionals adequately trained in completing a MCCD, and in countries where many deaths occur at home, this can lead to low death registration rates. Policymakers should carefully consider whether an MCCD or COD is required to register a death, or if evidence of the fact of death alone may be submitted to the registrar.
The civil status law requires that the cause of death be recorded in the death registration record. The death declaration form has an entry for the cause of death, that must be filled out at the time of registration. The cause of death information in the declaration form is filled out on the basis of a death notice (evidence of death), which must be provided by the head of health establishment or the commune-level People’s Committee of the place where person dies, depending on whether the person died inside or outside a health facility.
The law does not allow lay informants to certify a cause of death. Only authorized medical or forensic officials may determine and record the cause. In practice a medical certificate of death must be issued by a qualified clinician. The ministry of health circular states that, only the head of the health facility ( or their designated clinician) can sign the death certificate. Non-medical persons (family, witnesses) do not have legal authority to certify cause.
During death registration, the death declaration form contains an entry for cause of death, which is supposed to be filled out by the family on the basis of the medical certificate of cause of death issued by the head of health establishment or commune-level People's Committee of the place where person dies.
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death, for natural deaths occurring in a health facility?
Yes. Chief Medical Officer or designee of health facility.
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The law should state what person is responsible for certifying cause of death. The certifier may vary, based on the circumstances of the death. For natural deaths that occur in health facilities, the head of the health facility should be required by law to ensure a death is medically certified. Ideally, the certifier of the cause of death should be the physician or surgeon who attended the decedent during their terminal illness, although in countries that lack a sufficient number of medical doctors to staff health facilities, a nurse or other health professional may be trained to certify cause of death.
Does the law designate a certifier of cause of death, for natural deaths occurring under medical supervision but outside a health facility?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
For a home-based death due to natural causes, a certifier may include a doctor, nurse, or other trained health professional who attended the deceased during that person’s illness.
The law does not explicitly designate a certifier of cause of death for natural deaths, occurring outside of health facilities. The civil status law merely specifies that hospital heads issue a death notice for deaths occurring in health facilities.
Does the law clearly state who is responsible for medically certifying cause of death when deaths are unnatural or suspicious, or otherwise referred to the MLDI authority?
Yes. Police officer or forensic authority.
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
Deaths due to unnatural causes (such as accident, self-harm or violence); man-made or natural disasters; suspicious causes, or where CoD cannot be determined by the attending physician should be referred to the Medicolegal Death Investigation (MLDI) authority for medical certification of cause of death. The certifier of cause of death should be the forensic physician working with the MLDI authority who conducted the post-mortem examination on the deceased.
Certification of cause of death in suspicious or unnatural deaths (including those requiring medico-legal investigation) fall under police or foresensic authority.
Does the law provide a form to certify cause of death? If yes, does the form accord with WHO Medical Certificate of Cause of Death Form?
Yes the law provides a form for certifying cause of death that does not accord with WHO Standard MCCD Form
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
The WHO international form of Medical Certificate of Cause of Death (WHO MCCD) is the recommended form for recording information regarding cause of death for certification of all deaths, including stillbirths and unnatural or suspicious deaths. There may be modifications to the form including addition of biographical information of the deceased in an administrative section. Countries may also modify the Manner of Death section in Frame B as appropriate for their context; however, the form should always include Frame B, including a manner of death section.
Yes, the law provides a form to certify cause of death. However, the law does not mandate that the form accord with the WHO MCCD form. Vietnam uses its own official death certificate form. However, it does not include a section on manner of death.
Is the same form used for all types of deaths, including natural deaths and deaths referred to MLDI?
No
Recommended Practice based on International Guidelines
It is recommended practice to use the same MCCD form which should be WHO MCCD compliant) for all types of deaths, including natural and unnatural deaths (and fetal deaths).
Hospitals use the ministry of health death certificate form to certify cause of death for natural deaths. Other agencies including, the police and courts use their own documents or letter in lieu of a standard death certificate. The law does not prescribe a single uniform form for all deaths.
