Vietnam / MST
Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) issued Circular No. 52/2025/TT-BKHCN on 31 December 2025, bringing in QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN — the new national technical regulation on electromagnetic compatibility for terminal and ancillary equipment in mobile communication systems. It took effect 15 February 2026, replacing QCVN 86:2019/BTTTT (mobile phones and terrestrial mobile terminal equipment) and QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT (5G terminal equipment). A transition period runs to 31 December 2026; from 1 January 2027, compliance with the new standard is mandatory.
Last updated 28 August 2026
QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN consolidates and updates the EMC requirements that used to sit across two separate regulations: QCVN 86:2019/BTTTT for mobile phones and terrestrial mobile terminal equipment, and QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT for 5G terminal equipment. Rather than a hard cutover, MST built in a transition window — from 16 February 2026 to 31 December 2026, manufacturers can certify a covered device under either the new standard or the regulation it replaces. From 1 January 2027, only QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN applies to new certifications.
Source: GMA CAICT, "Vietnam: MST publishes a new version of the electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) standard QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN"; ExtendMax, "QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN – RF EMC for Mobile Terminal Equipment"; C-PRAV Group, "Vietnam Issues New EMC Technical Regulation for Mobile Devices"; Entirety, "Vietnam EMC Regulation for Mobile Terminals".
As of the standard's publication, no testing laboratory had yet been designated or recognised to test against QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN specifically — a gap that matters more than the headline dates, because a transition window is only useful if a lab that can actually run the new test method exists before it closes. Manufacturers relying on the transition period to keep shipping under the old standard should treat lab-designation status as a live thing to check, not something to assume is settled by the time 2027 arrives.
Any manufacturer or importer placing a mobile phone, terrestrial mobile terminal, or 5G terminal device on the Vietnamese market. A device already certified under QCVN 86:2019/BTTTT or QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT keeps that certification's validity for as long as the transition period allows a new filing under the old standard, but every certification submitted from 1 January 2027 needs to go through QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN instead — there is no grandfathering of the old regulation past that date for new filings.
Shipping a mobile-connected device into Vietnam alongside other APAC markets means tracking a different EMC/RF regime on a different clock for each one — Vietnam's QCVN 86 transition sits alongside South Korea's USB-C mandate, Singapore's IMDA cellular rules, and China's RoHS phase-in on our own tracker. We fold the QCVN 86 transition-window check into the same market-access review we run for the rest of APAC, so it's one process per product, not a separate one per country.
Book a scoping callIt is Vietnam's national technical regulation on electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) for terminal and ancillary equipment in mobile information systems, issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) under Circular No. 52/2025/TT-BKHCN (31 December 2025) and taking effect 15 February 2026. It replaces QCVN 86:2019/BTTTT for mobile phones and terrestrial mobile terminal equipment, and QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT for 5G terminal equipment.
QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN is in effect from 15 February 2026, but a transition period runs to 31 December 2026 during which manufacturers may certify a device under either the new standard or the prior applicable regulation. From 1 January 2027, all covered mobile terminal devices must comply with QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN.
Terminal and ancillary equipment in mobile communication systems, including mobile phones and terrestrial mobile terminal equipment previously covered by QCVN 86:2019/BTTTT, and 5G terminal equipment previously covered by QCVN 18:2022/BTTTT.
During the transition period (16 February 2026 to 31 December 2026), a device may still be certified under the old standard. From 1 January 2027 that route closes for new certifications — new devices reaching the Vietnamese market from that date need to be certified against QCVN 86:2025/BKHCN.