Bringing land procedures down to the commune level - Sowing the seeds of reform from the roots.

Diverse practices, proactive adaptation.

Specifically, among the 15 administrative procedures assigned to the commune level, 4 procedures have been amended or supplemented, 9 procedures have been replaced, 1 procedure remains unchanged, and 1 procedure has been abolished. According to Decree 151/2025/ND-CP guiding the implementation of the 2024 Land Law, from July 1, 2025, citizens can submit land administrative documents at any Public Administrative Service Center (hereinafter referred to as Public Administrative Center), regardless of administrative boundaries, and these Centers are responsible for receiving them.

Following the above regulation, the commune-level public administrative centers began receiving applications in the first week. However, while there weren't many applications in the first week, from the second week onwards, the number of land-related administrative applications, especially those related to secured transactions, submitted to the public administrative centers in central wards and communes increased significantly.

At the Thanh Vinh Ward Public Administration Center, Mr. Nguyen Van Linh, Deputy Director of the Center, stated: At the beginning of July, the ward only received land-related administrative documents within the ward, but since mid-July, the number of people submitting land documents has increased, especially for secured transactions. Land documents include those from both within and outside the ward, leading to occasional overload. Therefore, the Center requested the Provincial Land Use Rights Registration Office to send staff from the Vinh Branch of the Land Office to assist in receiving and processing documents, which has temporarily eased the situation.

Based on the experience in Thanh Vinh ward and some other communes, the Provincial Land Registration Office has instructed Thanh Vinh ward and the central communes of the former districts to receive secured transaction files. On average, Thanh Vinh ward receives 150 land files per day, of which 50 are secured transaction files for all wards of the former Vinh City.

Similarly, at the Hung Nguyen Commune Public Administration Center, Ms. Phan Thi Hong Trang - Deputy Director, stated: Initially, after July 1st, the number of land administration files was not large, but later, as more files were sent from the communes, the Center requested the Hung Nguyen Land Office Branch to assign two more staff members to receive and process land files. Since then, the Center has also been assigned to receive land transaction files for communes in the former Hung Nguyen district, handling 100 land files per day, accounting for 70% of the communes in the former district.

At the Public Administrative Centers in Nghi Loc, Dien Chau, and Quynh Luu communes (formerly district centers), the number of applications is increasing daily. According to the Provincial Land Use Rights Registration Office, the reason for the high volume of secured mortgage transaction applications at these centers is the presence of notary offices and banks, making it convenient for citizens. Secured mortgage transaction applications account for 40-45% of all land administrative procedures.

According to Decree 118/2025/ND-CP dated June 9, 2025, on the implementation of administrative procedures under the integrated one-stop mechanism at the One-Stop Service Center and the National Public Service Portal, documents received directly, such as secured transactions, must be processed within the same working day (8 hours). Therefore, if the commune-level public administrative centers are far from the Land Office branches and do not have enough staff to receive documents, congestion and violations of processing time will occur, leading to delays.

A representative from the Provincial Land Registration Office shared: The process for handling land registration documents limits direct contact between civil servants and citizens, but for the time being, they still have to send staff to the Public Administration Centers of wards and communes to receive land registration documents. In the former Vinh City area, this is assigned to the Thanh Vinh Ward Public Administration Center; in the former Hung Nguyen area, it is assigned to Hung Nguyen commune; and in the former Nghi Loc area, it is assigned to Nghi Loc commune... to receive documents.

Further investigation revealed that at the commune-level Public Administration Center, in addition to land-related administrative documents under the commune's jurisdiction, there are also other land-related administrative procedures. Depending on the situation and to facilitate citizens, officials must handle these procedures flexibly, receiving and processing the documents accordingly.

The province focuses on providing guidance and support.

Mr. Thai Duy Hung, Head of the Land Management Department of the Department of Agriculture and Environment, stated: After the transition to a two-tier system, the administrative authority for land matters previously held by the district level has been largely transferred to the commune and ward levels. For example, communes are now authorized to issue land use right certificates to households and individuals for the first time and are no longer required to specifically verify land disputes when issuing certificates, according to Decree 151/2025/ND-CP. The provincial level only handles complex land-related cases, large-scale land issues, and provides guidance.

After more than a month of processing land administrative documents at the two-tiered government system, all matters under provincial authority are functioning well. However, in reality, the processing of land administrative documents at the commune level is still being adjusted because the two-tiered government system has only recently come into operation, and some procedures and regulations are being adjusted as they go. A representative from the Land Management Department stated that they have to read, guide, and answer questions about land administrative procedures for the commune level every day.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham, a civil servant at the Hung Nguyen Commune Public Administrative Service Center, said that having received specialized training in land management, she is basically familiar with the commune-level application forms. Previously, she handled many other tasks and had little practical experience. Now, being assigned to specialize in receiving land-related applications, she has a greater workload. Some applications require thorough verification to ensure timely results and avoid unnecessary trips for citizens. The application processing software is new and requires ongoing adjustments. Technical infrastructure in some areas is not yet adequate, causing data entry through the public service portal to be sometimes very slow. This creates frustration for citizens while they wait.

Recognizing these difficulties, both before and after the implementation of the two-tiered administrative system, the Provincial Land Registration Office organized numerous hands-on training sessions for officials at the commune-level Public Administrative Service Centers to update their skills in entering information into the processing software and filling out the land use right certificate forms. Simultaneously, on Saturdays, they organized visits to each lowland commune with a high volume of land administrative files to support the commune-level Public Administrative Service Centers in providing advice and receiving applications.

Mr. Nguyen Cong Thanh, Director of the Provincial Land Use Rights Registration Office, shared: Since the beginning of 2025, the Office has directed and, together with its branches, organized dozens of training sessions on using the software and guiding the process of receiving and processing land administrative documents for hundreds of commune-level officials and employees. According to the 2024 Land Law, along with organizing the allocation and issuance of land use rights certificates to organizations, the Provincial Land Use Rights Registration Office will focus on guiding its branches and commune/ward-level Public Administrative Service Centers in processing land administrative documents for citizens.