Registering land use purpose change at commune level

From July 1, 2025, in many cases, people can register to change land use purposes right at the People's Committee at the commune level, instead of having to do it at the district or provincial level as before.

People do land procedures at the Provincial Public Administration Service Center. Photo: L.An

This decentralization of authority aims to make it more convenient for people to access and carry out land procedures.

Empowering the grassroots, making it convenient for the people

On June 12, 2025, the Government issued Decree No. 151/2025/ND-CP, which stipulates that from July 1, 2025, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the commune level is authorized to decide on changing the purpose of land use in a number of cases. Specifically, the People's Committee at the commune level has the authority to allow households and individuals to change the purpose of use of agricultural land to non-agricultural land, except for cases of rice-growing land, special-use forest land, protective forest land or areas with strict requirements on environmental protection.

The change of land use purpose must meet the following conditions: the land has a legal certificate of land use rights; is consistent with the planning and land use plan approved by competent authorities; has fulfilled financial obligations and has an application for change of land use purpose from the land user.

This new regulation is consistent with the spirit of decentralization and delegation of power of the 2024 Land Law, meets the requirements in operating two-level local government, and is also close to the aspirations of the people.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Loi (residing in Long Thanh commune) shared that in the past, if people wanted to change the land use purpose, they had to register at the commune People's Committee, then the commune transferred the information to the district's advisory agency to synthesize the indicators, then submit it to the provincial People's Committee or the district People's Committee for approval. This process is very time-consuming, especially when the district requires the commune to reconfirm the area or to edit and supplement the dossier. Therefore, Mr. Loi believes that when the commune level has the right to sign the decision to change the land use purpose, the procedure will be simpler and the time will be shorter.

Chairman of Xuan Que Commune People's Committee Le Van Binh said that since July 1, 2025, documents related to land have been received and processed at the Commune Public Administration Service Center. Decentralization to the commune level not only helps shorten the time to process procedures, but also creates conditions for local authorities to be more proactive in land management. To best serve the needs of the people, the commune has arranged specialized staff in planning and land use planning to appraise and advise the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee in deciding to change land use purposes.

"Most people who come to do procedures at the Commune Administrative Service Center are satisfied because they are guided enthusiastically, their documents are processed quickly, and they do not have to go far like before," Mr. Binh added.

Reform of administrative procedures on land

Receiving and processing land records at the commune level in the early days still encountered some difficulties. That is, the internet connection was still weak, the management software was in the process of being updated so it was not stable, many devices such as old computers affected the processing of electronic records.

People do land procedures at Long Thanh Commune Administrative Service Center.

Director of the Provincial Land Registration Office Le Thanh Tuan said that in preparation for receiving and handling land procedures at the commune level from July 1, 2025, the office has sent nearly 190 staff to support 95 communes and wards. The office coordinates with the People's Committees of communes and wards to arrange reception counters, install software and provide professional guidance to local officials. Up to now, more than 50 administrative procedures in the land sector have had electronic processing procedures, of which 31 procedures are implemented according to the non-administrative boundary model.

However, Mr. Tuan also assessed that the implementation process in the early days still had some shortcomings. In some localities, the geographical distance between the land registration office branch and the commune administrative service center was quite far, causing difficulties in transferring and processing documents. In remote communes, many people were not familiar with using smartphones, so they had difficulty submitting documents and paying fees online.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment believes that decentralizing the handling of land-related administrative procedures to the People's Committees at the commune level is a concrete step in implementing the administrative reform policy, especially in the land sector, which is considered complicated. At the same time, this is also a solution suitable for the current two-level local government model. When records are handled on the spot, it not only shortens the time, reduces the burden on higher levels, but also increases transparency and closeness to the people.

To effectively implement this decentralization, localities need to strengthen the team of commune-level cadastral officers; organize specialized training courses on land law, file appraisal skills and use of management software. In addition, it is necessary to complete the land data connection system between the commune level and the provincial Land Registration Office or branches, serving the search of planning information and current land use status to shorten the verification time; strengthen propaganda and guidance so that people can submit documents at home and receive results online.

Le An

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/kinh-te/202507/dang-ky-chuyen-muc-dich-su-dung-dat-tai-cap-xa-5d111b5/