On July 30, 2026, the Ministry of Construction issued Circular No. 61/2026/TT-BXD, promulgating QCVN 04-3:2026/BXD, the National Technical Regulation on Civil Construction Works – Part 3: Energy-Efficient Buildings. This regulation takes effect on February 1, 2027, and replaces QCVN 09:2017/BXD, promulgated together with Circular No. 15/2017/TT-BXD.

QCVN 04-3:2026/BXD establishes mandatory technical and management requirements applicable to the design, new construction, or renovation of buildings or mixed-use buildings with a total floor area of 2,500 m² or more, including:

• Offices;
• Hotels;
• Hospitals;
• Schools;
• Shopping centers;
• Apartment buildings.

• Building envelope (applicable to air-conditioned spaces);
• Ventilation and air-conditioning systems;
• Lighting systems;
• Other electrical equipment (electric motors, hot water systems, elevators, and escalators);
• Building energy performance control (applicable during the operational phase).

QCVN 04-3:2026/BXD establishes mandatory technical and management requirements to control energy efficiency throughout the design, new construction, renovation, and operation of buildings. Compared with the previous approach, which focused primarily on design, the new regulation introduces additional measures to control building energy performance through the measurement, monitoring, and assessment of actual energy consumption during operation. This regulation provides an important technical basis for improving energy efficiency in large-scale civil buildings from 2027 onward.

View the full regulation here.