# Thị trấn
A thị trấn was a township-level unit in Vietnam: an urban-type settlement at the third tier of the administrative hierarchy, the same legal level as a rural commune (xã) but classified as urban rather than rural. The unit existed until the 2025 reform of local government and was removed from the hierarchy by Law 72/2025/QH15, which reorganized Vietnamese local government into two tiers.[1](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Law-72-2025-QH15-organization-of-local-government/663200/tieng-anh.aspx)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Tier | Third tier (cấp xã, commune level) under the pre-2025 three-tier structure[2](https://luatvietnam.vn/co-cau-to-chuc/van-ban-hop-nhat-13-vbhn-vpqh-2024-hop-nhat-luat-to-chuc-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-373886-d5.html) |
| Character | Urban-type unit, distinguished from the rural xã, and the urban phường[1](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Law-72-2025-QH15-organization-of-local-government/663200/tieng-anh.aspx) |
| Designation criteria | Population of 8,000 or more, natural area of at least 14 km², recognition as a type-IV or type-V urban area (Resolution 1211/2016/UBTVQH13)[3](https://vbpl.moj.gov.vn/bonoivu/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=112351&dvid=320) |
| Governance | Thị trấn People's Council (Hội đồng nhân dân) and People's Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân)[2](https://luatvietnam.vn/co-cau-to-chuc/van-ban-hop-nhat-13-vbhn-vpqh-2024-hop-nhat-luat-to-chuc-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-373886-d5.html) |
| Fate | Abolished in mid-2025 when Law 72/2025/QH15 replaced the three-tier structure with a two-tier one[1](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Law-72-2025-QH15-organization-of-local-government/663200/tieng-anh.aspx) |
## Place in the hierarchy
Until mid-2025, Vietnam's administrative structure had three tiers. At the top were the provinces (tỉnh) and centrally run cities (thành phố trực thuộc trung ương). Below them came the district-level units: rural districts (huyện), urban districts (quận), district-level towns (thị xã), and provincial cities. At the third tier sat the commune-level units, which the consolidated 2024 law listed as three types: xã, phường, and thị trấn.[2](https://luatvietnam.vn/co-cau-to-chuc/van-ban-hop-nhat-13-vbhn-vpqh-2024-hop-nhat-luat-to-chuc-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-373886-d5.html)
The urban/rural distinction ran through the whole structure. [Local government](https://www.edgepedia.org/local-government) in urban areas comprised the centrally run cities, urban districts, thị xã, provincial cities, phường, and thị trấn.[4](https://hethongphapluat.com/law-no-65-2025-qh15-dated-february-19-2025-on-organi-ation-of-local-government.html) A thị trấn was therefore urban in character but sat at the same legal level as a rural commune.
## Thị trấn versus xã, phường and thị xã
Three commune-level units coexisted before the 2025 reform, each with a different settlement character:
- **Xã** was the rural commune, the standard third-tier unit in the countryside.
- **Phường** was the urban ward, the third-tier unit inside cities and towns.
- **Thị trấn** was the urban-type township, typically a compact town serving a rural district.
The word thị xã belongs to a different tier entirely: it is a district-level town, one step above the commune-level units.[5](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Resolution-35-2023-UBTVQH15-arrangement-of-commune-level-administrative-divisions-2023-2030/576130/tieng-anh.aspx) Confusion between thị trấn and thị xã is common because both contain the word thị (urban), but they sit at different tiers of the hierarchy.
## Legal basis and designation criteria
Resolution 1211/2016/UBTVQH13 set the quantitative thresholds for establishing a thị trấn. Article 9 required a population of 8,000 people or more and a natural area of at least 14 km².[3](https://vbpl.moj.gov.vn/bonoivu/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=112351&dvid=320) The settlement also had to be recognized as a type-IV or type-V urban area, or the area proposed for establishment had to meet the criteria of such a classification, together with the socio-economic standards in the resolution's Annex 2.[3](https://vbpl.moj.gov.vn/bonoivu/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=112351&dvid=320)
More generally, classification of administrative units had to rest on population size, natural area, socio-economic development level, and the special factors of each unit type in rural, urban, mountainous, highland, and island areas.[4](https://hethongphapluat.com/law-no-65-2025-qh15-dated-february-19-2025-on-organi-ation-of-local-government.html)
## Governance and the district-capital role
A thị trấn had its own local government consisting of a thị trấn People's Council (Hội đồng nhân dân thị trấn) and a thị trấn People's Committee (Ủy ban nhân dân thị trấn), the same two bodies found at every commune-level unit.[2](https://luatvietnam.vn/co-cau-to-chuc/van-ban-hop-nhat-13-vbhn-vpqh-2024-hop-nhat-luat-to-chuc-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-373886-d5.html) Law 65/2025/QH15, passed on 19 February 2025, spelled out the tasks and powers of the thị trấn People's Council and placed the thị trấn within urban local government alongside the phường.[4](https://hethongphapluat.com/law-no-65-2025-qh15-dated-february-19-2025-on-organi-ation-of-local-government.html)
The label "district capital" comes from the huyện lỵ relationship: when a rural district's state agencies were located in a thị trấn, that township functioned as the district's administrative seat. The two roles did not always coincide.
## By the numbers
Distribution across provinces was uneven.
The number was already in motion before the unit was abolished. Resolution 35/2023/UBTVQH15 established the legal framework for arranging commune-level divisions (xã, phường, and thị trấn) within district-level boundaries for the 2023–2030 period, providing the basis for the mergers that reduced the total count of commune-level units.[5](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Resolution-35-2023-UBTVQH15-arrangement-of-commune-level-administrative-divisions-2023-2030/576130/tieng-anh.aspx)
## Recent developments: abolition of the unit
The unit's end came in two legislative steps. Law 65/2025/QH15 of 19 February 2025 still listed xã, phường, and thị trấn as the commune-level units, confirming that the thị trấn existed immediately before the mid-2025 restructuring.[4](https://hethongphapluat.com/law-no-65-2025-qh15-dated-february-19-2025-on-organi-ation-of-local-government.html) Law 72/2025/QH15 then reorganized local government into two levels: the provincial tier (tỉnh and thành phố trực thuộc trung ương) and the commune-level tier, with xã, phường, and đặc khu directly under the province. The district tier disappeared, and with it the thị trấn, which is no longer listed among the commune-level unit types.[1](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Law-72-2025-QH15-organization-of-local-government/663200/tieng-anh.aspx) The new commune-level types are defined by settlement character: the xã is the rural unit, the phường the urban unit, and the đặc khu a special-zone unit for strategically important islands.[1](https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Law-72-2025-QH15-organization-of-local-government/663200/tieng-anh.aspx)
## References
1. Law 72/2025/QH15 on Organization of Local Government (English translation), thuvienphapluat.vn. https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Law-72-2025-QH15-organization-of-local-government/663200/tieng-anh.aspx
2. Văn bản hợp nhất 13/VBHN-VPQH 2024 hợp nhất Luật Tổ chức chính quyền địa phương, luatvietnam.vn. https://luatvietnam.vn/co-cau-to-chuc/van-ban-hop-nhat-13-vbhn-vpqh-2024-hop-nhat-luat-to-chuc-chinh-quyen-dia-phuong-373886-d5.html
3. Nghị quyết 1211/2016/UBTVQH13, Bộ Nội vụ (via vbpl.moj.gov.vn). https://vbpl.moj.gov.vn/bonoivu/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=112351&dvid=320
4. Law no. 65/2025/QH15 dated February 19, 2025 on organization of local government, hethongphapluat.com. https://hethongphapluat.com/law-no-65-2025-qh15-dated-february-19-2025-on-organi-ation-of-local-government.html
5. Resolution 35/2023/UBTVQH15 on arrangement of commune-level administrative divisions 2023–2030, thuvienphapluat.vn. https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/EN/Bo-may-hanh-chinh/Resolution-35-2023-UBTVQH15-arrangement-of-commune-level-administrative-divisions-2023-2030/576130/tieng-anh.aspx
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Administrative and cadastral territories › Cadastral and survey divisions › Township-level divisions of Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license