The Communist Party of Vietnam is organized according to the Leninist principle of democratic centralism. The supreme party organ is the National Party Congress (less formally the Party congress -), which has been held every five years since . Due to war footing during the time of wars against France and the United States, the first four congresses were not fixed according to a common time schedule. Since the Foundation Conference, 12 national CPV congresses have been held.
The National Party Congress elects the Central Committee, consisting of 180 full members and 20 alternates. The Central Committee usually meets twice a year.
| Abbreviations | ||
|---|---|---|
| CC | Central Committee | |
| Political Report | Political Report to the Central Committee, a document which briefs delegates about the period since the last congress and future work. | |
| Platform | The party platform, in which the National Party Congress sets out the party's goals, Marxist perspective and political analysis of the times. | |
| Charter | Charter of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the fundamental governing document of the CPV. | |
| PMR | Party members represented at the congress by delegates (the party membership at the time). | |
| FM | Full member (a member with voting rights). | |
| AM | Alternate member (a member without voting rights). | |
| VD | Voting delegate (a delegate who can vote). | |
| AD | Alternate delegate (a delegate who cannot vote). | |
| Congress | Duration (start—end) | Delegates | CC elected | Political Report (presented by) | Platform | Charter (changes) | PMR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st National Party Congress 4 days 1935 election | 27 March – 30 March 1935 | 12 | 9 FM – 4 AM | — | "Theses on the Capitalist Democratic Revolution" | Amendment | 600 | |
| 2nd National Party Congress 4 days 1950–1951 election | 11 February – 19 February 1951 | 158 VD – 53 AD | 19 FM – 10 AM | Trường Chinh | — | Amendment | 766,349 | |
| 3rd National Party Congress 8 days 1960 election | 5 September – 10 September 1960 | 525 VD – 51 AD | 49 FM – 39 AM | Lê Duẩn | — | Amendment | 500,000 | |
| 4th National Party Congress 9 days 1975–1976 election | 14 December – 20 December 1976 | 1,008 | 101 FM – 32 AM | Lê Duẩn | — | Amendment | 1,550,000 | |
| 5th National Party Congress 4 days 1981–1982 election | 27 March – 31 March 1982 | 1,033 | 116 FM – 32 AM | Lê Duẩn | — | Amendment | 1,727,000 | |
| 6th National Party Congress 4 days 1985–1986 election | 15 December – 18 December 1986 | 1,129 | 124 FM – 49 AM | Trường Chinh | — | Amendment | ~1,900,000 | |
| 7th National Party Congress 4 days 1990–1991 election | 24 June – 27 June 1991 | 1,176 | 146 | Nguyễn Văn Linh | "National Construction in the Transitional Period to Socialism" | Amendment | 2,155,022 | |
| 8th National Party Congress 4 days 1995–1996 election | 28 June – 1 July 1996 | 1,198 | 170 | Đỗ Mười | Amendment | Amendment | 2,155,022 | |
| 9th National Party Congress 4 days 2000–2001 election | 19 April – 22 April 2001 | 1,168 | 150 | Lê Khả Phiêu | Amendment | Amendment | 2,479,719 | |
| 10th National Party Congress 8 days 2005–2006 election | 18 April – 25 April 2006 | 1,176 | 160 FM – 21 AM | Nông Đức Mạnh | Amendment | Amendment | ~3,100,000 | |
| 11th National Party Congress 8 days 2010–2011 election | 12 January – 19 January 2011 | 1,377 | 175 FM – 25 AM | Nông Đức Mạnh | Amendment | Amendment | ~3,600,000 | |
| 12th National Party Congress 9 days 2015–2016 election | 20 January – 28 January 2016 | 1,510 | 180 FM – 20 AM | Nguyễn Phú Trọng | Amendment | Amendment | +4,500,000 | |
| 13th National Party Congress 8 days 2020–2021 election | 25 January – 1 February 2021 | 1,587 | 180 FM – 20 AM | Nguyễn Phú Trọng | Two Centennaries | — | +5,000,000 |