The REDD+ readiness phase leading up to implementation has been slow and has fallen short of expectations. In this article, we present REDD+ experiences from two countries, Indonesia and Vietnam, with a focus on the readiness phase, examining policy processes at the central, provincial and local levels. Interviews with key stakeholders (officials, donors, NGOs, village representatives) and data from household surveys suggest that efforts have been concentrated at the central level, with the provincial level mainly feeding data into the process and the local level practically left to its own devices. Furthermore, the REDD+ design may be misguided as it exempts the major stakeholders, namely the state and private enterprises, from declaring emissions sub-targets in the national carbon reduction action plans, and focuses exclusively on rural forest dwellers who struggle to understand the ideas that underpin REDD+.