The present invention pertains to a process for the chlorination of acetic acid to form monochloroacetic acid comprising the following steps a. reacting acetic acid with chlorine using acetic anhydride and/or acetyl chloride as catalyst to form a liquid phase, and a gaseous phase, - the liquid phase comprising at least monochloroacetic acid, acid chlorides, acid anhydrides and optionally un reacted acetic acid, and - the gaseous phase comprising HCI, acetic acid, monochloroacetic acid and acid chlorides, b. stripping said liquid phase at a temperature of between 120 and 180°C and a pressure between 1 and 7 bara with gaseous HCI to form a gaseous HCI stream comprising acetic acid, acid chlorides and optionally acid anhydrides and monochloroacetic acid, and a liquid stream comprising monochloroacetic acid and dichloroacetic acid; c. cooling the gaseous HCI stream comprising acetic acid, acid chlorides, acid anhydrides and optionally monochloroacetic acid to a temperature of between 10 and 60°C (preferably around 35°C), and d. feeding the cooled gaseous HCI to an absorber with acetic acid as absorber, absorbing the acetic acid, acid chlorides and optionally monochloroacetic acid forming a stream comprising acetic acid and acid chlorides.