Vietnam will have 8 types of license plates

According to the newly issued law, blue-background license plates with white letters and numbers are issued to vehicles of Party and State agencies, socio-political organizations, and public service units. Red-background license plates with white letters and numbers are issued to military vehicles.

Yellow background license plate with black letters and numbers is issued to vehicles operating in the transport business. White background license plate with black letters and numbers is issued to vehicles of domestic organizations and individuals.

White background license plate, red letters, black numbers, with red symbol "NG" issued to vehicles of diplomatic missions. White background license plate, red letters, black numbers, with red symbol "QT" issued to vehicles of representative agencies of international organizations.

White background license plate, black letters and numbers, with the symbol "CV" issued to vehicles of civil servants of international diplomatic agencies. White background license plate, black letters and numbers, with the symbol "NN" issued to vehicles of foreign organizations, representative offices, and individuals.

License plates of motorbikes and cars are managed by identification codes.

The Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order inherits recent regulations such as Circular 24/2023 on granting and revoking registration and license plates of motor vehicles. Specifically, license plates are managed according to the identification code of the vehicle owner, whether an individual or an organization; in case the organization does not have an identification code, it is managed according to the tax code or establishment decision; except for license plates with a red background and white letters and numbers issued to military vehicles.

According to a representative of the Traffic Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security, identification plates are a way to manage plates according to the personal identification code of the "plate owner". Plates are still issued to people according to the current process, not "using personal identification codes as plate numbers" as many people understand.

License plates issued according to identification codes will help management work more effectively, can easily retrieve information of people and vehicles to verify information related to accidents, traffic violations, thereby raising awareness of traffic participants. For example, the police send a notice of violation but if the owner has sold the car and the license plate to someone else, it is very difficult to verify the real owner. If license plates are managed according to identification codes, this situation will be avoided.

For vehicles that have expired, are damaged, or have been sold, the owner may retain the license plate number for 5 years to register another vehicle under his/her ownership. After this period, the license plate number will be revoked by the vehicle registration authority and issued to another organization or individual. In case the vehicle owner changes information about the headquarters, permanent or temporary residence, the identification license plate number will be retained.

With the license plates currently in use, the 5-digit license plate will be the default identification number. If people have a need, the police will withdraw the 3- or 4-digit license plate and then issue a 5-digit license plate to manage according to the personal identification of the license plate owner.

When selling a vehicle, the owner must retain the registration and license plate and must not transfer them to the new owner. The old owner must return the registration and license plate to the police for repossession procedures. The license plate will be reissued when the owner registers another vehicle under his/her ownership.

Auction winning license plates are not transferable.

According to the Law on Road Traffic Safety, the starting price of a license plate for a private car or commercial vehicle put up for auction is no less than 40 million VND; the starting price of a license plate for a motorbike or moped is no less than 5 million VND. The deposit must not be lower than the starting price.

When the registration period expires and only one person participates in the auction or only one person bids at least equal to the starting price of a license plate, that person wins the auction.

The person who wins the license plate auction will be granted a license plate confirmation decision; can register the winning license plate with the vehicle he/she owns; can transfer, give away, or inherit the vehicle with the winning license plate, but cannot transfer or give away the license plate that won the auction. In other words, if the buyer wants to transfer the license plate, he/she will have to buy the vehicle with the license plate attached.

The auction winner must pay the full auction fee within 30 days from the date of announcement of the results. After the above deadline, if the auction winner does not pay or does not pay enough money, the license plate will be auctioned again or transferred to the vehicle registration and management system and the auction winner will not be refunded the deposit.

The Law also requires the Government to specify in detail the price steps, forms, methods, procedures and procedures for vehicle license plate auctions.

Previously, in November 2022, the National Assembly passed a resolution to pilot online auctions of car license plates with a starting price of 40 million VND. The proceeds after deducting organization expenses will be paid to the central budget.

From September 2023 to March 2024, about 15,100 car license plates were successfully auctioned nationwide, with a total amount of more than VND 2,000 billion, of which 14,000 license plates were paid VND 1,395 billion by customers.

6 cases of vehicles having their license plates revoked

The Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order stipulates that the issuance of new vehicle registration certificates and license plates must ensure conditions such as certification of vehicle origin, certification of legal ownership, and fulfillment of financial obligations.

When changing vehicle ownership, the issuance of a certificate must ensure conditions such as certification of ownership, completion of financial obligations, certification of vehicle registration and license plate revocation.

People can change the vehicle registration certificate and license plate when the vehicle registration certificate and license plate are blurred or damaged; when renovating or changing the vehicle's paint color; when the vehicle owner changes address and needs to change the vehicle registration certificate; or the vehicle registration certificate and license plate have expired.

6 cases where vehicle registration certificates and license plates are revoked include: Vehicle owners transfer vehicle ownership; tax-exempt imported vehicles or temporarily imported vehicles of foreign agencies, organizations and individuals that are re-exported; when the vehicle has been registered but the documents are falsified or the chassis number or engine number is illegally changed; the vehicle has expired, is damaged and is not used on the road; the vehicle is abandoned or lost and the vehicle owner requests the revocation of the vehicle registration certificate and license plate; the issuance of vehicle registration and license plates is not in accordance with the provisions of law.