The All-New Driving License Regulations: What You Need to Know for 2025

According to Article 57 of the 2024 Road Traffic Order and Safety Law, which comes into force on January 1, 2025, there will be 15 types of driving licenses (an increase of 3 from the previous regulation). These include the following categories: A1, A, B1, B, C1, C, D1, D2, D, BE, C1E, CE, D1E, D2E, and DE.

Notably, the B category now combines the previous B1 and B2 licenses. The C category, for driving trucks weighing 3.5 tons or more, has been split into C1 for 2.5 to 7.5-ton trucks and C for trucks over 7.5 tons. The D category for driving passenger vehicles with 10-30 seats has been divided into D1 (8-16 seats) and D2 (16-29 seats), with the D license now only valid for driving vehicles with more than 29 seats.

In addition, according to Article 58 of the same law, each driving license will be allocated 12 points per year. Points will be deducted for traffic violations, with the number of points deducted depending on the nature and severity of the offense. Information about the deducted points will be recorded in a management database and communicated to the driver when the penalty decision takes effect.

If any points remain at the end of the year, the license will be restored to 12 points for the following year. However, if all points are deducted within a year, the driver will not be permitted to drive the type of vehicle specified in their license. After six months from the date of losing all points, drivers can take a knowledge test organized by the traffic police to recover their points.

Significantly, from January 1, 2025, driving licenses that have expired, even by just one day, will require a theoretical retest. According to Clause 2, Article 34 of Circular No. 35/2024/TT-BGTVT, individuals holding driving licenses for categories B, C1, C, D1, D2, D, BE, C1E, CE, D1E, D2E, and DE that have expired for less than a year from the expiration date must take a theoretical exam to obtain a new license.

If the license has been expired for more than a year, both a theoretical exam and a practical driving test, including a yard test and road test, are required to obtain a new license.

As per the above regulations, drivers whose licenses have expired, even by just one day, will need to retake the theoretical exam. This is a change from the current regulation, which allows drivers whose licenses have expired for less than three months to renew without retaking any tests.

In addition to these changes, new policies regarding vehicle registration and license plate issuance will also come into effect in 2025. According to Circular 79/2024/TT-BCA, individuals can now register their vehicles outside of regular working hours, on holidays, and even online. Vietnamese citizens can use the online public service portal for both domestically assembled and imported vehicles.

Furthermore, individuals changing their place of residence to another province will not need to re-register their vehicles or obtain new license plates. License plates for both cars and motorcycles will be auctioned, and electric vehicles and auction winners will be issued registration and license plates with identification stickers.

Moreover, according to Article 27 of Circular 47/2024/TT-BCA, motorcycles over five years old, calculated from the year of manufacture, must undergo emission testing at registered inspection facilities.

H.L (ANTĐ)