According to the latest plan, starting from July 1, 2023, the Ministry of Public Security will conduct a pilot program to implement identification license plates for cars and motorcycles. As per the plan, vehicle owners who have their registered address or residence in a specific location must complete the registration procedures at the local vehicle registration agency.
For Vietnamese vehicle owners, the license plate will be managed based on the personal identification code, while for foreigners, it will be managed based on their foreigner’s identification code. As for organizations, the license plate will be managed using the organization’s identification code or tax code.
According to regulations, all vehicle registration procedures must be declared on the National Public Service Portal. Once the declaration is successful, the National Public Service Portal will send a message containing the registration code to the vehicle owner. This code will be used to proceed with the registration procedures at the authorized vehicle registration agency.
In case it is not possible to perform the procedures on the National Public Service Portal due to the lack of electronic data or technical errors, the vehicle owner must visit the vehicle registration agency in person to complete the procedures.
If the vehicle and vehicle documents do not meet the prescribed regulations, the vehicle owner will need to provide additional documents and complete the necessary forms as instructed. The result of the vehicle registration can be obtained through the postal service.
There are several cases where the registration certificate and license plate need to be withdrawn:
- Vehicles that are damaged and cannot be used, or vehicles that are destroyed due to objective reasons;
- Vehicles that have exceeded their period of use or are not allowed to circulate as per the provisions of the law;
- Vehicles that have been stolen and cannot be found, and the vehicle owner requests the withdrawal of the registration certificate;
- Vehicles that are duty exempted or temporarily imported by foreign agencies, organizations, or individuals;
- Vehicles registered in special economic-trade zones or international border-gate economic zones as per the government regulations when being re-exported or transferred to Vietnam;
- Vehicles registered for ownership change or relocation to other provinces or centrally-run cities;
- Vehicles that have their frames dismantled for registration of another vehicle;
- Vehicles that have been registered but found to have fake vehicle documents, or have tampered or incorrect engine and chassis numbers, or have incorrect license plates as prescribed.
Cars will be issued with 2 license plates, including a short plate with dimensions of height x length = 165 x 330 mm, and a long plate with dimensions of 110 x 520 mm. This is different from the current regulations where newly registered cars are only issued two short license plates in rectangular shape. If the vehicle owner wants to be issued 1 or 2 long license plates, they will have to bear additional costs.
Here are the steps to register identification license plates for cars and motorcycles on the National Public Service Portal:
Step 1: Log in to the National Public Service Portal, declare and sign the vehicle registration form, and receive the online registration code and appointment schedule for processing the registration at the vehicle registration agency via email or text message.
Step 2: Bring the vehicle to the vehicle registration agency, provide the online registration code, sign the vehicle registration form (in case the vehicle owner does not use a digital signature), and submit the required documents.
Step 3: After the vehicle registration officer checks the documents and verifies the vehicle’s actual condition to ensure its validity, the license plate will be issued according to the following principles: issuing a new license plate if the vehicle owner has not been issued an identification license plate or if the vehicle owner has been issued an identification license plate but it is registered for another vehicle; reissuing according to the identification license plate number if the identification license plate has been withdrawn previously.
Identification numbers will be required for cars and motorcycles from next month.
With the car owner being Vietnamese, the license plate is managed according to the individual identification code.
