Design of the driver license in Vietnam from March 1, 2025, in accordance with Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA

Design of the driver license in Vietnam from March 1, 2025, in accordance with Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA

(Most of the images referenced in the document are from the internet.)

The Minister of Public Security promulgated Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA on February 28, 2025, regulating the examination, issuance of driver's licenses; issuance and use of international driver's licenses.

Design of the driver license in Vietnam from March 1, 2025, in accordance with Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA

According to Article 18 of Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA, it stipulates the template, usage, and management of driver's licenses as follows:

- The Department of Traffic Police manages the issuance, exchange, and reissuance of driver's licenses nationwide; provides materials for printing driver's licenses to the Traffic Police Department. The Traffic Police Department organizes the printing and issuance of driver's licenses in accordance with the templates stipulated in Appendix X attached to Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA.

According to Appendix X attached to Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA, the front and back of the driver's license template are as follows:

Front

Back

- The driver's license is made from PET material, assigned to each person, ensuring a unique management number, valid for both the indefinite and definite period licenses.

- Individuals wishing to integrate the indefinite period driver's license with the definite period license must apply for a license change as prescribed in Appendix XII attached to Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA and follow the procedures for changing licenses as prescribed in Articles 21, 22, 23 of Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA.

- License holders are only permitted to drive the types of vehicles stated on their licenses.

- Upon upgrading, issuing a new license, the Traffic Police Department will collect the old licenses and destroy them as per legal regulations on records management.

- Holders of an automatic B license are not allowed to drive manual transmission vehicles.

- Foreigners or Vietnamese residing abroad wishing to drive in Vietnam must proceed as follows:

+ If holding a national driver's license, they must apply for conversion to a corresponding Vietnamese driver's license;

+ In cases where international agreements on driver's licenses to which Vietnam is a signatory stipulate otherwise, those regulations shall apply.

- PET material driver's licenses and licenses issued from January 1, 2025, and those issued before the effective date of Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA are valid licenses issued by competent authorities, containing serial numbers, issue dates, and expiration dates consistent with the information in the driver's license management information system or, alternatively, integrated in electronic identification accounts.

Regulations on Reissuing Driver's Licenses

According to Article 20 of Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA, regarding the reissuance of driver's licenses:

- Holders of licenses that remain valid but are lost are eligible to apply for reissuance. The procedure for reissuing lost licenses follows the stipulations of clauses 2, 3, 4, Article 21 of Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA.

- Licenses will not be reissued in the following cases: the license information is not available in the Traffic Police Department's information system or is not listed in the license registry; the individual has outstanding traffic rule compliance requirements from competent state agencies related to administrative violations in road traffic safety.

For further information, consult Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA, effective from March 1, 2025.

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