Is it possible to renew an expiring driving license by authorizing another person to renew it in Vietnam?

Is it possible to renew an expiring driving license by authorizing another person to renew it in Vietnam?

Question: According to the regulations in Vietnam, is it possible to authorize someone else to renew a driving license that is about to expire?

Reply:

In Clause 2, Article 36 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT, there are regulations on re-issuance of driving license as follows:

2. Drivers whose driving licenses is lost, remaining unexpired or having expired for less than 03 months shall be considered for re-issuance of driving license.

The application includes:

a) Written request for renewal or re-issuance of driving license according to form prescribed in Appendix 19 enclosed herewith;

b) Original application in accordance with driving license (if any);

c) Health certificate issued by competent medical facilities as prescribed except for re-issuance of A1, A2, A3 class driving license with permanent validity;

d) The copy of people’s identity card, citizen’s identity card or unexpired passport for Vietnamese citizens or unexpired passport for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese.

The applicant shall be photographed when submitting the application at Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or Department of Transport, and must present the original copy of aforesaid documents (except for sent original documents) for comparison. The driving license shall be reissued after 02 months from the day on which the valid application is submitted, provided the license is not confiscated by a competent authority or the driver’s name is not on the list of the management authority.

Thus, according to the above regulations in Vietnam, it is the person who is allowed to carry out the procedures to re-issue a driving license that is about to expire must be directly present at the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or Department of Transport to take pictures and present the documents for comparison. So you cannot authorize others to do this procedure.

If I apply for re-issuance of driving license in Vietnam, will my safe driving time be recalculated for license upgrade?

The exam for promotion of the B1 to B2 license must have a safe driving time of 01 year or more. So if I lose my driving license and apply for a new one, will my safe driving time be recalculated from the time I receive my new license?

Reply:

According to Clause 3, Article 7 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT and Clause 5, Article 1 of Circular 38/2019/TT-BGTVT stipulates:

3. Learners that apply for a license upgrade must obtain time and number of kilometers of safe driving as follows:

B1 class with automatic transmissions to B1: at least 01 year of driving and 12,000 km of safe driving;

b) B1 class to B2: at least 01 year of driving and 12,000 km of safe driving;

c) B2 class to C, C class to D, D class to E; B2, C, D, E classes to F; D, E classes to FC: at least 03 years of practicing as a driver and 50,000 km of safe driving;

d) B2 class to Article, C class to E: at least 05 year of practicing as a driver and 100,000 km of safe driving.

dd) If a learner who applies for a license upgrade commits administrative violation against regulations on road traffic and has his/her driving license suspended, the safe driving period shall begin from the date on which he/she finishes abiding by the decision on penalty for administrative violation.

According to this regulation in Vietnam, only in case the upgrade learner is deprived of the right to use the driving license, the safe vehicle time is counted from the date of completing the execution of the administrative sanctioning decisions.

Thus, the safe driving time is the time the driving license is first issued. Therefore, in case you apply for a driving license again, the safe driving time will not be recalculated to take the upgrade test in Vietnam.

If I lose my driving license and original documents, can they be reissued in Vietnam?

I lost my driving license and original documents. So can I reapply for a license or do I have to retake the exam? Because according to some sources, if I lose my original documents, I have to retake the exam, so I don't know what to do. I hope you can advise me.

Reply:

According to Article 36 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT, it is stipulated as follows:

1. Drivers whose driving licenses have expired shall

From 03 months to less than 1 year since the date of expiration, take the theory tests for re-issuance of driving license;

b) From 1 year and over since the date of expiration, participate in both theory and practical tests for re-issuance of driving license.

Applications for participation in the test are prescribed in Clause 3 Article 19 hereof.

2. Drivers whose driving licenses is lost, remaining unexpired or having expired for less than 03 months shall be considered for re-issuance of driving license.

The application includes:

a) Written request for renewal or re-issuance of driving license according to form prescribed in Appendix 19 enclosed herewith;

b) Original application in accordance with driving license (if any);

c) Health certificate issued by competent medical facilities as prescribed except for re-issuance of A1, A2, A3 class driving license with permanent validity;

d) The copy of people’s identity card, citizen’s identity card or unexpired passport for Vietnamese citizens or unexpired passport for foreigners and overseas Vietnamese.

The applicant shall be photographed when submitting the application at Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or Department of Transport, and must present the original copy of aforesaid documents (except for sent original documents) for comparison. The driving license shall be reissued after 02 months from the day on which the valid application is submitted, provided the license is not confiscated by a competent authority or the driver’s name is not on the list of the management authority.

3. Drivers whose driving license are lost, expired for more than 03 months with his/her name included in testing management agencies’ records should attend following tests if his/her license has not been confiscated or handled by competent agencies after two months since submission of the application:

a) Take the theory test again if the old license has expired from 03 months to less than 01 year;

b) Participate in both theory and practical tests if the old license has expired from 01 year and over.

Applications for participation in the test are prescribed in Clause 4 Article 19 hereof.

4. The licensing agency shall send a written notification on cancelling the old driving license to relevant authorities when re-issuing a new license.

5. The date written on the back of the reissued driving license is the date of the old driving license.

6. The deadline for reissuing the driving license is similar to that for issuing a new one.

7. Candidates who need reviews must register with driver training institutions for instructions, pay a fee as prescribed and are exempt from going through the training program.

8. Any driver whose driving license is still unexpired but its original records are lost and have his/her name included in testing management agencies’ records may re-establish the original records if he/she has demands.

The candidate shall send a set of application in person to Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or Department of Transport (where the driving license was granted). The application includes:

a) Written request according to forms prescribed in Appendix 19 enclosed herewith;

b) Copy of unexpired driving license, people’s identity card, citizen’s identity card or passport.

The licensing agency shall inspect, confirm, affix seal and specify number, class of the granted driving license, date of tests (If any), name of the training institution (if any) on top right corner of the written request and return to the driver for preservation instead of original records.

Thus, in case of losing the original documents, you can apply for a license at the competent authority, if the driving license holder information has been stored in the test management system of the management agency, it will be reissued according to regulations in Vietnam. Therefore, you need to consider whether your driving license is still valid or not in accordance with the law.

After being re-issued with a driving license according to regulations in Vietnam, you can submit an application for re-issuance of the original dossier to the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or the Department of Transport (where the driving license was issued) to be resolved by authority.

Best regards!