Are there penalties for Class C driving licenses that are overdue for 1 day in Vietnam? Can a damaged driving license be exchanged in Vietnam?

Are there penalties for Class C driving licenses that are overdue for 1 day in Vietnam?

In Clause 11, Article 2 of Decree 123/2021/ND-CP, there are regulations on penalties for offences against regulations on qualification for operating motor vehicles, according to which:

1. A person from 14 to under 16 years of age that operates a motorcycle or moped (including electric moped) and motorcycle-like vehicles or motor vehicle and the like and tractor shall receive a warning.

2. A fine ranging from VND 100,000 to VND 200,000 shall be imposed upon:

a) Any person operating a motorcycle or moped and the like without carrying an unexpired certificate of civil liability insurance for motor vehicles; or

b) Any person operating a motorcycle or moped and the like without carrying the certificate of vehicle registration; or

c) Any person operating a motorcycle and the like without carrying a driving license, except for the offences specified in point b clause 5 and point c clause 7 of this Article.

3. A fine ranging from VND 200,000 to VND 400,000 shall be imposed upon:

a) Any person operating a motor vehicle and the like or tractor without carrying a driving license, except for the offence specified in point c clause 8 of this Article; or

b) Any person operating a motor vehicle and the like or tractor without carrying the certificate of vehicle registration (including trailer and semi-trailer); or

c) Any person operating a motor vehicle and the like or tractor without carrying the certificate of technical and environmental safety inspection (if required, including trailer and semi-trailer).

4. A fine ranging from VND 400,000 to VND 600,000 shall be imposed upon:

a) Any person from 16 to under 18 years of age operating a motorcycle with engine displacement of 50 cm³ or more; or

b) Any person operating a motor vehicle and the like or tractor without carrying an unexpired certificate of civil liability insurance for motor vehicles.

5. A fine ranging from VND 1,000,000 to VND 2,000,000 shall be imposed upon an operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle whose engine displacement is under 175 cm³ and motorcycle-like vehicles who commits any of the following offences:

a) Failure to have a driving license or using a driving license that is not issued by a competent authority or using a falsified driving license;

b) Possessing an international driving license issued by any of the Member States of the Convention of Road Traffic 1968 (except for international driving licenses issued by Vietnam’s authority);

c) Using an invalid driving license (driving license template number at the back does not match the latest issued template number in the driving license management system license).

6. A fine ranging from VND 2,000,000 to VND 4,000,000 shall be imposed for operating a person from 16 to under 18 years of age that operates a motor vehicle and the like or tractor.

7. A fine ranging from VND 4,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed upon an operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle whose engine displacement is 175 cm³ or more and three-wheeled motorcycles who commits any of the following offences:

a) Possessing a driving license inconsistent with the vehicle being operated;

b) Failure to have a driving license or using a driving license that is not issued by a competent authority or using a falsified driving license;

c) Possessing an international driving license issued by any of the Member States of the Convention of Road Traffic 1968 (except for international driving licenses issued by Vietnam’s authority);

d) Using an invalid driving license (driving license template number at the back does not match the latest issued template number in the driving license management system license).

8. A fine ranging from VND 5,000,000 to VND 7,000,000 shall be imposed upon an operator of a motor vehicle and the like or tractor for any of the following offences:

a) Possessing a driving license that has been expired for less than 03 months;

b) Possessing an international driving license issued by any of the Member States of the Convention of Road Traffic 1968 (except for international driving licenses issued by Vietnam’s authority);

c) Using an invalid driving license (driving license template number at the back does not match the latest issued template number in the driving license management system license).

9. A fine ranging from VND 10,000,000 to VND 12,000,000 shall be imposed upon an operator of a motor vehicle and the like or tractor for any of the following offences:

a) Possessing a driving license inconsistent with the vehicle being operated or possessing a driving license that has been expired for 03 months or more;

b) Failure to have a driving license or using a driving license that is not issued by a competent authority or using a falsified driving license.

10. Apart from incurring fines, the violating operator shall incur the following additional penalties:

a) The offence(s) specified in point a, point c clause 5; point b, point d clause 7; point c clause 8; point b clause 9 of this Article shall lead to suspension of the driving license that is not issued by a competent authority, falsified driving license or invalid driving license;

b) The offence(s) specified in point c clause 5, point d clause 7, point c clause 8 shall lead to suspension of the most recently-issued driving licenses according to information system for management of driving license from 01 - 03 months.

According to this Article, when you have a Class C driving license that has expired for 1 day and is checked by the traffic police and discovered that your driving license has expired, you may be fined from VND 5,000,000 to VND 7,000. 000 VND for drivers.

Can a damaged driving license be exchanged in Vietnam?

According to Clause 5, Article 37 of Circular 12/2017/TT-BGTVT as amended by Point a, Clause 6, Article 2 of Circular 01/2021/TT-BGTVT stipulating renewal of driving license, as follows:

5. Persons eligible for renewal of driving license:

Vietnamese people, foreigners who have trained, tested and obtained driving licenses in Vietnam;

b) Drivers whose driving licenses issued by transport authorities are damaged;

c) Vietnamese people, foreigners residing long term in Vietnam who have obtained driving licenses in Vietnam may apply for renewal if they have demands;

d) Drivers with military driving licenses still unexpired when being discharge (demobilized, retired, changed job, labor contract expired...) may apply for renewal if they have demands;

dd) Persons who have a driving license issued by the Public Security branch after July 31, 1995, with the expiry date, when they stop serving in the police force (discharge, change of branch, retirement, termination of service in the labor contract in the People's Police), if there is a need to change the driving license;

e) Drivers working in public security whose driving licenses issued before August 01, 1995 are damaged may apply for renewal if they have demands and their names are in the database;

g) Foreigners residing, working and studying in Vietnam for at least 03 months, having Diplomatic or Official Identity Card, Permanent Residence Card, Temporary Residence Card, stay permits and unexpired native driving licenses may apply for renewal with corresponding driving licenses of Vietnam if they wish to drive in Vietnam;

h) Foreign tourists driving overseas-registered cars into Vietnam and having unexpired native driving licenses may apply for renewal with corresponding driving licenses of Vietnam if they wish to drive in Vietnam;

i) Vietnamese people (Vietnamese nationality) having unexpired driving licenses issued by other countries while residing, working and studying there may apply for renewal with corresponding driving licenses of Vietnam if they wish to drive in Vietnam.

Thus, if you have a damaged transport driving license, you can get a new driving license again in Vietnam.

What does dossier for change of Class C driving licenses in Vietnam comprise? 

Pursuant to Clause 7, Article 2 of Circular 01/2021/TT-BGTVT stipulates as follows:

1. Dossier for change of driving license issued by the Department of Transport, including:

a) An application form for change of driving license, made according to the form specified in Appendix 19 issued with this Circular;

b) The driving medical examination certificate issued by a competent medical facility as prescribed, except for the following subjects:

Holders of class A 1 , A2, A3 driving licenses ;

Persons who wish to separate the driving license with a term and with an indefinite term;

c) A copy of the driving license, identity card or citizen identification card or valid passport with the number of the people's identity card or citizen identification card (for Vietnamese) or passport expiry date (for foreigners, overseas Vietnamese).

2. Individuals make 01 set of dossiers as prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article, and send them directly or through the online public service system to the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or the Department of Transport.

3. In case of direct application, the driver must take a photo directly at the driving license agency when coming to carry out the procedures for changing the driving license and must present the originals of the above-mentioned documents for comparison, except for the papers specified at Points a and b, Clause 1 of this Article.

4. In case of submitting dossiers through the online public service system, individuals shall declare according to the instructions and take responsibility for the accuracy and legitimacy of the declared contents; When receiving a driving license, the old driving license must be returned for record keeping.

5. The payment of driving license shall be made at the application-receiving agency or through the public postal service at the request of an individual; In case the application is submitted through the online public service system, the driving license will be returned to the correct individual to change the driving license.

According to this Article, in order to change a class C driving license, the individual who changes it should pay attention to follow the above procedures to change the driving license in Vietnam.

Best Regards!