Regulations on license plates in Vietnam under the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024

Regulations on license plates in Vietnam under the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024 (Image from the Internet)

From June 27, 2024, the National Assembly of Vietnam passed the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024.

Regulations on license plates under the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024

Article 36 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024 stipulates the regulations on license plates in Vietnam as follows:

- License plates are issued by competent state agencies in accordance with Articles 37 and 39 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024; they shall be attached to road transport vehicles in accordance with the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024 to serve state management.

- License plates are categorized as follows:

+ Blue background license plates with white letters and numbers are issued to vehicles of the Communist Party, State, political - social organizations, public service providers;

+ Red background license plates with white letters and numbers are issued to military vehicles;

+ Yellow background license plates with black letters and numbers are issued to transport business vehicles;

+ White background license plates with black letters and numbers are issued to vehicles of domestic organizations and individuals not subject to the points a, b, and c, Clause 2, Article 36 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024;

+ White background license plates with red letters, black numbers, and the symbol “NG” are issued to vehicles of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and foreign employees with diplomatic identity;

+ White background license plates with red letters, black numbers, and the symbol “QT” are issued to vehicles of representative offices of international organizations and foreign employees with diplomatic identity of that organization;

+ White background license plates with black letters and numbers and the symbol “CV” are issued to administrative and technical staff with official identity cards of diplomatic missions, consular offices, and international organizations;

+ White background license plates with black letters and numbers and the symbol “NN” are issued to organizations, representative offices, and foreign individuals, except for those specified at point g of this clause;

+ Other types of license plates as prescribed by the Minister of Public Security.

- License plates are managed by identification codes, except for the license plates specified at point b, Clause 2, Article 36 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024. Management of license plates by identification codes is stipulated as follows:

+ License plates are issued and managed according to the identification codes of the vehicle owners (individuals or organizations); for organizations without identification codes, they are managed by tax identification numbers or establishment decisions or equivalent documents;

+ In case a vehicle reaches the end of its lifespan, is damaged beyond use, or ownership of the vehicle is transferred, the vehicle owner retains the license plate number for 05 years for registration of another vehicle owned by them; after this period, the vehicle registration agency recovers the license plate number and places it into the pool of license plates for issuance to other organizations or individuals, except for the transfer, exchange, donation, or inheritance of vehicles along with the auctioned license plate;

+ If the vehicle owner changes their headquarters, permanent place of residence, or temporary residence, they can retain the identification license plate.

- The Minister of Public Security (Hanoi, Vietnam) prescribes the national technical standards for license plates; for license plates under the management of the Ministry of National Defense, the Minister of National Defense (Hanoi, Vietnam) prescribes the technical standards.

More details can be found in the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024, which comes into force in Vietnam from January 01, 2025, except for the regulations at Clause 2, Article 88 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024.

The Law on Road Traffic 2008 was amended and supplemented by several articles under the Law on Amending and Supplementing a Number of Laws Related to Planning 2018 and the Law on Prevention and Control of Harmful Effects of Alcohol 2019 and will cease to be effective from the date the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024 takes effect, except as specified in Clauses 1, 2, 5, and 6 of Article 89 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety 2024.

To Quoc Trinh

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