Some Common Issues When Registering for Vehicle Title Transfer and Relocation

Vehicle registration files are still considered valid if:

When transferring ownership or moving a vehicle registered on or before December 31, 2005, if there is a lack of a transfer invoice or an uninterrupted transfer, the file is still considered valid;

Registration for name change is still processed when:

- The vehicle has already been registered (in the names of both spouses or just one person), and the person registered in the vehicle registration certificate has died or is missing (having death certificate or court declaration of disappearance). If there is a need to transfer the name to the spouse or to another person without dispute, the registration will still be processed.- In the case where a vehicle has been previously registered and it is now discovered that the certificate of import origin is counterfeit, the file is transferred to the investigative agency for investigation and handling according to the law. If the investigative agency concludes in writing that the vehicle is not stolen or unlawfully appropriated, the vehicle registration agency will forward it to the Customs Department managing that province or city to collect taxes. After receiving the tax receipts, registration will be processed.- For motorcycles registered on or before December 31, 1995, bearing the stamp “not for sale, exchange, gift,” in the vehicle registration certificate, if there is no dispute or lawsuit, the transfer of ownership, relocation, or changing of the license plate will still be processed.- The vehicle registration files are conformable but due to oversight, missing the signature of the department leader, team leader, vehicle registration officer, or missing the stamp on the vehicle registration application or vehicle transfer application or vehicle registration certificate, import documents having discrepancy in address, lacking or misrecording some characters of engine number, chassis number compared to the actual vehicle or missing a copy of special consumption tax receipt (for vehicles required to have it) or including incomplete information such as lacking a connecting invoice, photocopy of driver's license, registration fee receipt, lacking vehicle modification procedures but have been issued a technical safety and environmental protection certificate by the transport sector, it is proposed that the Head of the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department or the Head of the Traffic Police Department, Head of the District Police accept and process the registration.- Vehicles that have completed the procedures for transferring ownership and relocation to another locality but the owner has not registered yet and has sold it to a new owner, if the purchase procedures and pre-registration fee are conformable, the registration is accepted and notifications sent to the locality transferring the vehicle to adjust the vehicle registration book.- For automobiles or motorcycles registered before December 31, 1995, if the owner now applies for name transfer or change, relocation, re-issuance of the registration certificate, license plate, and the original file lacks procedures but there are no disputes or lawsuits, it is proposed to the Head of the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department (for vehicles registered at the Road and Railway Traffic Police Department) or the Director of the provincial-level Police to accept and process the registration.- For illegally imported two-wheeled motorcycles that have been collected taxes by the Customs authorities and registered, the transfer of ownership, relocation, or changing of the license plate will still be processed.- For modified vehicles registered on or before June 4, 1996, if the file lacks a technical inspection record as stipulated by Joint Circular 223/TT/LB dated December 7, 1979, by the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Interior, the transfer of ownership, relocation, or changing of the license plate will still be processed.- For vehicles assembled in Vietnam and registered on or before February 19, 1998, if there is a copy of the first product certificate or a copy of the acceptance minutes of the Acceptance Council according to the regulations of the Ministry of Transport, the transfer of ownership, relocation, or changing of the license plate will still be processed.

Additionally, vehicles transferred within Vietnam as gifts or donation:

The vehicle owner must complete the withdrawal procedures for the vehicle registration certificate and license plate at the vehicle registration agency, then go to the Customs authority to complete the import procedures according to regulations and submit the import documents to the vehicle registration agency to proceed with the name transfer and relocation.

In cases where the vehicle has not completed the withdrawal procedures for the vehicle registration certificate and license plate but the Customs authority has already collected import tax or the functional unit of the Ministry of Finance has issued a written document stating no tax collection is required, the name transfer and relocation will be processed, and the document will be filed into the vehicle’s dossier.

For vehicles belonging to returning overseas Vietnamese arriving at Vietnamese ports before April 1, 2014, the transfer, name change, and relocation will be processed. For vehicles of returning overseas Vietnamese arriving at Vietnamese ports from April 1, 2014, the overseas Vietnamese must register the vehicle before transferring; during the transfer, tax collection documents are required for the name transfer and relocation to be processed according to regulations.

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