Vietnam: Are electric motorcycles required to have license plates?

LawNet would like to answer your question as follows:

According to Article 1 of Circular No. 15/2014/TT-BCA of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam, electric motorcycles is one of the vehicles that must be registered with license plates in order to be allowed to participate in traffic. To be specific:

Article 1. Governing scope

This Circular provides for the issuance, replacement and revocation of license plate and vehicle registration for road motor vehicles, as stipulated by the Law on Road Traffic, including automobiles; tractors; trailers or semi-trailers towed by vehicles or tractors; two-wheeled, three-wheeled motorcycles with cylinder capacity of over 50cc (hereinafter referred to as motorcycles); motorcycles with cylinder capacity of 50cc and below (hereinafter referred to as small motorcycles, including electric bikes) and other vehicles built with similar specifications; dedicated vehicles used by the Police for the security purpose (hereinafter referred to as vehicle registration).

However, a common issue that many people are still confused about is whether their vehicle is an electric bicycle or an electric motorcycle. According to the National Technical Quality and Safety Standards for Motorcycles and Mopeds (Standard 14), an electric motorcycle is a vehicle with a higher speed and larger engine compared to an electric bicycle. In addition to its larger design, an electric motorcycle does not have pedals, and it is allowed to travel at speeds up to 50km/h with a motor power exceeding 250W.

A fine of from 300,000 VND to 400,000 VND shall be imposed for operating an electric motorcycle without a license plate; the license plate installed is not consistent with the Certificate of vehicle registration or not issued by a competent authority (according to Clause 3 Article 17 of Decree No. 171/2013/ND-CP of Vietnam’s Government).

Thus, in your case, the administrative penalty given by traffic police is entirely in accordance with the law.

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