Regulations on issuance of international driving permits in Vietnam

What is international driving permit?

Pursuant to the provisions of Circular 29/2015/TT-BGTVT, the International Driving Permit is a driving permit issued by a competent agency of a member state of Vienna Convention according to a uniform form. Members are issued according to a uniform form. The International Driving Permit is abbreviated as IDP.

An IDP is an A6 (148 mm x 105 mm) booklet bearing secret marks with grey cover and white pages according to the form in Appendix I enclosed with this Circular.

Page 1 (the cover page) provides the main information of the IDP in both Vietnamese and English, page 2 provides regulations on the scope of use of the IDP in both Vietnamese and English, page 3 is the particulars concerning the driver and the IDP categories and subcategories of vehicles (in Vietnamese), page 4 is a blank page, page 5 is the particulars concerning the driver and the IDP categories and subcategories of vehicles (in English), page 5 is the particulars concerning the driver and the IDP categories and subcategories of vehicles (in Russian), page 7 is the particulars concerning the driver and the IDP categories and subcategories of vehicles (in Spanish), page 8 is the particulars concerning the driver and the IDP categories and subcategories of vehicles (in French), page 9 specified the category of the vehicle (in French).

 The IDP consists of two letters “VN" and 12 digits of the national driving permit code

Regulations on issuance of international driving permits in Vietnam (Internet image)

Entities eligible for the International Driving Permit in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 6 of Circular 29/2015/TT-BGTVT, any Vietnamese, foreigners having card of residence in Vietnam who has an unexpired PET national driving permit issued by Vietnam.

Procedures for issuing International Driving Permit in Vietnam

- Individuals submit an application for an international IDP using the form specified in Appendix IV issued with Circular 29/2015/TT-BGTVT directly or through the online public service system to the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam. or Department of Transportation.

- Procedures for IDP issuance:

+ Individuals, when applying directly at the Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or the Department of Transport, must present the original of the national driving license issued by Vietnam, a passport, and a permanent residence card (for foreigners) to check the accuracy and legitimacy of the IDP issuance and to fulfill the obligation to pay the fee when receiving the dossier as prescribed; when applying through the online public service system, individuals who make declarations according to the instructions and must take responsibility for the accuracy and legality of the declared contents, must fulfill the fee payment obligation through the fee payment function of the online public service system and pay other service usage fees according to the individual's needs.

In case the application is not in accordance with regulations, the application-receiving agency shall notify the individual directly, in writing, or through the online public service system of the contents that need to be supplemented or modified within 02 working days from the date of receipt of the application;

+ Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application for issuance of IDP in accordance with regulations,
The Directorate for Roads of Vietnam or the Department of Transport shall issue IDPs to individuals; in case an IDP is not granted, a reply must be given clearly stating the reason.

- If the IDP is lost or damaged, the individual shall submit application for reissuance according to regulations in clause 1 of this Article.

- The application for IDP shall be rejected in the following cases:

+ The National driving permit is erased or damaged that essential information is no longer readable, or the permit’s appearance is unconformable;

+ The National driving permit was not issued by a competent agency according to regulations.

- Any individual cheating in the application for the IDP, erasing or falsifying information on the issued IDP, apart from having the IDP revoked, shall take legal responsibilities and shall not be granted the IDP for 03 years from the day on which the violation is discovered.

Pursuant to: Article 8 of Circular 29/2015/TT-BGTVT and Article 1 of Circular 01/2021/TT-BGTVT.

Procedures for issuance and management of the International Driving Permit in Vietnam

Procedures for issuance and management of the International Driving Permit according to Article 9 of Circular 29/2015/TT-BGTVT, as follows:

- The Services of Transport

+ Receive the application for the IDP and use the IDP management information system established by Vietnam Road Administration to formulate the electronic profile;

+ Make photocopies of passport, residence card (applicable to foreigners) for checking and comparison during the issuance of the IDP;

+ Check, update and verify the electronic profile to the IDP management information system;

+ Verify the digital signatures of competent persons on the IDP electronic profile;

+ Have the IDP printed under procedures;

+ Insect the quality of the printed IDP and update data on the IDP management information system of Vietnam Road Administration according to regulations.

- Vietnam Road Administration

+ Receive and manage data about the IDP updated by the Services of Transport to synchronize with the IDP management information system;

+ Update and operate the IDP management information system according to regulations;

+ Process applications for IDP submitted by individuals under procedures in clause 1 of this Article.

Mai Thanh Loi

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