Converting or Obtaining a Vietnamese Driving Licence as a Foreigner
Driving licences in Vietnam are now issued by the Ministry of Public Security through the Traffic Police, not the transport ministry — so guidance written before 2025 sends you to the wrong authority. If you hold a valid national licence from home and a residence document with at least three months to run, you convert. If you do not, you sit the Vietnamese test.
Who needs this
- Foreigners residing, working or studying in Vietnam who hold a valid national driving licence issued abroad and want to drive here legally
- Long-term residents who have been riding a motorbike on a foreign licence or nothing at all and want to fix that before an accident does it for them
- Foreigners with no licence from home who need to learn and be tested in Vietnam
- Employees whose insurance or company car policy requires a Vietnamese licence rather than a foreign one
- Vietnamese citizens who obtained a licence while living abroad and want it converted to a Vietnamese one
What to bring
- The original foreign driving licence, still within its validity period and physically intact
- A Vietnamese translation of that licence, notarised by a Vietnamese notary office or by a Vietnamese diplomatic mission abroad
- A copy — or a certified electronic copy — of your temporary residence card, permanent residence card, diplomatic identity card or official-duty identity card
- The request form for licence conversion on the model prescribed by the Ministry of Public Security for foreign applicants
- A valid driver's health certificate from a medical facility that meets the standards under the law on medical examination and treatment
- A photograph in the prescribed size and format
- Your passport, for identity checking at the counter
- If sitting the Vietnamese test instead: a training completion certificate or vocational certificate for the classes that require one
How it works
- 1
Work out whether you convert or test
Conversion is open to foreigners residing, working or studying in Vietnam who hold a valid national driving licence issued abroad plus a temporary or permanent residence card, diplomatic identity card or official-duty identity card with three months or more remaining. If you fall short on either limb — no valid foreign licence, or no qualifying residence document — the route is training and testing in Vietnam.
- 2
Check your licence is one that can be converted
Temporary or provisional foreign licences, International Driving Permits, expired licences, and licences that are torn, erased or altered are not converted. Nor is anything not issued by a competent authority. Check this first, because it decides whether the notarised translation is worth paying for.
- 3
Get the translation notarised properly
The Vietnamese translation must be notarised by a Vietnamese notary office or a Vietnamese diplomatic mission abroad. A translation stamped by a commercial translation agency without notarisation is the single most common reason a conversion file is handed back at the counter.
- 4
Get a valid health certificate
The certificate has to come from a medical facility that meets the legal standards for this purpose — not any clinic. Ask the facility to confirm it is authorised to issue driver health certificates before you pay, and note that the certificate has its own validity window, so do not obtain it months in advance.
- 5
File with the traffic police or online
Licensing sits with the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security. Files can be lodged in person at a designated reception point, or through the online public service system the Traffic Police operate for licence issue and exchange. Confirm the reception point that currently serves your address — these moved during the 2025 provincial reorganisation.
- 6
Check the validity you are given
A Vietnamese licence issued on conversion is aligned to the validity of your residence document and cannot exceed the statutory ceiling for that licence class. So a residence card with eight months left produces a short licence, and you will be back. If a longer card is imminent, it is usually worth waiting for it.
Where people get stuck
- Following pre-2025 guidance and going to a transport department. Testing and licence issue now sit with the Traffic Police under the Ministry of Public Security, under Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA. Any article that names the transport authority as the issuer is out of date, including some still ranking well in search.
- Believing an International Driving Permit converts. It does not. An IDP is expressly outside the conversion route, and whether it entitles you to drive here at all is a separate question you should put to the traffic police before you get on a bike.
- Riding a 150cc motorbike on a licence that only covers a smaller class. The Vietnamese licence classes were restructured under the 2024 road traffic law, and the class your foreign licence maps onto may not be the one you assume. Check the mapping when you file, not when you are stopped.
- Letting the foreign licence expire while you delay. Once it is out of date it cannot be converted at all, and a routine exchange turns into full training and testing in Vietnamese conditions.
- Applying with a residence document under three months. The three-month floor is a condition of conversion, not a guideline. Sort the residence card first — it is the same document that will set how long your licence runs.
- Assuming insurance follows you regardless. If you are driving outside the class your licence covers, or on no valid Vietnamese licence, expect the cover to be argued over after a claim rather than before.
Common questions
Can I drive in Vietnam on my International Driving Permit?
An IDP cannot be converted into a Vietnamese licence — that much is settled. Whether an IDP by itself entitles you to drive here depends on which convention issued it and the rules in force, so put the question to the traffic police or check their portal before you rely on it. Do not take a rental shop's word for it.
How much does conversion cost and how long does it take?
Fees and handling times are published by the receiving authority and are currently in flux — a draft circular amending the 2025 rules has been out for public consultation, covering handling times and electronic licences. Check the figures on the Traffic Police service portal at the time you file rather than relying on a number from an article.
I only ride a motorbike. Do I really need this?
Yes, if the machine falls within a class that requires a licence. This is the most common exposure for foreigners in Vietnam: a rented bike, no valid licence for its class, and an insurer with a reason to decline after an accident. The conversion file is a week of admin against that risk.
What if I have never held a licence anywhere?
Then you train and test in Vietnam. The published conditions require you to be a foreigner permitted to reside, work or study here, to meet the age and health requirements under the road traffic law, and to hold a training completion certificate for the classes that call for one. Testing is conducted in Vietnamese, so budget for language support.
Official sources
- Cục Cảnh sát giao thông — Bộ Công an
- Cổng Dịch vụ công cấp đổi, cấp lại giấy phép lái xe — Cục Cảnh sát giao thông
- Cổng Dịch vụ công Bộ Công an — thủ tục cấp giấy phép lái xe (Cục Cảnh sát giao thông)
- Bộ Công an — Thông tư 12/2025/TT-BCA về sát hạch, cấp giấy phép lái xe và giấy phép lái xe quốc tế
- Cổng Dịch vụ công quốc gia