How do you exchange a foreign driving licence in Vietnam in 2026?

The foreign applicant must reside, work, or study in Vietnam, hold an unexpired national driving licence, and have a diplomatic or official identity card, permanent residence card, or temporary residence card valid for at least three months. A short tourist e-visa (electronic entry visa) by itself does not meet that residence-document list.

Conversion maps the vehicles shown on the foreign licence to the corresponding Vietnamese category. It does not add a motorcycle entitlement that the original licence lacks. Vietnam separates motorcycle categories by vehicle type and power under its current road-traffic framework, so show the exact motorcycle notation and obtain a written category match before riding.

Circular 12 treats this as document conversion, not a new driving test. It excludes temporary foreign licences, International Driving Permits, expired or altered documents, licences with unusable identity differences, and documents not issued by a competent authority. An International Driving Permit, or IDP, is a treaty-format translation used with the underlying national licence. It cannot itself be converted. Whether an IDP can be used for a visit depends on the issuing country, treaty coverage, vehicle category, and carrying both documents.

Foreign applicants use the form in Appendix XIII of Circular 12. Add a copy of the foreign licence and a Vietnamese translation certified by a Vietnamese notary or qualifying Vietnamese overseas mission. The translation and copy must be joined and stamped across the pages as the rule specifies.

Provide a certified or accepted electronic copy of the qualifying residence document and present originals when instructed. A valid health certificate from a qualified Vietnamese medical facility is required unless the Circular's exception applies when the Vietnamese licence is issued only for the period shown in the entry visa or temporary residence card. Confirm the exception with the receiving traffic-police point before skipping the examination.

You may submit through the public service portal, a provincial police Traffic Police Division, or a commune-level police reception point authorised for this procedure. Công an cấp xã means police at the current commune or ward level. Do not visit an abolished district office after the 2025 reorganisation. Direct applicants have their photograph taken and identity checked at reception.

The converted licence cannot outlast the qualifying Vietnamese residence document, the foreign licence, or the maximum for the matching Vietnamese class. If immigration status or the foreign licence is close to expiry, the resulting card may be too short to justify the process.

Check the printed categories before driving. Keep the foreign licence and residence document available until the traffic police confirms what must be surrendered or retained. For a renewed passport, residence card, or corrected name, ask the issuing authority how to update the linked record.