Vietnam’s 40 km/h Moped Limit: What the Rule Covers and What It Leaves Open for Day Trips

Vietnam sets a maximum speed of 40 km/h for mopeds on roads other than expressways. The figure comes from Article 7 of Circular 38/2024/TT-BGTVT, a Ministry of Transport text effective from 1 January 2025. For anyone weighing a day trip on a bike in the moped class, it is a ceiling, not an average pace. This article covers what the texts say, what counts as a moped, how the limit compares with other motorbikes and where the sources stop. None of them explains why 40 km/h was chosen.

The rule in one line

Article 7 sets the maximum operating speed for special-purpose machinery, mopeds (“xe gắn máy”) and similar vehicles at 40 km/h, and its heading excludes expressways. The circular defines maximum operating speed as the highest speed allowed on a road that keeps traffic safe and the route used efficiently.

The government portal’s record shows an issue date of 15 November 2024 and an effective date of 1 January 2025; under its Article 12 the circular replaced Circular 31/2019/TT-BGTVT. Under Article 4, where no sign shows a maximum speed or a safe following distance, drivers follow Articles 6, 7, 8 and 11.

Is it still current? A Ministry of Construction list of provisions expired or replaced in 2025, issued with Decision 122/QD-BXD of 28 January 2026, records only Clause 3 of Article 10 and a phrase in Clause 4 of Article 10 of this circular, amended from 1 July 2025. Article 7 is not on it. This appendix lists only partly expired or suspended documents, so a repeal of the whole circular would not appear in it, and no source checked covers that. The list covers 2025 only.

What counts as a moped

The circular text in the sources does not define the term. The only definition in the sources is in Decision 13/2026/QD-TTg, on the roadmap for motorcycle and moped emission standards, as summarised on Hanoi’s legal-information portal on 26 July 2026. A moped there is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle with a design speed of no more than 50 km/h and, if it has a combustion engine, a working volume of no more than 50 cm3 (or, if electric, a motor of no more than 4 kW). A motorcycle (“xe mô tô”) is any other such vehicle; for a three-wheeler the unladen weight must also be no more than 400 kg.

Under that definition both tests apply, so an engine above 50 cm3 puts a bike outside the moped class, and a “50cc” label alone does not settle the design-speed test. For the rental side, see 50cc Motorbike Rental in Hanoi for Beginners: What to Know.

How the limits compare

Article 6 sets default limits for other motor vehicles. They depend on whether the road is inside a built-up area and on the road layout. Article 3 defines a built-up area as a stretch within a city, town or township, or with dense housing right along the road, identified by “start of built-up area” and “end of built-up area” signs. A dual carriageway has its two directions separated by a median.

Inside built-up areas the motorcycle figures are the general limit for motor vehicles other than those in Articles 7 and 8; outside them the circular names motorcycles (“xe mô tô”). A moped’s limit is therefore 10 to 20 km/h lower inside built-up areas and 20 to 30 km/h lower outside them.

Expressways

Article 9 gives expressways a maximum of 120 km/h and a minimum of 60 km/h, with signs required for both; the signed values come from an approved traffic-organisation plan, and where the design speed is 60 km/h the minimum follows that plan. Article 7 leaves expressways out. The Bach Ngoc commune portal in Nghe An, on a page dated 19 May 2026, tabulates fines applying from 2025 under Decree 168/2024/ND-CP: 4 to 6 million VND (up from 2 to 3 million) for riding a motorcycle onto an expressway, and 6 to 8 million VND (up from 4 to 5 million) for exceeding the speed limit by more than 20 km/h. The speeding row sits in the motorbike section and names no vehicle class. The table summarises the decree and is not its text.

Who may ride a moped

A Chinhphu.vn explainer of 2 January 2025 quotes the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, in force from 1 January 2025. Under Article 59, a person aged 16 or over may ride a moped. Article 56 requires a driver to hold a licence suited to the vehicle, except for moped riders, who must know the road rules, have riding skill and meet the age and health conditions. The Bach Ngoc page describes licence class A1 as covering motorcycles up to 125 cc (its running text says “above 50 cc up to 125 cc”) and class A as covering those above 125 cc. See also Vietnam Driving Licence Classes A1 and A Explained for Motorbike Renters Under the 2025 Rules.

Australia’s Smartraveller, on a page updated 24 September 2026, says Australian licences and International Driving Permits are not accepted in Vietnam and that a valid Vietnamese licence is needed to ride, including motorcycles of 50cc or more. It adds that an insurer will likely deny claims from an unlicensed rider. This is advice to Australians; its “50cc or more” threshold includes a 50cc engine, which the Decision 13 moped definition above also covers (up to and including 50 cm3), and it does not discuss smaller engines. No page reconciles the two or says whether a visitor can use the Vietnamese moped exception.

What 40 km/h means for a day trip

A limit is a ceiling; traffic, junctions and stops add time. Distance divided by the limit gives the shortest possible riding time. The distances below are examples, not routes.

Article 10 lets road authorities post their own maximum-speed signs, including separate ones for vehicle types judged to carry a high safety risk. It names two cases for review: built-up roads with adverse conditions (running width under 3.0 m, continuous structures at the road edge and limited visibility) and, outside built-up areas, class IV, V and VI road sections with adverse conditions such as tight or consecutive curves, steep gradients or limited visibility. Article 4 applies the default limits only on sections with no speed sign, so check for a posted sign; the sources do not say whether a sign can set a moped limit above 40 km/h. For destinations, see Motorbike Rental Hanoi: Best Day Trips Around the City.

What the sources do not cover

No source names a route, a distance or a destination, or lists which roads outside the city are closed to mopeds or motorbikes beyond the expressway fine quoted above (worded for motorcycles), so none supports calling a specific road or destination allowed or forbidden for a 50cc bike. None says which rental models are mopeds, whether rental companies may rent them to tourists, which documents a rental customer needs, whether a sign can set a moped limit above or below 40 km/h, or whether 110 to 125cc scooters fall under the 40 km/h limit beyond the engine-size cut-off. Amendments after the 2025 list were not checked.

Sources checked

• Ministry of Transport, text of Circular 38/2024/TT-BGTVT (portal copy, blank date line). Circular 38/2024 text
• Government portal, legal-document record: issue and effective dates. Government record for the circular
• Hanoi legal-information portal, 26 July 2026: Decision 13/2026/QD-TTg definitions. Hanoi portal on the emissions decision
• Chinhphu.vn, 2 January 2025: Articles 56 and 59 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety. Chinhphu.vn on what a driver must carry
• Bach Ngoc commune portal, Nghe An, 19 May 2026: fines table and licence classes. Bach Ngoc page on 14 new traffic rules
• Ministry of Construction list of provisions expired or replaced in 2025 (Decision 122/QD-BXD, 28 January 2026), on the Dak Lak provincial portal. Expired-provisions list
• Smartraveller (Australian Government), updated 24 September 2026. Smartraveller Vietnam advice

Thuê xe máy Nguyễn Hà is open 09:00–21:00 daily at Ngõ 5 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Bồ Đề, Long Biên, Hà Nội (near Gia Lâm bus station). Phone: 0334 699 969.