Licences & Legal Eligibility
Digital Driving Licence in Vietnam: VNeID, Licence Number and What Official Pages Say About Copies
About 8 minutes to read
A rider whose licence sits on a phone, in a scan or on a photocopy needs to know which form an officer or a rental counter can accept. This article reads Law 36/2024/QH15 on road traffic order and safety, two Ministry of Public Security pages, Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA, a 2026 decree summary, and UK and Canadian travel advice. The Vietnamese pages describe a digital driving licence on the VNeID app and a licence number as ways to show a licence at a check. None of the seven pages mentions showing a photocopy or phone photo of a licence at a check, and “What the pages leave out” lists the other gaps.
What Article 56 says a rider carries
Article 56 of Law 36/2024/QH15, read in the full text on the Nghe An provincial portal, requires a licence that still has points, is in force and fits the vehicle class. The driver must carry four documents when on the road:
| Document in clause 1 | What the text says about copies |
|---|---|
| Vehicle registration certificate | The certificate, or a certified copy with the lender’s original confirmation when the vehicle is mortgaged |
| Driving licence suited to the vehicle | No copy is mentioned |
| Technical-safety and environmental inspection certificate | No copy is mentioned |
| Compulsory civil-liability insurance certificate | No copy is mentioned |
The licence requirement in clause 1 does not apply to moped riders covered by clause 4; the Law defines a moped (xe gắn máy) by a design speed of no more than 50 km/h and, if it has a combustion engine, a capacity of no more than 50 cm3 or, if it has an electric motor, a power of no more than 4 kW. For the other papers on the list, see Rental Motorbike Registration in Vietnam: Match the Bike to Its Papers and Compulsory Motorbike Liability Insurance in Vietnam: What the Certificate Covers and What a Renter Should Check.
The digital driving licence on VNeID
Clause 3 of Article 56 says that when the listed documents are already integrated into the electronic identification account, showing and checking them can be done through that account.
Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA (dated 28 February 2025, in force from 1 March 2025) defines an electronic driving licence (giấy phép lái xe điện tử) as a licence in the form of a data message, integrated into the electronic data system and electronic identification account. Its Article 18, clause 8, treats a licence as valid when the competent authority issued it, it is in force, and either the blank number, issue date and expiry date printed on it match the licence-management system or its details are integrated into the account.
The Ministry of Public Security portal (3 June 2024), writing about Circular 05/2024/TT-BGTVT, in force from 1 June 2024, says a plastic-card licence and the licence on VNeID have equivalent effect. It adds that a person can show the licence on VNeID instead of the physical licence so as not to be fined, and can still show the physical licence issued by the competent authority.
When the licence is not yet in the app: the licence number
The Traffic Police Department of the Ministry of Public Security published an item on 29 July 2025 naming two cases in which a person can show a licence at a check: on VNeID, or by licence number. When the licence has not yet been updated in the app, the person can give the number to the officer, who looks it up in specialised software.
The item also covers an officer who does not accept an electronic check. The person can pass the details to the road-order information phone numbers of the Director of the Traffic Police Department and of provincial traffic police heads, or to other channels, and the Department says it will direct verification and handling under the rules.
Photocopies and phone photos next to the other forms
| Form of the licence | What the pages say |
|---|---|
| Plastic card | Valid when its printed blank number and dates match the system (Circular 12/2025); still usable (Ministry portal) |
| Licence integrated in VNeID | May be shown and checked through the account (Law, Article 56); equal effect to the card (Ministry portal) |
| Licence number given to the officer | Officer looks it up when the licence is not yet in the app (Traffic Police Department) |
| Photocopy or scan of the licence | Not mentioned for carrying or showing at a check |
| Phone photo or screenshot of the licence | Not mentioned in any page read |
In Article 56, clause 1, the only copy named is the certified copy of the registration certificate in the mortgage case. Circular 12/2025 asks for copies of a licence in some application files, such as files to exchange a foreign licence or to obtain an international permit issued in Vietnam, a different situation from a roadside check. The UK and Canadian pages speak of copies of a passport or other identification, and neither mentions a copy of a driving licence.
Decree 320/2026 and copies of integrated documents
The Government e-newspaper (15 August 2026) summarises Decree 320/2026/NĐ-CP of 13 August 2026, in force from 28 September 2026, which amends Decree 69/2024/NĐ-CP on electronic identification and authentication. Its extract says agencies, organisations and individuals that handle administrative procedures, public services, civil transactions and other activities using documents integrated in the national ID app may not ask a person to submit or show originals or copies of those documents.
The page says the decree adds a catalogue of documents for integration, including 66 kinds issued to individuals, such as the vehicle registration certificate and the driving licence, and that foreigners who enter or reside lawfully in Vietnam can be issued an electronic identification account on request. It does not mention road checks, rental shops or deposits, so it does not say whether a rental counter falls under “other activities”.
A visitor’s own licence
Article 57 of the Law lists licences valid in Vietnam, among them international and national licences issued by a state that is a party to the 1968 Vienna Convention. A holder of an international driving permit from such a state must carry both the permit and the national licence for the class ridden, in date. Circular 12/2025, Article 18, clause 7, says a foreigner who wants to drive in Vietnam with a national licence must exchange it for the Vietnamese equivalent unless a treaty Vietnam belongs to says otherwise. Its Article 24 opens exchange to foreigners who reside, work or study in Vietnam and hold a listed document such as a temporary or permanent residence card with a period of three months or more, and sets three working days to integrate the exchanged licence into the electronic identification account once the file is complete.
GOV.UK advice (page data shows an update on 21 September 2026) says to have the 1968 international driving permit and the UK licence with you while driving a car or motorbike. The same page says the authorities accept a printed copy of the passport photo page and visa as personal ID, and advises against using a passport as a deposit for hiring vehicles. The Government of Canada advice (last updated 19 October 2026) says Vietnam does not recognise Canadian licences or international permits issued in Canada, that a valid Vietnamese licence is needed for an engine of 50cc or more, and tells readers to carry valid identification or a photocopy of it.
The pages do not reconcile these differences. For the permit question, see Can an International Driving Permit Be Used in Vietnam? Current Rules. For longer stays, see Foreign Licence Exchange in Hanoi: Prepare Documents Before a Long-Term Motorbike Rental.
What the pages leave out
- Photocopies, scans, screenshots and phone photos of a driving licence are not mentioned as something to carry or show at a check, so no page says such a form is accepted or refused.
- The Traffic Police Department item is a news item, not the rule text; the circular text on how officers run checks was not read.
- No fines are given for not carrying a licence or not being able to show one, and nothing covers a phone with no battery or signal.
- No page says what a rental shop may ask to see, or whether a shop may copy or keep a licence; the only rental-related advice on documents is the UK warning against handing a passport to a motorcycle rental shop as a guarantee or deposit.
- No page says whether a foreign-issued digital licence, such as a phone-based licence from a home country, is accepted in Vietnam.
- No page cited gives the steps to add a driving licence to VNeID (the Traffic Police item only points to a guide elsewhere). The Decree 320/2026 summary outlines integration only in general terms: an issuing body with a connected database updates the app automatically, otherwise the holder sends a request in the app and the issuing body has five working days to process it. It also says accounts for foreigners are not divided by level. Later amendments to any text were not checked.
Sources checked
- Law 36/2024/QH15 full text (Nghe An portal)
- Traffic Police Department: VNeID or licence number
- Ministry of Public Security: VNeID licence recognised
- Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA full text (Chinhphu.vn)
- Decree 320/2026/NĐ-CP summary (Chinhphu.vn)
- GOV.UK: Vietnam travel advice, safety and security
- Government of Canada: Vietnam travel advice
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