Vietnam driving license for foreigners in 2026: IDP, conversion and the A1 scooter rule

Two things catch people out. First, the IDP has to come from a Vienna-1968 country, and the US, Canada and Australia aren't on that list. Second, the conversion rules were rewritten in July 2026, so most conversion guides written earlier describe a procedure that no longer applies.

Which licences are valid in Vietnam

Vietnam accepts three kinds of driving documents: a Vietnamese licence, an international driving permit from a 1968 Vienna Convention country together with the matching national licence, and a national licence from a country that has a mutual recognition agreement with Vietnam. That list is clause 6 of Article 57 of the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety (Luật Trật tự, an toàn giao thông đường bộ), No. 36/2024/QH15, in force since 1 January 2025.

A home licence on its own isn't enough. Clause 7 of Article 18 of Circular 108/2026/TT-BCA says a foreigner with a national licence must convert it to a Vietnamese one, unless an international treaty Vietnam has signed says otherwise. For Vienna-1968 countries, that treaty route is the IDP.

Short version: on holiday, bring the right IDP. Staying for months on a long visa or residence card, look at conversion.

Does Vietnam accept my international driving permit?

Vietnam accepts IDPs issued by countries that are parties to the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic. Vietnam itself acceded on 20 August 2014, according to the UN Treaty Collection.

Parties include the UK (ratified 28 March 2018), Germany, France, the Netherlands, Thailand, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. Not in the UN participant table: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and India. Clause 6b of Article 57 names only the Vienna Convention, so an IDP from those countries isn't on the list of documents valid in Vietnam. If that's you, the legal route is converting your licence (which needs a visa or residence card with 90+ days left), unless your country has its own recognition agreement with Vietnam (Art. 57.6c–d). Otherwise, don't ride.

The IDP only works with your home licence

The IDP is a translation-style booklet, not a stand-alone licence. Article 41 of the Vienna Convention recognises it on condition that it's presented with the corresponding domestic licence. Clause 8b of Article 57 of the Vietnamese law says the same: carry both, both valid, both covering the vehicle class.

Leave the plastic card at the hotel and the booklet alone is worth nothing at a checkpoint. Decree 168/2024 fines that in the same clause as riding with no licence at all.

The category has to match

Your IDP shows the categories on your home licence. If your licence covers cars only, so does the IDP, and you can't legally ride a scooter. You need a motorcycle category: full A, or A1 for small bikes (details below).

You can't convert an IDP

Clause 1c of Article 24 of Circular 108/2026 lists what Vietnam won't convert: temporary foreign licences, expired or damaged ones, and international driving permits. Only the national licence itself can be converted.

On 14 May 2026, Tuoi Tre News reported a night patrol in Nha Trang. A Canadian rider stopped on Tran Phu Street "argued that his tourist visa exempted him from the requirement to hold an international driving permit." He was fined and his motorbike impounded, and police also fined the bike's owner (Tuoi Tre News).

Category A1 since 2025: which scooter needs which licence

Since 1 January 2025, Vietnam's A1 category covers two-wheel motorcycles up to 125cc or with an electric motor up to 11 kW. Anything bigger needs category A (Law 36/2024, Art. 57.1a–b). Before 2025 the A1 line sat at 175cc, so older advice that "A1 covers anything under 175cc" no longer applies to licences issued now.

Honda's "160" models are 156.9cc, which puts them in category A. Check the engine size on the bike's registration papers or the maker's site, not on the rental shop's sticker.

The usual mix-ups:

1. Car-only licence. A 110cc scooter is already an A1 motorcycle. It's illegal with or without an IDP.
2. A1-type licence on an Air Blade 160. The wrong category is fined the same as no licence (Decree 168/2024, Art. 18.7a).
3. The "no licence needed" 50cc moped. Legal from 16, but only for a moped by Vietnam's definition: up to 50cc and no faster than 50 km/h. Ask the shop for the engine size before you pay.

Long-term residents with a Vietnamese A1 issued before 2025 keep the old rules: under clause 2a of Article 89, it still covers 50cc to under 175cc. When it's exchanged or reissued, it becomes category A with a "below 175cc" restriction (Art. 89.3a).

Getting an IDP before you fly

You get an IDP from the licensing authority or the designated body in the country that issued your licence, so sort it out before you fly. Vietnam's own traffic police won't help a tourist: they issue IDPs only to holders of a Vietnamese licence, or to residence-card holders with a licence from a treaty country (Circular 108/2026, Art. 29).

Before you apply, check:

• Format. It has to be the 1968 Vienna Convention IDP. If your issuer offers more than one format, choose the 1968 one.
• Categories. The motorcycle category has to be on your home licence first. The IDP can't add it.
• Validity. Under the Vietnamese law (Art. 57.8a), an IDP is valid for no more than 3 years and never beyond your home licence's expiry date.

How to convert a foreign licence under Circular 108/2026

Since 1 July 2026, a foreigner who lives, works or studies in Vietnam can convert a valid national licence into a Vietnamese one without a test, if they hold a visa or temporary residence card with at least 90 days left, or a permanent residence card. The procedure is Article 24 of Circular 108/2026/TT-BCA, dated 29 June 2026.

Who qualifies

Clause 1a of Article 24 requires one of these:

• a temporary residence card (thẻ tạm trú, TRC) with 90+ days left (how to get one: our guide to the Vietnam residence card);
• a visa with 90+ days left;
• a valid permanent residence card;
• a diplomatic or official ID card.

Tourists almost never qualify. Visa-free entry isn't a visa. The e-visa is issued for up to 90 days (Law No. 23/2023/QH15), so "90 days or more left" holds on day one at best. That's our reading of the text; there's no official clarification on e-visas yet. On an e-visa, plan on an IDP.

Documents

Step by step

1. Check your visa or TRC dates. At least 90 days must be left on the day you apply. Keep your temporary residence registration in order too: if anything about your entry or stay looks off, police can ask immigration to verify (Art. 24.3b).
2. Get a certified translation in Vietnam. The notary binds it to a copy of your licence and stamps across the pages.
3. Do the driver's medical at a clinic that issues driver certificates and ask for the electronic version.
4. Submit. In person at the provincial traffic police office (Phòng Cảnh sát giao thông) or a commune police station (Công an cấp xã) that takes applications. Online through the National Public Service Portal (Cổng Dịch vụ công quốc gia).
5. Pay 115,000 VND (~$4.40). Set by Circular 154/2025/TT-BTC from 1 January 2026, the same for issuing, converting and reissuing licences.
6. Collect the licence. The electronic licence appears in the VNeID app or other police apps within one day of a complete application. A plastic card is printed on request within 2.5 working days, collected in person or posted.

If they refuse, the refusal has to be in writing with a reason (Art. 24.3c).

How long a converted licence lasts

For Vietnamese citizens, A1 and A licences don't expire. For a foreigner, the validity follows your visa, TRC or permanent residence card and your home licence, and can't exceed the Vietnamese maximum (Art. 24.5a). After you renew your TRC, exchange the Vietnamese licence before it expires: Article 21 lets a foreigner holding a Vietnamese licence exchange it early. The circular doesn't spell out what term the new card gets, so ask the traffic police. Categories convert to the corresponding Vietnamese ones, including on a multi-category licence (Art. 24.5b). The circular has no conversion table; we assume a foreign A becomes a Vietnamese A and a B becomes a B, but that's our reading.

Checked October 2026. Confirm requirements with your provincial traffic police before you apply.

What changed on 1 July 2026

On 1 July 2026, Circular 12/2025/TT-BCA, which had governed conversions since March 2025, stopped applying. Circular 108/2026/TT-BCA replaced it (Art. 41.6). Some of the old rules on the driving tests themselves stay in force until 28 February 2027, but none of them concern converting a foreign licence. For foreigners, four things changed. Separately, the fee dropped from 135,000 to 115,000 VND on 1 January 2026 under a Finance Ministry circular.

Conversion guides written before July 2026 describe the old version: TRC required, 135,000 VND, 5 working days. Check which circular a guide cites before you rely on it.

What to carry on the road

Clause 1 of Article 56 of Law 36/2024 says a motorcycle rider must carry a licence for the right category, the bike's registration, proof of compulsory third-party insurance, and an inspection certificate where one applies to that vehicle.

Compulsory insurance covers damage to other people, not your own medical bills. You still need health insurance for Vietnam. Before you go, read your policy's exclusions for motorbike riding and licence requirements.

Clause 3 of Article 56 lets you show documents through an electronic ID account. For a converted Vietnamese licence that's the VNeID app. A foreign licence and IDP stay on paper and plastic.

Fines for riding without the right licence

Riding a motorcycle up to 125cc without a licence, or with the wrong category, is fined 2,000,000–4,000,000 VND (~$77–154). Above 125cc it's 6,000,000–8,000,000 VND (~$231–308). Those are clauses 5 and 7 of Article 18 of Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP. Decree 238/2026/NĐ-CP, in force since 15 August 2026, amended the decree but left these amounts unchanged.

An IDP without the home licence falls under the same clauses and the same fine as no licence (Art. 18.5b and 18.7c). In all these cases the bike can be impounded until the penalty decision (Art. 48).

The owner pays too. Handing a motorcycle to someone without the right licence costs the owner 8,000,000–10,000,000 VND (~$308–385) as an individual or 16,000,000–20,000,000 VND (~$615–769) as a company (Art. 32.10). That's why a careful rental shop asks to see your licence.

Police in Khanh Hoa have made foreign riders a focus. After a crash involving Russian tourists in August 2025, a traffic police leader told Tuoi Tre:

Foreigners traveling on Nha Trang roads often commit violations such as riding without a valid driver's license, speeding, reckless overtaking, and not keeping to their lane.Traffic police leader, Khanh Hoa, quoted by Tuoi Tre News, 9 August 2025

Speeding, helmet and alcohol fines are in our guide to Vietnam traffic rules.

Where the law is unclear

Circular 108/2026 has applied since July 2026, and a few points read two ways.

The medical certificate. Article 24.2b requires one, but exempts foreigners who convert for the term of their entry visa or temporary residence card. Article 24.5 ties a foreigner's licence to that term anyway, so read literally almost nobody needs it. How your province reads it is unknown. Bring the certificate; it's cheaper than a second trip.

Online filing for foreigners. Article 24 allows filing on the National Public Service Portal, but the circular doesn't say how a foreigner without a VNeID account logs in. Applying in person is the safer bet.

Fines in the news. In August 2025, Tuoi Tre's report on the Khanh Hoa crackdown gave the fine for riding without an IDP as "VND3–7 million". Decree 168/2024 says 2–4 million or 6–8 million VND depending on engine size. Go by the decree.

Older guides. Material from before July 2026 says conversion needs a TRC and costs 135,000 VND. That's no longer correct.

Do not turn to social media for advice, as my experience shows that most people know very little about the current requirements.Tony Kuschert, an expat in southern Vietnam since 2013, Việt Nam News, 21 May 2026

Common mistakes

• Leaving the home licence in the safe. The IDP alone is void; the fine is the same as no licence.
• Riding on a car-only licence. Anything above 50cc needs A1 or A.
• Taking a 160cc bike on an A1-type licence. A1 ends at 125cc.
• Planning to convert on an e-visa. You need 90 days left on the visa, which an e-visa almost never has.
• Buying a licence through a fixer. A licence not issued by the authorities counts as no licence and is confiscated (Decree 168, Art. 18.11). Police check the card's serial number against the national database.
• Certifying the translation at home. Article 24 names a notary in Vietnam or a Vietnamese embassy or consulate.

FAQ

Not riding after all? Our guide to getting around Vietnam covers taxis, buses and trains.

Read next: Vietnam traffic rules and fines · Motorbike rental in Vietnam · Ha Giang Loop by motorbike

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