Identification plate: Are vehicles with 3 and 4 number plates allowed to participate in traffic?

Question: I understand that, according to regulations, the identification license plate does not apply to 3-digit and 4-digit license plates, but only to 5-digit license plates. I would like to ask the Ministry of Public Security, in the case of 5-digit license plates registered before August 15, 2023, how will they be handled? In the case of vehicle owners using vehicles with 3-digit and 4-digit license plates, are they allowed to participate in traffic?

Regarding this issue, the Ministry of Public Security said that in Clause 1, Clause 2, Clause 3, Clause 4, Article 39 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA dated July 1, 2023 of the Ministry of Public Security stipulates as follows:

For vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates before the effective date of this Circular (August 15, 2023) but have not completed the revocation procedures, that number will be determined as the vehicle owner's identification license plate number.

For vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates, if the vehicle owner has completed the revocation procedure before the effective date of this Circular, the license plate number will be transferred to the license plate warehouse to issue license plates according to regulations.

Vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates with the symbols "LD", "DA", "MĐ", "R" are still allowed to participate in traffic, even when changing or re-issuing license plates, except in cases where the vehicle owner needs to change the license plate according to the provisions of this Circular.

Vehicles that have been registered with 3 or 4-digit license plates are allowed to continue to participate in traffic, except in cases where the vehicle owner needs to change to a new identification license plate or when the vehicle owner carries out procedures for issuing and changing vehicle registration certificates, issuing and changing license plates, reissuing vehicle registration certificates, reissuing license plates or registering and transferring ownership or moving vehicles according to the provisions of this Circular, then the 3 or 4-digit license plate will be revoked and changed to a new identification license plate according to the regulations.

Is the identification number the same as the Citizen Identification Number?

According to Clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, an identification license plate is a license plate managed according to the vehicle owner's identification code, not using the identification code to issue the license plate. Therefore, an identification license plate is not an individual's Citizen Identification Number.

Identification plates issued from August 15 include symbols, plate series with letter and number sizes, and plate colors according to regulations.

Vehicle identification license plates are still implemented in the form of 5-digit plates including letters and numbers as before, the only difference is in the management method by identification code.

In addition, Article 39 of Circular 24 also stipulates that for vehicles with 5-digit license plates registered before August 15, the license plate number of that vehicle will be the owner's identification plate number by default.

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