Is it mandatory to change the driver's license to PET card type immediately?

Recently, people have rushed to change their driving licenses to PET cards because the draft Law on Road Traffic Safety stipulates that driving licenses issued before July 1, 2012 must be changed to new driving licenses.

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Is it mandatory to change the driver's license to PET card type immediately?

In the latest update (3rd time) of the draft Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety, the Ministry of Public Security has added the clause: "Indefinite driving licenses issued before July 1, 2012 must be exchanged for new driving licenses according to the roadmap prescribed by the Government". This is only a draft Law, not yet approved and put into effect. In addition, the draft also clearly states that the exchange of driving licenses is carried out "according to the roadmap", not immediately applied.

In current legal documents, there are no regulations requiring the conversion of driver's licenses to PET cards (plastic cards).

However, driving licenses issued before July 1, 2012 lack data on date of birth, so they cannot be integrated into national population data and accompanying applications, such as electronic identification accounts, VNeID applications, etc. Therefore, people can proactively go through procedures to change to the new model, but should choose the right time to avoid crowded and overloaded situations.

Procedures for changing old driving license to PET plastic card

To change the old paper-based driving license to a PET card, people need to follow these 4 steps:

- Prepare documents, including:

+ Application for changing driving license;

+ Health certificate of the driver except for those with A1, A2, A3 driving licenses and those who need to separate their limited and unlimited driving licenses;

+ Copy of valid driver's license, ID card or Citizen ID card or passport

- Submit the application to the Vietnam Road Administration or the Department of Transport in person or online.

- Come take pictures and pay the fee

- Receive appointment paper and come to get new driver's license according to appointment date on appointment paper.

Currently, the fee for issuing a new driving license, both national and international, is VND 135,000 according to Circular 188/2016/TT-BTC.

Source