Answering questions about vehicle registration regulations and issuing identification license plates

Summary of answers related to vehicle registration and license plate issuance from August 15. Readers are invited to refer to the article below.

Biển số xe được cấp, quản lý theo mã định danh của chủ xe từ ngày 15/8/2023

License plates are issued and managed according to the vehicle owner's identification code from August 15. (Source: TVPL)

What is a license plate number?

Identification number plate is a number plate issued and managed according to the vehicle owner's identification code with symbols, number plate series, size of letters and numbers, and number plate color according to regulations (based on Clause 3, Article 3 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA).

The issued identification license plate will follow the organization or individual for life to support the management and retrieval of vehicle information and vehicle owner information on the database system.

Under the new regulations, license plates will be managed as follows:

- Vehicle owner is a Vietnamese citizen: Vehicle license plate is managed according to personal identification number.

- Vehicle owner is a foreign individual: Vehicle license plate is managed according to the foreigner's identification number established by the identification system or permanent residence card number, temporary residence card number or other identity card number issued by a competent authority.

- Vehicle owner is an organization: Vehicle license plate is managed according to the organization's electronic identification code established by the identification system (if there is no electronic identification code, it is managed according to the tax code or establishment decision).

Do 5-digit license plates before August 15 need to be changed to identification plates?

According to Clause 1 and Clause 2, Article 39 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, for vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates before August 15, 2023 but have not completed the revocation procedure, that license plate number is determined to be 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 August 15, 2023, the license plate number will be transferred to the license plate warehouse to issue a new license plate according to regulations.

Thus, 5-digit license plates issued before August 15, 2023 that have not yet completed the withdrawal procedure are determined to be identification plates, meaning they do not need to be changed to identification plates.

Can I replace the auction license plate on a car that already has a license plate?

Organizations and individuals who win the auction for car license plates can use the auctioned license plates for cars that have been previously registered and issued license plates.

Accordingly, in this case, the organization or individual who wins the car license plate auction needs to prepare a vehicle registration file including the following documents to complete the vehicle registration procedure:

(1) Vehicle registration certificate;

(2) Vehicle registration certificate and license plate;

In case the agency that registers and issues license plates for auction-winning cars is different from the agency that manages the registered vehicle records of the auction-winning organization or individual, the vehicle owner must carry out the revocation procedure for that registered vehicle;

(3) Certificate of vehicle registration number of the auctioned vehicle issued by the Traffic Police Department, still valid; if expired, there must be an additional certificate of extension issued by the Traffic Police Department.

Do 3-digit and 4-digit license plates have to be changed to identification plates?

According to Clause 4, Article 39 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, vehicles registered with 3 or 4-digit license plates are still allowed to participate in traffic.

Except in cases where the vehicle owner needs to issue a new identification number plate or when the vehicle owner carries out procedures for issuing and changing vehicle registration certificates, issuing and changing vehicle number plates, reissuing vehicle registration certificates, reissuing vehicle number plates or registering a name change or moving the vehicle according to the provisions of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, the 3- or 4-digit plate shall be revoked and the identification number plate shall be issued according to regulations.

Thus, vehicles with 3-digit and 4-digit license plates can continue to be used except in the above cases.

Are auctioned license plates transferable?

Pursuant to Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, organizations and individuals are only allowed to transfer the license plate of an auction-winning car along with the transfer of ownership of the vehicle registered with the auction-winning license plate.

Is there a penalty for not changing to a new license plate?

Clause 4, Article 39 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA stipulates that vehicles that have been registered with 3- or 4-digit license plates are allowed to continue participating 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 regulations.

According to the above regulations, vehicle owners are not required to change to a personal identification number plate. Therefore, if they do not change to a personal identification number plate, they will not be fined.

Will 5-digit license plates be identified as identification plates from August 15, 2023?

According to Clauses 1, 2, 3 and 4, Article 39 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, the transitional provisions are as follows:

- For vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates before August 15, 2023 but have not completed the revocation procedure, that license plate 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 August 15, 2023, the license plate number will be transferred to the license plate warehouse to issue a new license plate 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 Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA.

- Vehicles that have been registered with 3 or 4-digit license plates are still allowed 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 to issue a new vehicle registration certificate, change the license plate, reissue the vehicle registration certificate, reissue the license plate or register a name change or move the vehicle according to the provisions of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, then the 3 or 4-digit license plate will be revoked and changed to a new identification license plate according to the regulations.

- For commune-level police assigned to register motorbikes before August 15, 2023, they will continue to register vehicles according to the provisions of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA.

Thus, for vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates before August 15, 2023 but have not completed the revocation procedure, that license plate number will be determined as the vehicle owner's identification license plate number.

Do I have to change my license plate number when I move?

Clause 8, Article 3 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA stipulates that in case a vehicle owner changes his/her headquarters or residence from one province or centrally run city to another, he/she is allowed to retain that identification number plate (without having to change the vehicle number plate).

That means, in case an individual changes residence, he/she can still keep the issued identification plate number and does not have to go through the procedure of changing the vehicle license plate number.

If the license plate is ugly, can I change it to a new, nicer license plate?

5-digit license plates issued before and after August 15, 2023 are all managed according to the vehicle owner's identification code, meaning the license plate is attached to the person.

Furthermore, according to regulations, vehicle license plates can only be changed to other plates when the vehicle owner needs to change the old 3-digit or 4-digit license plate to a 5-digit identification plate.

This makes changing a bad license plate to a good one more difficult than before. But it is difficult, not impossible.

How many identification plates can a person be issued?

According to Clauses 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, Article 3 and other provisions in Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, there is no regulation on the maximum number of identification plates of citizens. A person can own multiple identification plates for cars and motorbikes at the same time, and each vehicle will be attached with a different license plate.

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