From January 1, the Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety takes effect, including the application of a new driver's license classification method.

Accordingly, the law stipulates that people who are using a driver's license according to the old classification can continue to use it until it expires. When a new driver's license is issued or renewed, the new classification will apply.

In fact, some drivers reported being "disadvantaged" when changing their car driving licenses because their old B1 and B2 licenses were converted to new B licenses, while B licenses are more limited than B1 and B2 licenses in terms of truck load capacity.

Specifically, class B1 and B2 licenses allow drivers to drive passenger cars with up to 9 seats or trucks with a load capacity of less than 3.5 tons, while class B licenses, although still allowed to drive passenger cars with up to 9 seats (including the driver's seat), are only allowed to drive trucks with a total designed weight of up to 3.5 tons.

w driver's license renewal 2025 8494.jpg
Drivers are allowed to change their old B1 and B2 licenses to B and C1. Photo: Document

Responding to the above issue, Mr. Luong Duyen Thong, Head of the Department of Vehicle and Driver Transport Management (Vietnam Road Administration) said that the reason is that drivers have not thoroughly studied the new regulations.

The Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order clearly stipulates that old B1 and B2 driving licenses will be exchanged for B or C1 driving licenses (according to the new driving license classification). In which, C1 license is allowed to drive all vehicles in class B, and at the same time, it is allowed to drive trucks with a total designed weight of over 3.5 tons to 7.5 tons.

Thus, if the driver chooses to change to class B, he will be at a disadvantage, but changing to class C1 gives the driver more benefits such as being able to drive all class B vehicles and trucks with a load capacity of over 3.5 tons to 7.5 tons.

Mr. Thong affirmed that during the process of issuing and renewing driver's licenses, old B1 and B2 licenses can be converted directly to new C1 licenses if the driver does not want to convert to B. However, automatic B1 licenses after being issued and renewed can only drive automatic vehicles, not manual vehicles.

The Law on Road Traffic Order and Safety stipulates that in case a person whose driving license was issued before the effective date of this law (January 1) needs to change or reissue the driving license, the following steps must be taken:

A class A1 driving license can be changed or reissued to a class A driving license with the restriction that it can only drive two-wheeled motorbikes with a cylinder capacity of less than 175 cm3 or an electric motor capacity of less than 14 kW;

Class A2 driving license is changed or reissued to Class A driving license; Class A3 driving license is changed or reissued to Class B1 driving license; Class A4 driving license is changed or reissued to a certificate for driving specialized motorbikes for tractor drivers with a load capacity of up to 1,000 kg and a certificate of training in road traffic law knowledge for drivers of specialized motorbikes;

A Class B1 automatic driving license can be changed or reissued to a Class B driving license with the restriction that it can only drive automatic cars;

Class B1 and B2 driving licenses can be changed or reissued to Class B or Class C1 driving licenses;

Class C driving license remains the same and is exchanged, reissued with the same class and a certificate to drive a specialized motorbike for drivers of tractors with a load capacity of over 3,500 kg.