'Solving difficulties' in changing ownership when making identification plates

Present at the Traffic Police Department of Nghe An Province Police in the first days of implementing vehicle license plate identification, many people were quite confused when the officer receiving the documents instructed: According to the new circular, the vehicle owner whose name is on the vehicle registration must go directly to the vehicle registration agency when doing the name change procedure.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Huy, residing in Vinh city, said that he bought the old car 2 years ago, but the buyer and seller only made an authorization contract. Up to now, when he went to get the license plate identification, the officer receiving the application required the presence of the old owner of the car to complete the registration revocation procedure, after which the authorities could reissue the license plate identification to him. "I have not been in contact with the old owner for a long time, now I don't know where to find this person, I don't know what to do," Mr. Huy said.

Similarly, another car owner said that he bought the car through the introduction of a used car dealer a long time ago, so now he does not know who the owner is. He called the dealer for support but has not received a response.

Mr. Pham Van Sanh was luckier, with the cooperation of the previous owner of the car he bought. However, he also said that because he did not pay attention, he did not understand the regulations that after August 15, 2023, cars that have not changed ownership will have their previously issued license plates automatically assigned to the previous owner, so of course he had to get a new license plate. Mr. Sanh said, "Although the "water" 9 license plate has been praised by everyone for a long time, it now belongs to the previous owner, not me anymore."

According to Circular 24 of the Ministry of Public Security, from August 15, the vehicle registration plate will follow the owner and not the vehicle. Therefore, when selling a vehicle, the owner must retain the vehicle registration certificate and license plate and submit them to the vehicle registration authority to complete the revocation procedure. For vehicles that are not transferred under the owner's name, when completing the procedure, the competent authority will revoke the registration and reissue the identification plate to the current owner. Specifically, the seller must complete the registration revocation procedure, retain the license plate, and the buyer must complete the procedure to register his/her name and get a new license plate if he/she does not have one.

Also because of the above regulation, many people who bought used cars said they had difficulty in the process of transferring ownership. Most people said they no longer knew where the old owner was to contact, a few said the previous seller had left the area and was not cooperating... Thus, it can be seen that just because of buying and selling in a "shortcut" way, many car owners have encountered trouble.

According to Dr., Lawyer Trong Hai - Director of Trong Hai & Associates Law Firm: Not only is it difficult to transfer ownership as it is now, but only making an authorization contract makes the car buyer dependent on the old car owner, which can lead to disputes and disadvantages for the buyer when making other transactions related to this car.

Regarding the difficulty people face when making identification plates, Lieutenant Colonel Pham Van Luc - Captain of the Vehicle Registration and Management Team, under the Traffic Police Department of the Provincial Police, said: Pursuant to Article 31, Circular 24 dated July 1, 2023, in case an organization or individual is using a vehicle without a vehicle owner's ownership transfer document and a vehicle ownership transfer document from the last seller, the vehicle registration agency will still accept the application and carry out verification procedures within 30 days. If there is no dispute, complaint or lawsuit, a decision on penalty and registration transfer will be issued.

Specifically, according to Circular No. 24 of the Ministry of Public Security, within 30 days from the date of transfer of ownership, the vehicle owner must complete the revocation procedure. In case the vehicle owner fails to complete the revocation procedure or hand over the vehicle registration certificate and license plate to the vehicle owner to complete the revocation procedure within the above time limit, before handling, the vehicle registration authority shall issue a decision to sanction the vehicle owner for not completing the revocation procedure as prescribed.

According to Decree 100/2019/ND-CP of the Government (amended and supplemented by Decree 123/2021/ND-CP), cars that violate this error will be fined from 2 to 4 million VND (individuals), from 4 to 8 million VND (organizations). After paying the fine and being granted a recall certificate, the car buyer will register the transfer of ownership according to regulations.