New changes in granting and revoking registration and license plates of motor vehicles from August 15, 2023

Among these, a concept that is officially defined for the first time is the identification plate. Accordingly, many questions are of interest to readers, such as whether the license plate currently in use must be converted to an identification plate; how many license plates each car owner can own...

What is an identification number plate; is an identification number plate the same as a personal identification number?

Identification number plates are number plates with symbols, number plate series, size of letters and numbers, and number plate color according to the provisions of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA. In addition, Clause 4 and Clause 5, Article 3 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA stipulate the issuance and management of vehicle number plates according to the vehicle owner's identification code as follows: - For vehicle owners who are Vietnamese citizens, vehicle number plates are managed according to personal identification numbers.

- For foreign vehicle owners, the license plate is managed according to the foreigner's identification number established by the electronic identification and authentication system or the permanent residence card number, temporary residence card number or other identity card number issued by the competent authority.

The identification number plate is not a plate with a series of numbers like the vehicle owner's personal identification number, but is only issued and managed according to the vehicle owner's identification code. The change here is in the management method, but the number plate itself remains the same as current.

Managing vehicle registration by identification code will help the State's management work more effectively, especially in handling administrative violations. For example, if currently, the police force sends a notice of violation but in many cases the vehicle owner has sold the vehicle along with the license plate to someone else, it is very difficult to verify the real owner of the vehicle. Managing license plates by identification code will avoid this situation, and at the same time raise the sense of responsibility of vehicle owners when participating in traffic or when transferring vehicle ownership to the owner's name, because from now on the license plate will be attached to them.

Do current license plates have to be changed to identification plates from August 15?

Regarding the transitional provisions, Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA clearly states that for vehicles registered with 5-digit license plates before August 15, 2023 but have not completed the revocation procedures, 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 procedures before August 15, 2023, that license plate number will be transferred to the license plate warehouse to issue license plates according to regulations.

According to regulations, the identification number plate is retained for the vehicle owner for a period of 5 years from the date of revocation. After the above period, if the vehicle owner has not registered, the identification number plate will be transferred to the license plate warehouse to register another vehicle.

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.

How will people who own multiple vehicles identify their license plates; can they be bought, sold, or transferred?

The authorities will not limit the number of identification plates of each person. A person can own many car and motorbike plates at the same time. Each plate will be attached to a vehicle. If a person has many vehicles with many plates, all of them will be attached to the identification code of that vehicle owner.

For example, when issuing and managing a license plate according to the personal identification code for person A., when selling the car, this person must keep the license plate and register the car and submit it to the police agency. When this person buys a new car, the police will only make a new vehicle registration with the chassis number and engine number of this car and will reissue the old license plate that this person previously submitted. In the event that, more than 5 years after selling the car, if person A. does not buy a new car to attach the license plate registered according to the personal identification code, the authorities will revoke this license plate. This also means that when a person wants to sell a car, the owner must keep the registration and license plate, and cannot give it to the new owner of the car. The old owner of the car must return the registration and license plate to the police to complete the revocation procedure. This license plate will be reissued when the owner registers another car under his/her ownership.

But for auction license plates, in case of transferring vehicle ownership with the auction winning license plate, the vehicle owner submits the application and completes the revocation procedure. The vehicle owner does not have to return the auction winning license plate but must submit a copy of the vehicle ownership transfer document and present the original for comparison. The buyer completes the vehicle registration procedure and will be able to register and keep the auction winning license plate. The ownership transfer document must clearly state the content "transferring vehicle with auction winning license plate".

When moving to another province, do I need to change my identification number plate? How long does it take to issue and reissue an identification number plate?

According to regulations, 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 keep the identification number plate (without having to change the vehicle number plate).

Regarding the time limit for granting and re-granting identification plates, according to Clause 3 and Clause 4, Article 7 of Circular 24/2023/TT-BCA, the time limit for granting and re-granting identification plates is as follows:

- First time license plate issuance: Issued immediately after receiving valid vehicle registration documents.

- Issuing and changing license plates, reissuing license plates, issuing license plates for auctioned vehicles, reissuing identification license plates: No more than 07 working days from the date of receiving complete and valid documents.