Before you start

A temporary residence card or a visa showing lawful long-stay residence
Your original, valid foreign licence
A notarised Vietnamese translation of it — a plain translation is refused
A health certificate from an approved clinic

Step-by-step

1
Check which convention issued your international permit
Vietnam acceded to the 1968 Vienna Convention and recognises only IDPs issued under it. The 1949 Geneva permits issued by the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and others are not valid in Vietnam. If yours is a 1949 permit you are riding unlicensed, whatever the rental shop told you.
OnlineWho: You
2
Get the translation notarised, not just translated
The Vietnamese translation of your licence must be notarised by a Vietnamese notary office or a Vietnamese diplomatic mission abroad, with the seal matching the original. Hanoi has notary offices clustered around Đống Đa and Hai Bà Trưng and they will do it same-day. An agency translation without the notary stamp is rejected at the counter.
In personWho: You1–2 days
3
Get a health certificate from an approved clinic
A basic Vietnamese health certificate — vision, general fitness, a drugs screen at some clinics — is required and must come from a facility on the approved list. Any large Hanoi hospital or a licensed clinic will issue one in an hour for a small fee. It expires, so do it close to the application.
In personWho: You1 day
4
File the conversion, online or in person
Applications go to the transport authority or through the national public service portal at dichvucong.gov.vn. Converting a valid foreign licence requires neither a written nor a road test. The government fee is VND 135,000 and issuance takes about five working days.
OnlineWho: You≈5 working daysVND 135,000
5
Match the class to what you actually ride
A car licence does not cover a motorbike. Most Hanoi commuting is done on 110–150cc scooters, which need class A1 and above. Riding a class you do not hold voids your insurance entirely, which is the difference between a bad day and a ruinous one on Vietnamese roads.
In personWho: You
6
Check the restriction map before you buy a petrol bike
Hanoi's People's Council resolution of November 2025 applies time- and area-based restrictions on fossil-fuel motorbikes across nine central wards inside Ring Road 1 from 1 July 2026, widening to fourteen wards inside Ring Road 2 from 1 January 2028. If you will live and ride inside Ring Road 2, an electric bike is the safer purchase.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Temporary residence card or long-stay visa
Original foreign driving licence
Notarised Vietnamese translation of the licence
Vietnamese health certificate from an approved facility
Passport and photographs
Completed application form

Things most newcomers don’t know

American, Canadian and Australian international permits are not valid in Vietnam.

Vietnam is party to the 1968 Vienna Convention only. Permits issued under the 1949 Geneva Convention — which is what the AAA, CAA and AAA Australia issue — carry no recognition here. Riders find this out after a collision, when the police record shows an unlicensed rider and the insurer declines the claim. Converting your home licence costs VND 135,000 and takes a week, which is a very cheap fix for a very expensive exposure.

Source: US Embassy Hanoi / Vietnam Law Magazine

There is no test — the whole job is the notarised translation.

Converting a valid foreign licence is a documentary swap: no written exam, no road test. What trips people is that the Vietnamese translation must be notarised by a Vietnamese notary office with a seal keyed to the original document; a translation agency's own certification is not enough and the counter will refuse it. Do the notarisation first and the rest is an afternoon.

Source: Vietnam Law Magazine

Hanoi is removing petrol motorbikes from the centre in stages, and the plan already changed once.

PM Directive 20 of July 2025 set an outright ban inside Ring Road 1 from mid-2026; the city council replaced it in November 2025 with time- and area-based restrictions in nine central wards from 1 July 2026, expanding to fourteen wards inside Ring Road 2 from January 2028. The endpoint is not in doubt even though the detail keeps moving, so anyone buying a bike for a five-year stay in the centre should buy electric.

Source: Hanoi People's Council / Directive 20/CT-TTg

A car in Hanoi is a much worse deal than the sticker price suggests.

Vietnam levies special consumption tax plus registration fee on cars, which puts an ordinary hatchback at roughly double its price in Europe, and inner Hanoi has almost no parking — a monthly space in Ba Đình or Hoàn Kiếm costs real money and many alley addresses cannot accommodate a car at all. Between Grab, the two metro lines and a scooter, the number of foreign residents who need a car here is small.

Source: community-reported

Common mistakes to avoid

Riding on a 1949 Geneva international permit and assuming it is valid.
Submitting a translation that has not been notarised by a Vietnamese notary office.
Holding a car-class licence and riding a scooter on it, which voids your insurance.
Buying a petrol motorbike for a central ward without checking the 2026 and 2028 restriction zones.
Renting a bike from a shop that keeps your passport as deposit — leave a copy and a cash deposit instead.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.