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Vehicle registration plates of Vietnam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Socialist Republic of Viet Nam
For automobiles (5-digit, uncolored)
For motorbikes (5-digit, uncolored)
Country Vietnam
Country codeVN (GMS CBTA)
Current series
MaterialAluminium
Serial formatMotorbikes: DDLL-DDD.DD
Automobiles: DDL-DDD.DD
Introduced2003
5-digit serial plates: 2010
Current template with yellow plates for commercial operations: 2020
Latest format revision: 2023
Availability
Issued by Ministry of Public Security
Manufactured by H08

Vehicle registration plates of Vietnam generally take the form DDLL-DDD.DD for vehicles. Standard license plates have black characters on white background. Front plates measure 47 × 11 cm, rear ones are 27 × 20.[citation needed] In 2020 and 2021, both plates measure 6 x 12. The current scheme for civilian vehicles omits the letters I, J, O, Q and W, with the letter R reserved for trailers, and includes the Vietnamese character Đ.

Vietnamese plate example (1975–1995)

History

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French protectorate

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In French Indochina, license plates were white-on-black on XXX1111 type, XXX is location code. 1111 can be anything (serial numbers).

1978–1984

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Vietnamese plates in 1978–1984 were white-on-black and similar to previous one, but had 4 digits then 3 letters. 3 letters are city name, but based on Vietnamese language.

1984–2003

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From 1984 to 2003 (current version) is black-on-white, then later green-on-white, with city name. Plates were A 1111 format, then 1A 1111 format, then AA 1111 format, then was going to switch to AAA 111 format, but the plan was cancelled. The leading two symbols are two digits, representing the province/municipality. The exact date of format changing is unknown. In 2012 a blue strip with a "VN" will be added on the left-hand side of the plates, as required by the new ASEAN licensing agreement.

The leading two numerals refer to the various provinces and major municipalities of Vietnam, unless they are letters (AA, AB, AC, and so on) which signify that the car belongs to the Ministry of Defence – in which case the plate will be red. Some plates also carry a red two-letter code following the provincial numerals, with "NG" (for ngoại giao) used for a diplomatic or NGO plate and "LD" for a vehicle belonging to a company which is 100% foreign-owned. If a colored letter (A, B, or C) follows the province code, the vehicle belongs to the local government.

Colors

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A blue plate issued for the Cần Thơ (65) city authorities.
  • President's cars, Government's cars, law enforcement cars – White on blue[1]
  • Private vehicles – Black on white[2]
  • Commercial vehicle, construction vehicles – Black on yellow[2][3]
  • Military's cars – White on red[2]
  • Diplomat's cars – Black on white with red NG code[4]
  • Foreigner-owned cars – Black on white with black NN code[4]

Formats

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Regular plates

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Vietnamese private vehicle plate (pre-2020 template).
Vinfast vehicles featuring the short and long white plates (2020 template)

The format for regular plates began in 1984, with a modification made in 2010 to increase registration capacity. The system itself resembles an inverted FNI system of France. The registration format of the 2010 system is 12A-345.67, where 12 is the regional code, A is the serial letter, and 345.67 is the registration number. Regular plates have black lettering on white background.

Double-letter serials for special uses also exist for regular plates:

Sample template for specialized vehicles
Serial Used for
DA Foreign investment companies
HC Vehicles allowed to work in limited time of day only
KT Civilian-purposed vehicles of military enterprise
LA Construction machinery (Note: This comes with a yellow background and follows 12AB-3456 format.)
LD Joint ventures with foreign entities, and vehicles rented by foreigners
MA Three-wheeled light transport vehicles
Two-wheeled vehicles with electric power source
MK Tractors
  • SA
  • XA
Large-size equipment, e.g. combine harvesters, etc. (Note: This also comes with a yellow background.)
Vietnam-made vehicles
MK Tractor
RM Semi-trailer and semi-trailer truck

Other formats

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A Vietnamese taxi with short yellow plate

Commercial format

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After 1 August 2020, all commercial vehicles in Vietnam must change to a yellow color vehicle plate.[3]

NNL
N N N N
NNL
NNN.NN
NNL-N N N N
NNL-NNN.NN

State-owned format

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Vehicles of state organizations receive plates with white lettering on blue backgrounds. The format is either NNL-NNN.NN or NNL-NNNN, where NN is the regional code, L is the serial, NNN.NN/NNNN is the number.

NNL
N N N N
NNL
NNN.NN
NNL-N N N N
NNL-NNN.NN

Motorcycles

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Motorcycles receive two-line plates of the NN-LL/NNN.NN (or equivalently NNLL-NNN.NN on registration certificate), which replaced the previous NN-LN/NNNN and NN-LN/NNN.NN format (which are still effective in circulation), with black lettering on white backgrounds.

NN-LN
N N N N
NN-LN
NNN.NN
NN-LL
NNN.NN

Two-wheel vehicles registered before August 15, 2023, with electric power source use the NN-MĐN/NNN.NN format.

NN-MĐN
NNN.NN

Diplomatic plates

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A Vietnam diplomatic plate for international organizations. The numbers 27 and 547 signifying an international organization based in Điện Biên province.

Diplomatic plates have their status codes in red, and the numbers in black on a white background.

  • Diplomatic personnel based in Hanoi receive the 80-123-NG-45 format, where the red NG stood for ngoại giao, or "diplomatic", 123 being the country/organization code (e.g. 636 for South Korea), and 45 the registration the number. 01 is reserved for the head of the diplomatic mission, while the rest are given numbers from 02 to 99. Diplomatic mission based outside Hanoi received standard region codes instead of the 80 reserved for Hanoi. For example, diplomatic vehicles based in Da Nang would have a 43-123-NG-45 plate.
  • International organizations based in Hanoi receive the 80-123-QT-45 format, where 80 is the code signifying national importance (i.e. being stationed in Hanoi), the red QT for quốc tế or "International", 123 the country code, and 45 the number (01 for the head of the organization, 02-99 for other members).
  • International organizations based outside Hanoi receive a slightly different format of 12-QT-345-67, where 12 is the regional code, 345 being the country code, and 67 the number.
Status code Meaning
NG (ngoại giao) Diplomatic
NN (nước ngoài) Foreigners without diplomatic status
QT (quốc tế) International organizations
12-NN
345.67
12-NN-345.67
A temporary plate example. A long-plate alternative is also available and issued, makes it "T80-235.88"

Temporary plates

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Temporary plates are two-line plates with the TNN-NNN.NN format, where T signifies the temporary nature of the plate, NNN.NN being the regional code and NNN.NN being the number.

Vehicle plate for military vehicle.
The 2021 standardized templates for Vietnamese military vehicles. The physical plate also features an inscripted Vietnam People's Army emblem on the plate.

Military format

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Military vehicles bear red plates with white lettering in the format of AB-12-34, where AB is the unit code, and 12-34 being the number. Military motorcycles receive the two-line AB/123 format, where AB is the unit code, and 123 the number. Mopeds receive an additional letter A after the number.

Codes

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The provincial/municipal codes are listed here:

Number Province/municipality
11 Cao Bằng
12 Lạng Sơn
14 Quảng Ninh
15, 16 Hải Phòng
17 Thái Bình
18 Nam Định
19 Phú Thọ
20 Thái Nguyên
21 Yên Bái
22 Tuyên Quang
23 Hà Giang
24 Lào Cai
25 Lai Châu
26 Sơn La
27 Điện Biên
28 Hòa Bình
29–33, 40 Hà Nội
34 Hải Dương
35 Ninh Bình
36 Thanh Hóa
37 Nghệ An
38 Hà Tĩnh
Number Province/municipality
39, 60 Đồng Nai
41, 50–59 Hồ Chí Minh City
43 Đà Nẵng
47 Đắk Lắk
48 Đắk Nông
49 Lâm Đồng
61 Bình Dương
62 Long An
63 Tiền Giang
64 Vĩnh Long
65 Cần Thơ
66 Đồng Tháp
67 An Giang
68 Kiên Giang
69 Cà Mau
70 Tây Ninh
71 Bến Tre
72 Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu
73 Quảng Bình
74 Quảng Trị
75 Thừa Thiên Huế
76 Quảng Ngãi
Number Province/municipality
77 Bình Định
78 Phú Yên
79 Khánh Hòa
80 National Authorities (Government, CPV CC,...), President and Vietnam People's Public Security*
81 Gia Lai
82 Kon Tum
83 Sóc Trăng
84 Trà Vinh
85 Ninh Thuận
86 Bình Thuận
88 Vĩnh Phúc
89 Hưng Yên
90 Hà Nam
92 Quảng Nam
93 Bình Phước
94 Bạc Liêu
95 Hậu Giang
97 Bắc Kạn
98 Bắc Giang
99 Bắc Ninh
* Note 1: These agencies also use regularly licensed vehicles

Foreign Countries Codes

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Country Code (Organization) County (Organization)
001-005  Austria
006-010  Albania
011-015  United Kingdom
016-020  Egypt
021-025  Azerbaijan
026-030  India
031-035  Angola
036-040  I.R. Afghanistan
041-045  Algeria
046-050  Argentina
051-055  Armenia
056-060  Iceland
061-065  Belgium
066-070  Poland
071-075  Portugal
076-080  Bulgaria
081-085  Burkina Faso
086-090  Brazil
091-095  Bangladesh
096-100  Belarus
101-105  Bolivia
106-110  Benin
111-115  Brunei
116-120  Burundi
121-125  Cuba
126-130  Ivory Coast
131-135  Congo-Brazzaville
136-140  Congo-Kinshasa
141-145  Chile
146-150  Colombia
151-155  Cameroon
156-160  Canada
161-165  Kuwait
166-170  Cambodia
171-175  Kyrgyzstan
176-180  Qatar
181-185  Cape Verde
186-190  Costa Rica
191-195  Germany
196-200  Zambia
201-205  Zimbabwe
206-210  Denmark
211-215  Ecuador
216-220  Eritrea
221-225  Ethiopia
226-230  Estonia
231-235  Guyana
236-240  Gabon
241-245  The Gambia
246-250  Djibouti
251-255  Georgia
256-260  Jordan
261-265  Guinea
266-270  Ghana
271-275  Guinea-Bissau
276-280  Grenada
281-285  Equatorial Guinea
286-290  Guatemala
291-295  Hungary
296-300, 771-775  United States
301-305  Netherlands
306-310  Greece
311-315  Jamaica
316-320  Indonesia
321-325  Iran
326-330  Iraq
331-335  Italy
336-340  Israel
341-345  Kazakhstan
346-350  Laos
351-355  Lebanon
356-360  Libya
361-365  Luxembourg
366-370  Lithuania
371-375  Latvia
376-380  Myanmar
381-385  Mongolia
386-390  Mozambique
391-395  Madagascar
396-400  Moldova
401-405  Maldives
406-410  Mexico
411-415  Mali
416-420  Malaysia
421-425  Morocco
426-430  Mauritania
431-435  Malta
436-440  Marshall Islands
441-445  Russia
446-450, 776-780  Japan
451-455  Nicaragua
456-460  New Zealand
461-465  Niger
466-470  Nigeria
471-475  Namibia
476-480    Nepal
481-485  South Africa
486-490  Yugoslavia
491-495  Norway
496-500  Oman
501-505  Australia
506-510  France
511-515  Fiji
516-520  Pakistan
521-525  Finland
526-530  Philippines
531-535  Palestine
536-540  Panama
541-545  Papua New Guinea
546-550 International Organizations
551-555  Rwanda
556-560  Romania
561-565  Chad
566-570  Czech Republic
571-575  Cyprus
576-580  Spain
581-585  Sweden
586-590  Tanzania
591-595  Togo
596-600  Tajikistan
601-605  China
606-610  Thailand
611-615  Turkmenistan
616-620  Tunisia
621-625  Turkey
626-630   Switzerland
631-635  DPR Korea
636-640  Korea (ROK)
641-645  United Arab Emirates
646-650  Samoa
651-655  Ukraine
656-660  Uzbekistan
661-665  Uganda
666-670  Uruguay
671-675  Vanuatu
676-680  Venezuela
681-685  Sudan
686-690  Sierra Leone
691-695  Singapore
696-700  Sri Lanka
701-705  Somalia
706-710  Senegal
711-715  Syria
716-720  Sahrawi
721-725  Seychelles
726-730  São Tomé and Príncipe
731-735  Slovakia
736-740  Yemen
741-745  Liechtenstein
746-750  Hong Kong
751-755  East Timor
756-760  European Union
761-765  Saudi Arabia
766-770  Liberia
781-785  Haiti
786-790  Peru
791  Andorra
792  Anguilla
793  Antigua and Barbuda
794  Bahamas
795  Bahrain
796  Barbados
797  Belize
798  Bermuda
799  Bhutan
800  Bosnia and Herzegovina
801-805  Ireland
806  Kenya
807  Botswana
808  Comoros
809  Dominican Republic
810  North Macedonia
811  Central African Republic
812  Croatia
813  Curaçao
814  Dominica
815  El Salvador
816  Honduras
817  Kiribati
818  Lesotho
819  Micronesia
820  Malawi
821  Mauritius
822  Monaco
823  Montenegro
824  South Sudan
825  Nauru
826  Niue
827  Palau
828  Paraguay
829  Cook Islands
830  Puerto Rico
831  Northern Mariana Islands
832  Solomon Islands
833  Saint Kitts and Nevis
834  Saint Lucia
835  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
836  San Marino
837  Slovenia
838  Suriname
839  Eswatini
840  Tonga
841  Trinidad and Tobago
842  Tuvalu
843  Holy See
885-890  Chinese Taipei

References

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The 2024 Vietnamese national technical regulation on vehice license plates
  1. ^ Nguyen, Dung (2014-09-28). "Vietnamese official had state-owned car with fake license plate". Thanh Nien Daily. Archived from the original on December 4, 2014. Retrieved 2016-11-02. In Vietnam, blue-colored plates designate cars used by government officials.
  2. ^ a b c "Trailer trucks using fake military license plates confiscated in southern Vietnam". tuoitrenews.vn. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2016-11-02. In Vietnam, license plates are color-coded to identify vehicles' registered use, with white for individuals or businesses, dark blue for civilian administrative bodies, red for military units, and yellow for construction units or border commands.
  3. ^ a b "1,6 triệu xe kinh doanh vận tải phải đổi sang biển số màu vàng". 8 July 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Vietnam tries to clamp down on illegal use of diplomatic cars". Thanh Nien Daily. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2016-11-02. Foreigners and diplomats are allowed to import cars tax-free for personal use, and they must use license plates marked NN (in black) and NG (in red), respectively.[dead link]