Motorcycle license in VN

175CC, wow,  that's pretty small to get me across the country. In any event, I was thinking of buying a motorcycle in VN and taking a 3 months trip North to South. My next question is, what about motorcycle insurance for foreigner? Watching the Youtube Vids of how they drive over there, I am going need maximum insurance. Do the locals even have insurance??

What if I have no motor licence? Where in HCMC can I take lessons?

On the contrary, I dont think I need to take lessons. I just borrow my friend's motor & self-learn for a while.

muontrovevietnam wrote:

Just self-learn in the countryside or in a locale with lots of breathing room.  Since the majority of motorbikes are manual transmissions (you use your left foot to shift gears), never start out in gear 1...use gear 2 instead.  Gear 1 tends to launch the motorbike forward like a rocket and it's only intended to be used for major hill climbs or to get out of the mud.

Thanks for the heads up. As a matter of fact, I only drive motor once a year when I go back to my grandfather's home in Malaysia. In Singapore, there are strict rules

muontrovevietnam wrote:

You should already have a driver's license in your own country.  If you have any kind of driver's license, then you don't need to take the written test in Vietnam.  All you need to do then is take the driving test, which is an obstacle course that consists of navigating a figure 8 (test your steering and balance), a slalom course (test your weaving) and a speed-bump path (test your vertical/off-road ability).

I only have a car license. No motor license.I guess after a few tries, those obstacles wont be a problem...

It is illegal to drive or ride in Vietnam without a VALID Vietnamese driving license and you cannot get one on a tourist visa! Yes, some people on tourist visas do manage to get them via the back door but it'll be interesting to see what happens if they ever have an accident and require medical evacuation given ALL insurance companies have a hard and fast rule, NO ''VALID'' Vietnamese license, NO cover! So those who do have one can expect to have it fully investigated by their respective insurance companies. They're not fools and its only the real fools who think they are! I've had my car and motorbike license for the last 9 years and am about to get my open motorbike license. I'm covered by my insurance company but only if I'm obeying the rules if and when I have an accident and only if I'm wearing the appropriate clothing. Long Sleeved Shirt, trousers, boots, gloves and jacket, and of course helmet!

NashCat,

You can bring your Canadian license into the local office of motor vehicles, they will guide you through the process of getting an official Vietnamese motorbike license based upon your Canadian license.  No exam.  Several certified copies of your passport, visa and translations of your Canadian license, will be needed.  The process will take about a week.  Your Vietnamese license will have your name and citizenship on there; and it will be valid for as long as your visa is. 

No, you can not buy a motorbike here.  You can rent one from the locals, but not own one under your name.  One method that many people use, but I do not recommend, is buy a used motorbike.  They just keep the bike under the previous owner's name and use the Bill of Sales as proof of ownership.  Other than that, Vietnam will not allow you to register a motorbike if you don't have the Chung Minh Nhan Dan card, and only Vietnameses have them.

The law here now requires people to buy insurance, but it is very loosely enforced.  Accidents are still an out-of-pocket ordeal.  As a foreigner, I highly suggest that you buy insurance.  However, be VERY CAREFUL, you do not want to get into an accident here!!!  Things get very messy.

Trekking the length of Vietnam is fun.  I did it 11 years ago.  Be sure to pack enough medications, man.  Also, go during the dry seasons.  You don't want to ride in the rain here.  Pot holes are murdurous and the truck drivers here are dangerous.

Good lucks.

Wild_1 wrote:

NashCat,]

You can bring your Canadian license into the local office of motor vehicles, they will guide you through the process of getting an official Vietnamese motorbike license based upon your Canadian license.

Actually process I followed :-

sgtvt.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/web/data/news/2008/3/4501/case1.htm

sgtvt.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/web/data/news/2008/3/4501/case2.htm
sgtvt.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/web/data/news/2008/3/4501/case3.htm

Wild_1 wrote:

NashCat,]
it will be valid for as long as your visa is.

Not strictly true, they put 3 years on my license (the longest you can have here) but it ties in with when your home license expires and when your VN visa expires.

Wild_1 wrote:

NashCat,]
No, you can not buy a motorbike here.  You can rent one from the locals, but not own one under your name.  One method that many people use, but I do not recommend, is buy a used motorbike.  They just keep the bike under the previous owner's name and use the Bill of Sales as proof of ownership.  Other than that, Vietnam will not allow you to register a motorbike if you don't have the Chung Minh Nhan Dan card, and only Vietnamese have them.

Plenty of expats buy motorbikes here, you CAN buy new but it comes with a NN registration. It's the usual red tape that goes with everything here but it can be done without too many problems.
Buying a 2nd hand bike and keeping the papers in the original name is what most people do and the only reason they don't re-register them is because of the tax implications, you have to pay the full tax on the value of the bike when it was new! So most people don't bother.

Have fun on your trip

Looking at the post of Wild-1 and laidbackfreak its obvious they have different rules in different places. My first license car/motorbike took 8 months to get. The final hurdle was a full medical at Le Loi Hospital in Vung Tau which cost me 750'000 dong back in 02'. My next door neighbor (Vietnamese) was having the same medical for his car license as well. We did it together. His medical cost him 25'000 dong! I had to get the transport dept. in my state to send me a brochure outlining what I could drive/ride back home. This then had to be translated into Vietnamese at the Gov't printing office. Because I was on a tourist visa I then had to find a ''job''. This was given to me, at a cost, by a Vietnamese company. There were a lot of other requirements as well. My first license was for 3 years, my second for 3, and now my third is for 5.
P.S. Cop told my wife when she was having mine renewed that the $50 specials being sold to some foreigners are not recorded in the system. Buyer beware! If you have an accident all your chickens will come home to roost!

I think you could well be right there Jacko, things change here all the time and depending on who you deal with.
I picked mine up at the start of this year on a tourist visa too with no problems.
My license (uk) clearly indicate what I can\can't ride\drive. The biggest cost for me was getting the paper work stamped at my consulate ($75!) after it had been translated and stamped by the Gov printing office.
The medical was a basic height, weight and eye check at the application office, cost me 30,000vnd. Then submitted all the paperwork upstairs collected my license a week later Only thing they didn't transfer was the A2 motorbike license, which I'll get sorted later when I get my big bike.

Good morning fellas,

Jacko52 is absolutely right on those fake licenses guys.  They are not worth it.  Take the time and get the legitimate ones.  The Vietnamese truck drivers used to live off of those fake licenses; but they are now hitting the driving schools to get their official licenses.  There is no reason for us to toy with them.  They can really ruin your visit here.

Laidbackfreak, can you please elaborate a little on that NN Registration, or give me a link to it.  I really want to get my motorbike registered that way.  It is currently under a friend's name, with regular Vietnamese plate.  Thanks.

Yes, it all depends on the person you deal with when you go to these stations.  Some gentleness, a couple of smiles, go a long way here.  They weren't going to give me a motorbike license for my California Class C license at first; they wanted a motorcycle license from me.  But, after I waited for the station to clear up a little and gently explained to the staff that these motorbikes were considered scooters in California, my Class C license allowed me to operate these back home and that the motorcycle license would be the equivalent of their A2 here.  The guy in charge just smile at me, shook his head and told the staff to put that A1 thing on my license.  So, now, my Vietnamese licence has both car and motorbike on there, as oppose to 2 seperate licenses like with most people.

You've got to be so careful. The first thing your insurance company is going to want to see before authorizing medical treatment and possible medical evacuation, which can cost up to $140'000US as one poor Canadian woman found out, is a VALID Vietnamese driving license. And you can bet they do know the difference, in fact it'll be recorded on the Police report that you can be assured your insurance company will want to see! Fake license, NO coverage! All you young people out there itching to get on a motorbike and travel, Vietnam IS NOT the place to learn how to ride. I've seen young foreigners come off motorbikes within 50 meters of the rental point! If you're lucky to survive with only cuts and bruises and don't require hospitalization you will still be responsible for ALL costs associated with the accident and the authorities WILL hold your passport until those hugely inflated costs including compensation for the injured is forthcoming! You think I'm pulling your leg? I stopped counting the fatalities I've seen at road accidents at 35 but that was at least 4 years ago! P.S. Did you see the Saigon cop who was cut in half in a traffic accident and lived for about half an hour? Some clown videoed him with his mobile as he lay dying on the footpath and uploaded it to the internet. See if you can find it and have a good long look! I've never felt so disgusted as I was when I saw that video!

You have certainly sent chills down my back Jacko!

CGST (Traffic Police) often supply licences for cash, the price varies.

When you collect it, do so at a traffic police station, there is usually one in every district in the larger cities. They are quite open about bribes and selling licences, so don't be shy.

When the licence is delivered ask the cop to go on the computer terminal and show you your licence. It must be there otherwise the cops will know it is hot.

Most cop supplied licences are on the system, it's the 'friends of a friend' who cheat you.

CGST know most Foreigners don't have licences and they also recognise most Foreigners drive better than VN people. If you drive sensibly, respect lights the CGST will leave you alone. Drive like VN and they will grab you (for at least VND100,000).

The cops are cracking down a bit these days, ever since a traffic cop was kicked and he lost control, killing himself. The souped up and big machines race on Friday and Saturday nights and the new East-West Highway and parts of Q4 are places to avoid as you might get hit or the police might scoop you as a racer. Often motorcycles are confiscated for 90 days, a real bummer.

Is there any way that I could get a Vietnamese license if I do not have a license from my home country.

OneManArmy wrote:

Is there any way that I could get a Vietnamese license if I do not have a license from my home country.

The links further up the thread take you through the process.