Moving to Pleiku: your first-month paperwork

Moving your household to Pleiku means a pile of paperwork in the first month, and the order matters if you want to avoid repeat trips. Start with residence registration at the ward police, then the ID card, then electricity and water, then the vehicle, the driving licence and your child’s school. Each step has its own guide, linked below, and here is the short version of each.

Which province and ward is Pleiku now?

Bình Định and Gia Lai provinces were merged into a new province called Gia Lai, which started working on 1 July 2025. Pleiku ward is now made up of the former Tây Sơn, Hội Thương, Hoa Lư and Phù Đổng wards and Trà Đa commune. To find which ward your home falls in, see Pleiku ward after the merger.

You do not need to rush to replace papers just because of an old place name: documents issued before the merger stay valid until they expire or are replaced, and an office cannot ask you to swap one that is still in date, unless a law says otherwise.

Suggested order for the first month

Residence and ID card

You register permanent residence (đăng ký thường trú) with the commune-level police, not at the People’s Committee. They take applications during office hours Monday to Friday and on Saturday mornings. You can also apply online through the national public service portal, the Ministry of Public Security portal or the VNeID app. The file includes form CT01 for changing residence details. If you own the home, you add proof of the home, and anything already in the connected database does not need to be shown.

If you rent, borrow or stay with someone, the file needs a notarised or certified contract or document. The owner must agree, and so must the household head if you join an existing household. The province sets a minimum floor area per person, never below 8 square metres, so we recommend asking the ward police about it before you sign a lease. Details are in registering permanent residence in Pleiku, and renters should also read renting a home in Pleiku.

Citizens aged 14 and over must get an ID card, so check who in your family has reached that age. The commune-level police do the job. A first card is free, and so is a replacement caused by changed administrative boundaries. For anyone aged six and over, and for replacements, you can start online: log in to the national portal or VNeID, check your details, then book a time and a place at the commune-level police. In the Pleiku area, the places that take applications are the provincial police administrative-management office at 69 Hùng Vương, Pleiku ward, Diên Hồng ward police at 118 Lê Thánh Tôn, and Hội Phú ward police at 150 Nguyễn Chí Thanh. The list applies from 1 July 2025. The full process is in ID cards in Pleiku.

Electricity and water

A new house with no power gets a new low-voltage connection, whether you apply in person or online. If the house already has a meter, you just change the name on the household electricity contract, free if you apply in person. You prove your link to the address with a document in your name, such as the household registration book, a temporary residence book or a home-ownership certificate.

If you rent, every four people count as one household when working out the residential price band, so ask your landlord to declare the right number of occupants from the start. Price bands and how a bill is worked out are in electricity prices in Pleiku and cost of living in Pleiku.

For water, the rule is national: you sign a water-supply service contract with the water company, a legal agreement between the two of you. A customer inside the service area can be connected to the company’s network, and the company fits the meter unless you agree otherwise. The water company has an online registration form with five fields: name, house number and street, phone, what you need and what you will use it for. Prices and payment are in water prices in Pleiku.

Motorbike, car and driving licence

You register a vehicle with the vehicle-registration office where you live, whether your address is permanent or temporary. The commune-level police register cars and motorbikes for individuals and organisations living in the province. You fill in the registration form on the public service portal or in person at the office, which takes files during office hours. The registration fee is paid through a bank or payment intermediary on the portal, or in person at the office. The new Gia Lai plates after the merger are in Gia Lai plates after the merger.

A driving licence can be exchanged online through the national public service portal, the national ID app or the police app, and the commune-level police receive and check the file. The fee is in the table above. The documents are in exchanging a driving licence in Pleiku.

Your child’s school

You register online, and the 2026–2027 round for preschool, grade 1 and grade 6 has already passed. For the next school year, follow the province’s new plan. The age for grade 1 is six, counted by year.

For a private independent preschool, the owner agrees the fee with parents or guardians, so ask each school for its fee. More is in preschool and primary admissions in Pleiku.

When you need the local government building, the Pleiku ward People’s Committee is at 81 Hùng Vương, Pleiku ward. For choosing a public administrative service centre, see this guide, and the other guides for newcomers are in Living in Pleiku.