Gia Lai vehicle plates after the merger: 77 and 81

Since the merger, locals keep asking the same two things: does the plate on my bike have to change, and what plate will a new vehicle get? If your old plate is intact, keep it: you do not have to swap it unless you want to. Gia Lai now uses the codes 77 and 81. Whether a new vehicle in Pleiku gets 77 or 81 is a question for the ward police or the provincial Traffic Police Department, so ask before you register.

Gia Lai plates: 77 and 81

Bình Định and Gia Lai provinces were merged into a new province named Gia Lai, and the new provincial government started work on 1 July 2025. From the same date, a Ministry of Public Security circular lists the plate codes for Gia Lai as 77 and 81, replacing the earlier list. The provincial police chief has also confirmed that the merged province keeps the plates of both former provinces, 77 and 81.

Will a new vehicle in Pleiku get 77 or 81? The list gives the province’s codes and does not say which one a new registration in Pleiku receives. The plate-issuing order the ministry described after the mergers is for Ho Chi Minh City and does not apply to Gia Lai. For a definite answer, ask the ward police where you live or the provincial Traffic Police Department.

Do you have to change an old plate?

After the province mergers, owners who do not wish to may keep the registration certificate and plate as they are. You do have to change them in certain cases: the certificate or plate is faded or damaged, the vehicle has been modified, repainted, switched from a white plate with black letters to a yellow one, the owner’s details have changed, or you simply choose to update to the new address. So “update to the new address” is your option, not a duty.

A national rule in force from 19 February 2025 points the same way: valid papers issued before the reorganisation carry on being used. We recommend keeping an intact plate and certificate unless you are selling or changing the owner’s name. If anyone tells you a plate change is “compulsory” just because of the merger, check it against the ministry’s reply.

Where to register a vehicle

You register a vehicle where the owner lives or is based. For someone living in Pleiku, that means where you hold permanent or temporary residence. Within the province you can choose between two places: the commune-level police (commune, ward or special zone), which register cars, special-purpose machinery and motorcycles for individuals and organisations living or based in the province, or the Traffic Police Department, which also registers these vehicles. In practice the Traffic Police Department handles heavy vehicles such as trucks, while the commune-level police handle motorbikes and ordinary cars, and you pick whichever is convenient, wherever your household is registered.

The provincial police chief, together with the national traffic police head, can decide where registration points are, depending on local conditions. Ask at your ward police first, then bring the vehicle and documents. The offices must accept files on working days, during office hours.

To check which ward you now belong to, see Pleiku ward after the merger; for things best filed at the one-stop counter, see the Pleiku Public Administration Service Centre.

Changing a plate: process, time and fees

The file includes registration form ĐKX10. You declare it on the public service portal or in person at the registration office, and the process is partly online. A Vietnamese citizen uses a level-2 electronic ID account on the portal or the national ID app, or shows an ID card, citizen ID card or passport. If someone files for you, they must show their own ID and a notarised or certified authorisation. Officers may not ask for extra steps beyond the circular. One condition: if you have an unpaid traffic penalty, the vehicle involved cannot be registered until you settle it.

If you change to a new address outside the old registration office’s area, you hand over the registration certificate and form ĐKX13, a request to confirm the vehicle file, to the office holding the file. A modified or repainted vehicle must be brought in for inspection. When you swap, the personal-ID plate number stays the same, and a vehicle with a 3-digit or 4-digit plate is moved onto a personal-ID plate.

The clock starts once the office has a complete file and you have paid the fee. You pay through a bank or payment intermediary on the portal, or in person at the office. The fees come from a finance ministry circular in force from 1 January 2026, replacing the earlier one:

Fees get amended often, so confirm the current figure at the counter before you pay.

Selling, buying second-hand, and “helpers”

When ownership changes, the owner named on the certificate must have the old registration withdrawn within 30 days of the transfer papers, at the registration office where the owner lives or is based. A registration on transfer is issued in no more than two working days.

Scammers have used the boundary changes to pose as officials or act as brokers, offering to do vehicle files for a fee. The ward police advise you not to hand your documents to strangers or post personal details online, because police officers help with the process for free. The state fee in the table above is separate, and you pay it as set.

Moving to Pleiku brings two more jobs: exchanging a driving licence in Pleiku and electricity prices in Pleiku. To read the sources, see the ministry’s reply on plate changes and the exchange procedure page on the ministry’s public service portal. Other paperwork after the merger, from ward renaming to residence, is in the Procedures section.