Swapping your driving licence in Pleiku (2026)

Licence damaged, wrong name, or about to expire? The rules changed on 1 July 2026 and replaced the earlier ones. This page follows your questions in order: does it need swapping, where do I apply, what do I bring, how long does it take, what does it cost.

Which rules apply now

The current rules were issued by the Ministry of Public Security on 29 June 2026 and took effect on 1 July 2026, except that some testing rules start later. The earlier circular stopped applying on that date; what stays until the end of 28 February 2027 is some test content and appendices, not the swapping procedure. So guides written before 1 July 2026 may quote old deadlines and steps; check the issue date.

Nationally, the Traffic Police Department manages issuing, swapping and reissuing licences. A licence is now issued electronically or on a PET card, with one licence number per person covering both unlimited and time-limited classes.

Does your licence need swapping?

Motorbike classes A1, A and B1 never expire; classes B and C1 last 10 years from issue; classes C, D1, D2, D, BE, C1E, CE, D1E, D2E and DE last 5 years. An expired licence is not valid. The traffic law took effect on 1 January 2025, and a licence issued before then stays valid until the expiry date printed on it. So a licence issued before 1 January 2025 that is still in date does not have to be swapped just because the law changed.

You can swap in these cases: the licence is damaged and unusable; you hold a Vietnamese licence and want to swap it before it expires; your name, date of birth or nationality on the licence does not match your ID card or passport; or you want to merge an unlimited licence with a time-limited one. The law also encourages swapping unlimited licences issued before 1 July 2012. You cannot swap if you have lost the licence and your details are not in the traffic police database or records, or if you have an unresolved traffic offence.

If your licence was issued before 1 January 2025, the old class converts like this:

Where to apply: online first, police if needed

Prepare one set of papers and send it online through the National Public Service Portal, the national ID app or the police apps. If you do not yet have a level 2 digital ID, your licence data is not in the system, or the portal is down, apply in person at a commune-level police office that takes applications, or at the Traffic Police Department.

In Pleiku, the Traffic Police Department’s Pleiku-area reception point is at 267A Trần Phú, Diên Hồng ward, and Pleiku ward police at 101 Phan Đình Phùng, Pleiku ward are guiding residents through the electronic licence procedures. The commune-level reception points can change with staffing and equipment, so check the Gia Lai police notice or call first. You can find notices at the Gia Lai provincial police site or on the National Public Service Portal.

The Gia Lai Traffic Police Department sits in Quy Nhơn Bắc ward, on the Quy Nhơn side, so from Pleiku start with an online application or the reception point nearest home. To check which administrative unit your ward belongs to, see Pleiku wards after the merger.

You collect the new licence at the Traffic Police Department or the commune police office that took your papers, or by post if you ask; if you applied online, it goes to you personally.

Papers and timing

You need a valid medical certificate in electronic form, and paper only if the electronic one fails for a technical reason. Foreigners and overseas Vietnamese add a valid passport, and if your details do not match, extra papers to reconcile them. For an in-person application you are photographed at the office, or you bring one white-background portrait of 3 cm x 4 cm, or the photo from your ID data can be used. For an online application use a straight-on 3 x 4 cm photo on white; selfies and beauty-filter photos often get the file sent back for changes. The papers you submit are originals that you keep yourself.

We recommend sorting the medical certificate and the photo first: wrong or incomplete papers are what slow a counter application down.

The fee is 115,000 VND

The fee for issuing, swapping or reissuing a licence, national or international, is 115,000 VND each time, in force since 1 January 2026. You pay it to the office that takes your papers. Confirm at the counter or on the portal before you pay.

Motorbike licences never go overdue. For an expired car licence there are two levels: overdue by 30 days up to under 1 year, and you retake the theory test; overdue by 1 year or more, and you retake theory plus the driving test in the yard and on the road. Car test fees are 100,000 VND for theory, 350,000 VND for the yard test and 80,000 VND for the road test each time, and you pay only for the part you take.

If you lose a licence that is still valid, apply for a reissue by the same steps; you cannot get one if your details are not in the system or if you have an unresolved traffic offence.

Swapping a licence often comes with other paperwork: see Gia Lai plates after the merger, electricity prices in Pleiku and residence registration in Pleiku. Everything else is under Procedures.