Register a Motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City as a Foreigner: Papers, Fees, Steps (2026)
To register a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City you present a permanent or temporary residence card with 6 months or more of residence left. You file online and visit the city traffic police department. Registration tax is 2% the first time and 1% after. The certificate is issued within 2 working days of a complete file.
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A foreigner registers a motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City with one thing first: a residence card with 6 months or more of residence left. A passport and a tourist visa are not enough, so rent until the card arrives. The rent-or-buy numbers are in Buy or Rent a Motorbike in Ho Chi Minh City.
Who can register, and with which papers
A foreigner living and working in Vietnam presents a permanent residence card, or a temporary residence card with 6 months or more of residence left. Diplomatic, consular and international-organisation staff present their own ID cards and an introduction letter instead.
Trường hợp chủ xe là người nước ngoài sinh sống và làm việc tại Việt Nam (trừ đối tượng quy định tại điểm a Khoản này): Xuất trình thẻ thường trú hoặc thẻ tạm trú (còn thời hạn cư trú tại Việt Nam từ 06 tháng trở lên).
A foreign owner living and working in Vietnam presents a permanent or temporary residence card with 6 months or more of residence left.
Circular 79/2024/TT-BCA, Điều 10 khoản 2 điểm b
Your plate is managed under your foreigner identification number, or your residence card number. You register where your office or registered residence is. Get your address sorted first: see Register Temporary Residence in Ho Chi Minh City and Temporary Residence Card in Ho Chi Minh City.
Unpaid road fines block the file. A person with unresolved road-traffic violations is not processed for registration of the vehicle concerned.
Where to file in Ho Chi Minh City
The city traffic police department registers motorbikes for any organisation or individual with an office or residence in the city, with no domestic-only limit. Ward police take motorbikes of domestic owners only. As a foreigner, you go to the city traffic police department. It is the same “registration agency” the rules name for your residence.
The file goes through the national public service portal at dichvucong.gov.vn or the Ministry of Public Security portal at dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn. The national identification app and the registration agency counter also work.
You pay the fee through a bank or payment intermediary connected to the portal, or at the registration agency. You choose how to get the result: the portal or identification app, the public postal service, or the agency.
Papers for a new bike and for a used bike
A first registration needs 5 documents: the declaration, your papers, proof of origin, proof of lawful ownership and proof that financial obligations are done.
Buying new from a dealer? Your proof of ownership is the dealer’s electronic invoice and your proof of origin is the electronic factory inspection record, both pulled into the system through the portal.
A bike bought used from a person counts as a change of owner, not a first registration.
- For a used bike, proof of ownership is a sale, exchange, gift or inheritance document with the vehicle’s financial documents.
- Proof of tax is the registration-tax payment record. It can be e-data the system receives from the portal or the tax authority.
The change-of-owner file has 5 items: the declaration, your papers, the ownership-transfer document, the registration-tax payment document and the withdrawal certificate for the old registration. Where your owner’s marital-status data is updated in the National Population Database, electronic transfer data on the portal counts as the paper transfer document. This is the rule in Circular 37/2026, which amends Circular 79/2024.
A person who files for you brings their own identity papers and a notarised or certified authorisation document, besides your papers.
File online, step by step
- Log in to the public service portal at dichvucong.gov.vn, fill in the registration form accurately and fully, and sign it digitally.
- Receive the online file code and an appointment by text message or email.
- Bring the bike to the registration agency for inspection, at first registration and when a new certificate is issued on a change of owner. The “full online” exception is for Vietnamese citizens, so it does not apply to you.
- Collect the appointment slip, pay the registration fee and receive the plate.
You are responsible before the law for the legality of the bike and its papers.
Fees, tax and how long it takes
Registration tax on a motorbike is 2% for the first registration and 1% from the second time. A used bike has already paid tax once, so the tax on your change of owner is 1%. A new bike pays 2%. The plate and certificate fee depends on where you live and the bike’s value.
| Case | Fee |
|---|---|
| First registration, Zone I, value up to VND 15,000,000 | VND 700,000 |
| First registration, Zone I, over VND 15,000,000 up to VND 40,000,000 | VND 1,400,000 |
| First registration, Zone I, over VND 40,000,000 | VND 2,800,000 |
| Change of owner (re-issue of certificate and plate) | VND 70,000 |
Ho Chi Minh City is in Zone I, which covers every ward and commune of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City except special zones. You pay the fee for the area of your office or residence.
The bike’s value for the tier is the registration-tax price at the time of registration. That price comes from the table the city People’s Committee issues. Con Dao special zone is Zone II, with a flat VND 105,000 plate fee for a new registration.
So for a used bike your bill is two lines: 1% of the table price, plus the VND 70,000 change-of-owner fee. For a new bike it is 2% of the table price plus the plate fee for your tier.
A first-time certificate, or one issued on a change of owner, comes within no more than 2 working days of a complete, valid file. The clock starts when the file is complete and the fee is paid. A new plate is issued immediately after a complete, valid file. Exchanging a plate for an identification plate takes no more than 7 working days.
If you sell or hand over the bike
The outgoing owner files for withdrawal at the registration agency of their own office or residence, then the new owner files for the change of owner. After the agency processes the withdrawal, the new owner files for the certificate and plate.
The outgoing owner keeps the certificate and plate and submits them at withdrawal, not to the buyer. The outgoing owner files for withdrawal within 30 days of the transfer paperwork. Until then the person named on the certificate stays the owner in the eyes of the law.
Selling your own bike when you leave Vietnam? File the withdrawal online with the file code, or in person on the paper form, and keep the receipt slip. A fully online withdrawal certificate comes within 8 working hours. The plate can stay on the bike while you wait for the withdrawal result.
The withdrawal file has 5 items: the form, your papers, 2 rubbings of the engine and chassis numbers, a copy of the transfer document, and the certificate and plate. If either is lost, the withdrawal form must state the reason.
An individual who skips the change-of-owner procedure is fined VND 800,000 to 1,000,000.
How long the certificate lasts
A foreigner’s registration certificate is written for the term on the residence card. When the certificate expires, you go to the registration agency to exchange or withdraw the certificate and plate. Renew your card before it runs out, so the bike stays registered.
When ownership moves away from you, your plate number is kept for you for 5 years and can be reissued if you register another bike. Older 3-digit or 4-digit plates are exchanged for an identification plate.
Before you ride, see Driving Licence in Ho Chi Minh City and Riding Without a Licence in Vietnam.
Step by step
- Check your residence cardYou need a permanent or temporary residence card with 6 months or more left.
- Collect the papersFor a first registration: the declaration, your papers, proof of origin, proof of lawful ownership and proof of tax paid.
- Pay the registration taxThe tax is 2% on a first registration.
- File onlineLog in to the public service portal, fill in the form and sign it digitally.
- Go to your appointmentThe portal sends an online file code and an appointment by text message or email.
- Pay the plate fee and take the plateCollect the appointment slip, pay the fee and receive the plate.
Not confirmed: The street address of the traffic police counter that takes a foreigner's motorbike. The department takes any individual with a residence in the city, but no address page is available. Book on the portal and go to the counter in the appointment message.
Common questions
Can a foreigner register a motorbike in Vietnam?
A foreigner living and working in Vietnam must present a permanent residence card or a temporary residence card with 6 months or more of residence left. Diplomatic, consular and international-organisation staff present different papers.
Can I file online?
Yes, partly. File on dichvucong.gov.vn or dichvucong.bocongan.gov.vn, or through the national identification app, or in person at the registration agency. Full online registration is written for Vietnamese citizens, so you still bring the bike in.
How much does registration cost?
Registration tax is 2% for a first registration and 1% from the second time. The plate fee for a new motorbike in Zone I is VND 700,000, 1,400,000 or 2,800,000 by value tier. Re-issuing the certificate and plate for a change of owner costs VND 70,000.
Is Ho Chi Minh City in Zone I or Zone II?
Zone I covers every ward and commune of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City except special zones. The Con Dao special zone is the only one in the city, and it falls in Zone II. You pay the fee for the area of your office or residence.
How long does it take?
A first-time certificate, or one issued on a change of owner, is issued within no more than 2 working days of a complete, valid file. A new plate is issued immediately once the file is complete and valid.
What papers do I bring for a used bike?
A change of owner needs the registration declaration, your papers, the ownership-transfer document, the registration-tax payment document and the certificate that the old registration was withdrawn.
What happens if the seller does not transfer the bike?
The owner named on the certificate must file for withdrawal within 30 days of the transfer paperwork. An individual who skips the change-of-owner procedure is fined VND 800,000 to 1,000,000.
What if my residence card expires?
A foreigner's registration certificate is written for the term on the residence card. When the certificate expires, you go to the registration agency to exchange or withdraw it.
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General information checked against the sources listed above, not legal advice for your situation. Rules and office practice change; confirm with the immigration office or a licensed adviser before you act. See how guides are checked.
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