Driving Permit for Vietnam

Vietnam drives on the right and recognises the International Driving Permit (IDP) issued under the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, which the country joined in 2014 (given effect for driving purposes from 2015). To drive legally in Vietnam as a visitor you generally need two documents together: your valid national driving licence plus a valid 1968-Convention IDP. A national licence on its own is not accepted, and neither is an IDP presented without the underlying national licence, so both should be carried at all times.

The convention your IDP was issued under is the decisive detail. Vietnam accepts IDPs issued under the 1968 (Vienna) Convention and does not recognise IDPs issued under the older 1949 Geneva Convention. That is a well-known sticking point for travellers from countries that only issue 1949-format permits, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan and New Zealand. The U.S. Embassy and U.S. State Department state plainly that U.S. driver's licences and International Driving Permits are not valid in Vietnam, and advise that those wishing to drive obtain a Vietnamese licence. If your permit is a 1968 IDP that matches your home licence, it is the document Vietnam recognises for visiting drivers.

On the ground, police carry out document checks, and the licence categories on your IDP matter: a car entitlement covers cars only, while riding a motorbike requires the appropriate motorcycle entitlement. Driving without valid documentation can lead to fines and vehicle impoundment, and may void travel and health insurance. A rental desk may hand over a vehicle on a foreign licence alone, but that does not make you legal, so match your IDP to what you intend to drive, obtain it in your home country before you travel, and note that foreigners staying longer term are generally expected to obtain a Vietnamese licence.