Register a Motorbike in Nha Trang as a Foreigner: Documents and Fees

A foreigner living and working in Vietnam shows a permanent residence card or a temporary one with 6 months or more left. A Khanh Hoa police decision places motorbikes of foreign individuals with the traffic police department. The fee in Zone II is VND 105,000 for a first registration.

By Vincent Nguyen

A seller holds out the registration card and says the bike is yours once you pay. Whose name goes on it is a legal question. A foreigner living and working in Vietnam must show a permanent residence card or a temporary one. The temporary card needs 6 months or more of residence left.

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 foreigner living and working in Vietnam, other than diplomatic, consular or international-organisation staff, shows a permanent residence card or a temporary residence card with 6 months or more of residence left.

Circular 79/2024/TT-BCA, Điều 10 khoản 2 điểm b

This guide covers who qualifies, which Khanh Hoa police office registers the bike, the documents, the used-bike steps and the fees. For the card itself read temporary residence card in Nha Trang. For riding legally read driving licence in Nha Trang.

Who can register a motorbike in their own name

A foreigner living and working in Vietnam shows a permanent residence card or a temporary residence card with 6 months or more of residence left. The clause does not mention a visa or a card with less time left.

Diplomatic and consular staff

Diplomatic, consular and international-organisation staff show a different document. They show a valid diplomatic, official, consular or courtesy ID card. They also hand in an introduction letter from the State Protocol Department or the Ministry or Department of Foreign Affairs.

If your card has less than 6 months left

The owner-paper rule names only the two cards above for a foreigner who lives and works in Vietnam. No source states what a traffic police counter does with a card that has less time left. Check the expiry date on your card before you pay a seller.

Where the plate number is recorded

For a foreign owner, the plate is managed by the foreigner’s identification number set by the electronic identification system. It can also be managed by the permanent or temporary residence card number or another identity number issued by a competent authority.

Which Khanh Hoa police office registers it

An owner registers at the registration agency of the locality where they have an office or registered permanent or temporary residence. The Khanh Hoa Provincial Police published a decision on who registers which vehicles.

Xe ô tô, xe máy chuyên dùng, xe mô tô, xe gắn máy và các loại xe có kết cấu tương tự xe mô tô (sau đây viết gọn là xe mô tô) của tổ chức, cá nhân nước ngoài.

Cars, special-use machines, motorbikes, mopeds and similar vehicles of foreign organisations and individuals are registered by the traffic police department.

Khanh Hoa Provincial Police decision of 28 Feb 2025, mục 1 điểm e

The same decision gives the traffic police department confiscated-origin vehicles and motorbikes of 175 cm3 and above. Ward police in Nha Trang were told to take motorbikes of domestic owners.

The national circular says the same in general terms. Commune-level police register motorbikes of domestic organisations and individuals in their province. The provincial traffic police clause has no domestic-only wording. A foreign owner therefore files with the traffic police.

What the 2025 police decision does not settle

The decision is dated 28 Feb, and its portal page 11/03/2025. Khanh Hoa merged wards after that date: five wards, including Tan Tien and Vinh Nguyen, became Nha Trang Ward. The ward named in the decision no longer exists under that name.

The traffic police office address

Three sources point to three different places, so treat none as final.

• The provincial police portal gives its own address as 80 Tran Phu, Nha Trang and a telephone of (+84).0694.401468. That is the portal’s contact line, not the registration counter.
• A May 2024 police procedure gives the reception address for motorbikes as 21 Da Tuong, Vinh Nguyen, Nha Trang.
• A map listing places the department in Xa Dac Loc, Nha Trang, with the phone +84 258 3822 116.

Documents for a first registration

First-time registration needs five documents. They are the registration declaration, the owner’s papers, proof of the vehicle’s origin, proof of lawful ownership and proof of completed financial obligations.

The registration declaration

For partly online registration the owner logs in to the public service portal, fills in the form accurately and fully, and signs it digitally. For registration in person the owner fills in the form at the agency.

The owner’s papers

A foreigner shows the residence card described above. A person you authorise brings their own identity papers and a notarised or certified authorisation document, besides your papers.

Proof of origin and lawful ownership

For an imported vehicle, proof of origin can be electronic customs data received from the portal or the customs database. For a vehicle made or assembled in Vietnam, it can be electronic factory quality-inspection data.

For a bike bought from a previous owner, lawful ownership is a decision of a competent authority or a document of sale, exchange, gift or inheritance. It comes with the vehicle’s financial documents as the law prescribes.

For a new bike, proof of lawful ownership can be electronic invoice data received from the portal or the tax authority database.

Proof of the registration-tax payment

Proof of completed financial obligations is the registration-tax payment document, except for specialised-use motorcycles. The rates are in the fees section below.

Bring the bike

The owner brings the vehicle to the registration agency for inspection at first registration, except for full online registration. The same applies when a new certificate is issued on a change of owner. The owner declares information truthfully and is responsible for the legality of the vehicle and its papers.

Registering online, by appointment or in person

A dossier can be declared and filed through the national public service portal, the Ministry of Public Security portal or other online public-service channels. It can also be filed through the national identification app, or in person at the registration agency.

In partly online registration the portal sends an online dossier code and an appointment by text message or email. You then go to the agency with the code and your papers.

At the agency you receive an appointment slip for the result, pay the registration fee and receive the plate. The fee is paid through a bank or payment intermediary on the portal, or at the agency.

The result is received through the portal or the identification app, through the public postal service, or at the agency, as the owner chooses. A new plate is issued immediately after a complete, valid dossier. A certificate is issued within 2 working days.

Where a registration fee applies, the processing time counts from the day the dossier is complete and the fee is paid.

Unpaid traffic fines can block the file

A person with an unresolved road-traffic violation is not yet processed for registration of the vehicle concerned. Clear any outstanding fine on the bike before you file.

Step by step: a bike registered here for the first time

1. Check your residence card has 6 months or more of residence left, or that you hold a permanent card.
2. Gather proof of origin, proof of lawful ownership and the registration-tax payment document.
3. Fill in the registration declaration on the portal, or at the agency.
4. Collect the online dossier code and the appointment by text message or email.
5. Bring the bike to the agency for inspection, with your papers and the code.
6. Take the appointment slip, pay the fee and receive the plate.
7. Collect the certificate, issued within 2 working days of a complete, valid dossier.

Buying a used motorbike: withdrawal and transfer

A used bike needs two steps by two people: the seller withdraws the old registration, then you register the bike in your name.

What the seller does

When a vehicle is sold, exchanged, given or inherited, the seller named on the certificate files for withdrawal within 30 days of the transfer paperwork. The seller keeps the certificate and plate and does not hand them to you.

The withdrawal can be declared online with a dossier code or in person on the paper form. The seller then submits the withdrawal dossier and receives a receipt slip with the result date.

The withdrawal dossier holds five items. They are the withdrawal form, the owner’s papers, 2 rubbings of the engine and chassis numbers, a copy of the ownership-transfer document, and the certificate and plate.

The certificate of withdrawal is issued within 8 working hours of a complete dossier filed fully online. Filed partly online or in person, it is issued within 2 working days.

While waiting, the seller may keep the plate in use and returns it when receiving the certificate. On request the seller can also get a temporary registration certificate with the withdrawal certificate.

What you do

After the agency has processed the withdrawal, you file for the registration certificate and plate. The dossier holds the registration declaration, your papers, the ownership-transfer document, the registration-tax payment document and the certificate that the old registration was withdrawn.

You declare the registration form, bring the bike for inspection and file the dossier at the agency. If the old plate is a 3-digit or 4-digit plate, it is exchanged for an identification plate.

If the seller does not come in

If 30 days pass and the seller has neither filed nor handed you the certificate and plate, the authority starts a penalty procedure before it goes further. If the seller never comes in, the authority draws up a violation record and fines the seller. You sign as a witness.

Until the withdrawal is done, the person named on the certificate keeps the owner’s responsibility.

The used-bike sequence in short

1. You and the seller agree the transfer paperwork, the document that moves ownership.
2. The seller keeps the certificate and plate and files the withdrawal within 30 days.
3. The seller declares the withdrawal form online or on paper and gets a receipt slip.
4. The agency issues the certificate of withdrawal within 8 working hours online, or 2 working days otherwise.
5. You pay the registration tax and collect its payment document.
6. You file the registration dossier and bring the bike for inspection.
7. You pay the re-issue fee and receive the new certificate.

Keep each receipt. The person named on the old certificate stays responsible until the withdrawal is done.

Processing times at a glance

The circular sets a time limit for each document. The clock starts when the dossier is complete and valid, and where a fee applies, when the fee is paid.

If a certificate or plate is lost

A lost registration certificate is not re-issued on the spot. The agency verifies the case within 30 days of a complete dossier and, if the conditions are met, re-issues within 2 working days after verification.

For a used bike, the seller states the reason in the withdrawal form where the certificate or the plate is lost. Ask the seller early whether both items exist.

Fees and registration tax in Nha Trang

An organisation or individual pays the registration fee at the level set for the area of its office or residence. Zone II covers every province and centrally-run city outside Zone I, which is Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Khanh Hoa is a province, so Nha Trang is in Zone II.

The value for the tier is the registration-tax price at the time of registration. Re-issuing a certificate with a plate, which is what a change of owner counts as, costs VND 70,000 for a motorbike.

The registration tax rate for a motorbike is 2% for the first registration. A motorbike paying registration tax for the second time or later is charged at 1%.

Compulsory liability insurance for the bike

The decree on compulsory motor vehicle insurance applies to owners who drive or operate a vehicle in Vietnam. A “motor vehicle owner” includes someone the owner has lawfully handed the vehicle to. Those covered must buy the cover from a licensed insurer. It covers the owner’s civil liability to third parties and passengers.

The insurer pays up to VND 150 million per person per accident for harm to health or life. For property damage caused by a two-wheel motorcycle the limit is VND 50 million per accident. A year of cover costs VND 55,000 under 50 cc and VND 60,000 from 50 cc up, both before VAT. The insurer issues one certificate per vehicle.

The insurer owes nothing when the driver has no licence, or uses an invalid or unsuitable one. It owes nothing for property damage when the driver’s alcohol level exceeds the normal level, or when the driver uses banned drugs. A foreign owner who rides without a valid Vietnamese-recognised licence therefore has no cover under this insurance.

The fine for not transferring the registration

An individual owner of a motorbike who fails to complete the change-of-owner procedure is fined VND 800,000-1,000,000. An organisation is fined VND 1,600,000-2,000,000 for the same violation.

For a seller, the withdrawal deadline is the 30 days above. For you, the practical rule is to file the registration as soon as the seller’s withdrawal certificate is in your hands.

How long the registration lasts

The registration certificate of a foreigner living and working in Vietnam is written for the term shown on the permanent or temporary residence card. When the certificate expires, the owner must come to the registration agency to exchange or withdraw it.

When ownership moves, the plate is withdrawn and the plate number is kept for the owner for 5 years. It is reissued if the owner registers another vehicle in that time.

Before you buy

• Check that your residence card has 6 months or more of residence left.
• Ask the seller for the registration certificate and plate, which the seller keeps until withdrawal.
• Ask for the document that transfers ownership and for the withdrawal certificate.
• Check that no unresolved traffic fine sits on the bike.
• Keep the registration-tax receipt for the dossier.
• If a friend files for you, prepare a notarised or certified authorisation document and your friend’s identity papers.
• Plan to bring the bike to the agency in person, because inspection applies to a first registration and to a change of owner.
• Ask the seller whether the plate is a 3-digit or 4-digit plate, which is exchanged for an identification plate.
• Check the date on your residence card, since the certificate follows the term on the card.

More money guides sit in the money hub. If you rent instead of buying, read motorbike rental in Nha Trang.

Photos and clips uploaded to Google Maps (Khanh Hoa traffic police department on Google Maps (opens in a new tab)) by @Phòng CSGT - Công an tỉnh Khánh Hoà.

↑ Contents

Not confirmed: The current street address of the Khanh Hoa traffic police registration counter. A May 2024 procedure gives 21 Da Tuong. A map listing places the department in Xa Dac Loc. No official page after the mergers confirms an address. Ask the police portal before you travel.

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.

Spotted an error? Report it.