Ministry of Public Security tests and issues driving licenses

The Ministry of Public Security will take over the functions and tasks of testing and issuing road motor vehicle driving licenses from the Ministry of Transport.

According to the plan approved by the Central Government, in addition to testing and issuing road motor vehicle driving licenses, the Ministry of Public Security will receive additional functions and tasks from a number of other ministries and branches, including: Drug addiction treatment and post-drug addiction treatment from the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs; criminal records and public services for issuing criminal records from the Ministry of Justice ; information security and network security from the Ministry of Information and Communications; ensuring aviation security at airports and on airplanes.

With the task of state management of immigration, the Ministry of Public Security maintains the current stability and promotes coordination in data provision and data connection. In addition, the Ministry of Public Security implements the project of abolishing district police according to a separate project reported to the Politburo .

VinDT testing center. Photo: VinDT

According to the Law on Road Traffic Safety Order 2024, the Minister of Transport regulates the form, content, and examination process to issue driving licenses; conditions and standards for examiners, training organization, issuance of examiner cards; technical standards for driving practice grounds to test motorcycle drivers, and national technical regulations on road motor vehicle driving test centers.

Driving tests for military and police forces performing defense and security duties are prescribed by the Minister of National Defense and the Minister of Public Security.

Currently, the Vietnam Road Administration is responsible for managing testing and issuing driving licenses nationwide; the Department of Vehicle and Driver Management advises the Director to perform the functions and tasks of managing testing and issuing driving licenses (testing management agency). The Department of Transport is responsible for managing testing and issuing driving licenses within the province and centrally-run city.

The transfer of the agency in charge of testing and granting driving licenses from the Ministry of Transport to the Ministry of Public Security has been discussed many times in the National Assembly since the drafting of the two laws separated from the Road Traffic Law. However, the Ministry of Public Security later proposed that the draft Law on Road Traffic Safety and Order would not specifically regulate the authority to manage training, testing and granting driving licenses as previously submitted to the 14th National Assembly, but would leave the Government to assign.