Short answer: a Vietnamese traffic fine is due within 10 days of receiving the penalty decision (Article 78 of the Law on Handling Administrative Violations). You can pay in cash at the State Treasury or a bank, by transfer, or through postal services (Article 20 of Decree 118/2021/NĐ-CP), and the National Public Service Portal at dichvucong.gov.vn offers online payment for decisions recorded in the system. If the amount is large, instalments are legally possible — up to six months, at most three instalments, with the first covering at least 40%.
The deadline, precisely
The clock starts when you receive the penalty decision — for an on-the-spot stop, that is the decision the officer writes and hands you. Article 78 gives 10 days from receipt. Paying within the deadline closes the matter at the stated amount. The law’s framework allows late payment to carry an added percentage, so the practical rule is simple: pay inside the 10-day window and the ticket stays at its face value.
Where and how the money moves
Decree 118/2021/NĐ-CP, which governs payment into the state budget, lists the forms: cash at the State Treasury or at a bank, payment by transfer, and payment through postal services. The portal dichvucong.gov.vn — the National Public Service Portal — also lets you look up and pay recorded fines online where the decision has been entered into the system; in practice this works most reliably for camera-detected violations and for fines issued to a registered vehicle owner, because lookup keys off the decision number and plate details. Foreign visitors without a Vietnamese bank account generally find the Treasury or bank counter with the paper decision the most workable route; bring the decision and identification.
The camera-fine (phạt nguội) flow
Camera-detected violations follow a paper trail: the violation is detected, the decision is posted to the registered owner’s address, and payment is made through the same channels — postal service counters are a common one for these notices. The legal deadline is the same 10 days from receipt of the decision. A visitor riding a rented bike should note that the decision goes to the vehicle’s registered owner, which is the rental company — settling a camera fine is typically arranged with the owner, not with a traffic police counter. Keep the receipt; it is the proof of settlement if the same decision is queried later.
Instalments, for the large bands
Article 79 of the law allows payment in instalments for large fines: the deadline extends to a maximum of 6 months, split into at most 3 instalments, with the first instalment at least 40% of the amount. This is a written request to the issuing authority, not an automatic right — for motorbike riders it is most relevant to the top bands, such as the 10–14 million VND accident-causing fine.
What payment does and does not do
Paying the fine settles the administrative case. It does not undo the licence points that a violation carries — points deductions are recorded separately from the money, and they stand. It also does not settle insurance claims between riders; compulsory motorbike insurance handles civil damages on its own track. The article on being stopped by traffic police covers the stop itself; this one covers only what happens after the decision is in your hand.
Information, not legal advice. Verified against the Law on Handling Administrative Violations, Decree 118/2021/NĐ-CP and Decree 168/2024/NĐ-CP on 2026-09-22.